Jerry Douglas presents The Earls of Leicester band, a talent-filled musical group that brings bluegrass back into style. They will be performing in the D.P. Culp University Center auditorium at 7:30 p.m. Friday, Feb. 19.
Jerry Douglas has won 13 Grammy awards and has successfully pulled together a band of his favorite bluegrass musicians.
They are bringing the old school bluegrass of Lester Flatt and Earl Scruggs to young ears in hopes that they can show where bluegrass really came from and help promote music in today’s culture.
“The Earls of Leicester project has been on my mind for several years,” Jerry Douglas said in an interview with The Sitch. “When the right musicians came into view, I jumped on the opportunity to bring a dream to life.”
Barry Bales is a vocalist and bass player on the band. He is originally from Kingsport, Tennessee and is an alum of East Tennessee State University.
He is also a previous ETSU bluegrass faculty member. Other members of the band include Shawn Camp on guitar, Johnny Warren on fiddle, Charlie Cushman on banjo and Jeff White on the mandolin.
The band will be performing music from their self-titled debut album that spent many weeks on the top bluegrass charts and already won a Grammy in 2015 for Best Bluegrass Album. The Earls of Leicester will be going on tour February 26 through July 26 and will be visiting places all over the eastern U.S., making stops at several major music festivals along the way.
The Earls of Leicester’s upcoming ETSU concert will be opened by the ETSU Bluegrass Pride Band. Tickets are $30 for general admission, $25 for seniors age 60 and over and $12 for students with their ID.
