OHR Presents: Compton & Newberry

This week, International Bluegrass Music Association award winners, singers, songwriters, and multi-instrumentalists Mike Compton and Joe Newberry recorded live at Ozark Folk Center State Park. Also, interviews with this prolific pair of pickers. “Mike Compton and Joe Newberry, masters of old-time mandolin and banjo/guitar, dig deep into early country music and blues. Their duet-singing, two-man string band ranges between traditional songs, instrumentals, ‘mother’ ballads and original tunes. It’s not about the number of notes with Compton and Newberry, but telling the truth and respecting the song. Mike Compton is a Grammy award winner, IBMA Mandolin Player of the Year nominee, a steady sideman for John Hartford from 1994 until Hartford’s death in 2001, and mandolinist for the Nashville Bluegrass Band. Mike is inarguably the world expert on Bill Monroe-style bluegrass mandolin, and is also steeped in old-time fiddle tunes, early string band music and Delta blues. Known far and wide for his powerful banjo playing, Joe Newberry is a prizewinning guitarist, songwriter, and singer to boot. In addition to his work with Mike, Joe plays with old-time music legends Bill Hicks, Jim Watson, and Mike Craver, performs with guitarist Jon Shain, and is a frequent guest on Garrison Keillor’s A Prairie Home Companion. He won the songwriting prize for “Gospel Recorded Performance” at the 2012 IBMA Awards for his song Singing As We Rise, and was co-writer, with Eric Gibson, of the 2013 IBMA Song of the Year for They Called It Music.” http://comptonandnewberry.com In this week’s “From the Vault” segment, musician, educator, and country music legacy Mark Jones offers a 1978 archival recording of Ozark original Pat Hammock performing the traditional song “I Never Will Marry,” from the Ozark Folk Center State Park archives. Writer, musician, and traditional dancer Aubrey Atwater discusses the universality of folk music, how it transcends geography, culture and time, with musical examples and her own cultivated insight.