The 2014-15 First Thursday Old-Time and Bluegrass Concert and Jam Series will get underway with a performance by the Boys from Tuckasegee at 7 p.m. Thursday, Nov. 6, in the Mountain Heritage Center at Western Carolina University

The group includes members of an earlier music group that was popular around Jackson County, the Sweet Tater Band. The band has been strongly influenced by two performers, the late folk music legend Mary Jane Queen of Jackson County’s Caney Fork community and bluegrass banjo master Raymond Fairchild of Maggie Valley. 

The First Thursday concerts and jam sessions will continue at the Mountain Heritage Center through next spring, with programs from 7 to 9 p.m. on the first Thursday of each month. Featured performers at the December program will be the Deitz Family. Pickers and singers of all ages and experience levels are invited to take part in the jam sessions that follow the show, which also are open to those who just want to listen.

This year’s First Thursday programs align with WCU’s interdisciplinary learning theme for the academic year, “North Carolina: Our State, Our Time.” Programs and initiatives across campus are exploring the state’s history, culture and impact.

Free.

828.227.7129.