RCCAC presents Blue Yonder

“A mix of virtuoso musicianship and original songwriting that plays as well in a hipster coffeehouse as it does in a small town concert hall.” LARRY GROCE, MOUNTAIN STAGE.

Blue Yonder is a band from Charleston, West Virginia, that takes strands of early country music – from swing to honky-tonk, bluegrass and rockabillly – and weaves them together with award-winning original compositions and a contemporary feel. The group features three seasoned musicians each with distinctive and notable skills: singer and songwriter John Lilly, national guitar champion Robert Shafer, and bassist Will Carter. The band’s debut recording, Bittersweet Road, which features all original songs, reached #2 on the Freeform American Roots Radio charts in late 2013.

• John Lilly, Blue Yonder’s vocalist and front man, is known throughout the country and in Europe for his heartfelt original songs about loving, living, and losing.

• Robert Shafer, on both acoustic and electric guitar, possesses the uncommon ability to play with lightning velocity, infectious swing, or subtle emotion – whatever the music calls for.

• Will Carter is the bass player in the Contrarians, a touring contra dance band. He has also played in several bluegrass and old time bands over the years, including well-known band mates, such as fiddler Bobby Taylor and Nashville banjoist/producer Alison Brown.