Mary Flower - Award Winning Finger-Picking Blues Artist July 15, 2006

“The Sounds of Grace” and Berryville Main Street with funding assistance from the Marion Park Lewis Foundation

Present

Roots of American Music Series

Ragtime Blues - Mary Flower - Award Winning Finger-Picking Blues Artist

$10 Admission, Kids free

Limited seating – for reservations please call Berryville Main Street at 540-955-4001.

Working in both the intricately syncopated Piedmont fingerpicking style and her own deeply bluesy lap-slide guitar, Mary Flower has earned raves from critics and audiences alike for her springwater-clear vocals and guitar mastery. As the only woman in history to twice place in the top three at the legendary national Fingerpicking Guitar Championships, and with six critically acclaimed CDs and three instructional DVDs to her credit, Flower is in demand for festivals, concerts and guitar workshops on both sides of the Atlantic...

For the Roots of American Music Series concert Mary will present a mix of traditional fingerpicking blues and ragtime as well as songs she has written and arranged. She'll demonstrate the different genres and introduce you to the masters of those styles. Mary will present a look into the early blues era of the 1920's and 1930's when these trends were prominent. Mary will also share a little of her lap slide playing, similar to "bottleneck" blues. This concert will have an interactive feel, where audience members are free to ask questions.

Publicity Quotes:

Blues Revue
“A first-rate fingerpicker who also plays fine bottleneck... Flower straddles the line between blues and jazz, recalling the spirits of Memphis Minnie, Blind Blake, and Louis Armstrong.”

Blues Bytes
“Sounds modern and traditional at the same time... Her guitar work is breathtaking and her vocals are warm and inviting.”

"All Music Guide to the Blues"
"Unassuming blues heroine Mary Flower proves once again that she's one of the nation's premier fingerstyle blues guitarists. Her technique is exceptional throughout and, in the end, serves the highest purpose---the music." - All Music Guide to the Blues

Fingerstyle Guitar Magazine
"Mary Flower is one of those rare guitarists who manages to create a tincture of the aged authentic with the freshly original." -Fingerstyle Guitar Magazine

For more information on Berryville Main Street’s concert series please call 540-955-4001 or visit www.berryvillemainstreet.org

Official Website: http://www.berryvillemainstreet.org