KASU's Bluegrass Monday features the Tennessee Gentlemen April 27

April 23, 2009 -- The Tennessee Gentlemen will perform a concert of bluegrass music on Monday, April 27, at 7 p.m. at Atkins Celebration Hall, 101 South Pruett Street, in downtown Paragould. The performance is part of the Bluegrass Monday concert series presented by KASU 91.9 FM. KASU will literally "pass the hat" to collect money to pay the group. The suggested donation is $5 per person.



Based in Memphis, the Tennessee Gentlemen have been entertaining audiences at bluegrass festivals across the United States and Canada for over 30 years. The band is well-known for their high vocal sound, featuring outstanding harmonies. The group has recorded numerous CDs and has produced a concert DVD. They play traditional bluegrass music, gospel songs, and bluegrass arrangements of songs from other styles of music.

The current line-up of the Tennessee Gentlemen features two sets of brothers, Donny and Doyle Catron along with Kent and Sam Coffey. Donny Catron spent 25 years working with the late Troy Castleberry, the founder of the group, and the Catron brothers are working to continue the bluegrass tradition started by Castleberry.

Donny Catron plays rhythm guitar in the band. He also sings tenor and lead vocals.  Donny has performed with Doyle Lawson’s band Quicksilver, in the band Signal Mountain, and with Jesse McReynolds’ Virginia Boys.

Doyle Catron sings lead, tenor and harmony vocals in the group, and he also plays guitar. With his brother Donny, he played in a group called Neshoba. He has a background of playing not only bluegrass music but country and rock music as well, and those influences are heard when the band plays songs that originated outside of the world of bluegrass.

The Coffey brothers come from a musical family, having played in a band with their father from a young age and then later having their own Coffey Brothers Bluegrass Band. Kent Coffey has been playing guitar professionally since the age of 10. In addition to playing with the Tennessee Gentlemen, Kent also plays regularly in the blues band Carnes and the Heaters and in a jazz trio called Swing Shift. Kent also performs with his wife in the Buffalo City Ramblers.

Sam Coffey has also been playing music since a very young age. He plays primarily banjo with the Tennessee Gentlemen but he also plays guitar, bass, Dobro and mandolin.  Sam played in the bands of Kitty Wells, Mac Wiseman, Donny Fargo and others. He has had his own family band with his wife and son, a group called Coffey and Company, and he has his own business building and repairing custom acoustic instruments.

In addition to the concert by the Tennessee Gentlemen at 7 p.m., area bluegrass musicians are invited to come to Atkins Celebration Hall beginning at 5 p.m. for an open jam session.  Musicians are asked to bring only acoustic instruments and to play only bluegrass music. The jam sessions will end promptly at 6:45 p.m. prior to the beginning of the concert.

Also, Simply Delicious Catering will provide a country-style buffet meal beginning at
5 p.m. for a cost of $10 including tax and a drink. Seating at the venue will around tables or in auditorium-style seating.

Bluegrass Monday concerts are held on the fourth Monday night of each month.  These concerts are presented with support from the Posey Peddler, the Northeast Arkansas Bluegrass Association and KASU.

KASU 91.9 FM is the 100,000 watt public broadcasting service of Arkansas State University in Jonesboro. Bluegrass Monday’s website is www.myspace.com/bluegrassmonday. For more information, contact KASU program director Marty Scarbrough at mscarbro@astate.edu  or (870) 972-2367. 

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