"There is something so familiar and comfortable about a Doug and Shelley Harper performance. Their relaxed style, smooth harmonies, down home charm and beautiful original songs both delight you and put you at ease. Do matter how long they play, you want to hear one more song before they leave."
Ron Sowell
MOUNTAIN TIMES
POCAHONTAS CO. OPERA HOUSE
Doug and Shelley Harper, February 23
Photos Jon C. Hancock The first time they sang together, their voices came together like two old friends, and their musical partnership has since taken them throughout central Appalachia in a variety of venues. Their travels will bring Doug and Shelley Harper to the Opera House on Saturday, February 23. “Hybrid Folk” is a term coined to describe Doug's writing style and play list. Audiences come away from their performances warmed, amused and inspired.
Doug and Shelley have performed at venues throughout the state, including West Virginia Public Radio’s Mountain Stage, Tamarack, Theatre West Virginia’s Music in the Mountains and The Clay Center in Charleston. Their recording projects include Scrapbook, (2000), Travelogue (2002), Seasons (2004) and Keepsakes (2007).
The Harpers were invited to perform two cuts on The Road Home and one cut on The Road Home II, compilations of songs by West Virginia songwriters produced by Ron Sowell, music director for Mountain Stage.
"There is something so familiar and comfortable about a Doug and Shelley Harper performance - like sitting in your living room with a couple of old friends. Their relaxed style, smooth harmonies, down home charm and beautiful original songs both delight you and put you at ease. You want them to stay all night and no matter how long they play, you want to hear one more song before they leave," Sowell says. Doug and Shelley will be joined by Dave Fondale on bass and one of West Virginia's most accomplished dobro players, Chris Stockwell. Dave, a native of Crab Orchard, has been playing electric and acoustic guitar since 1967. He has played with various local musicians around the Beckley area in Rock, Contemporary Christian, Country and Folk styles. Chris is from Birch River. He has been playing for just five years and is already one of the most sought after dobro players in the region. He performs with Doug and Shelley when he can fit them in between his gigs with the Johnny Staats Project.
Tickets are $5 for adults for each show. Children 12 and under are admitted free. The Pocahontas County Opera House is located at 818 Third Avenue in Marlinton. For further information, call the Opera House at (304) 799-6645. In the event of bad weather, please call to confirm that the performance is still scheduled. These concerts are part of the 2007-08 Performance Series sponsored by the Pocahontas County Opera House Foundation. Financial support is provided through a grant from the West Virginia Division of Culture and History and the National Endowment for the Arts, with approval from the West Virginia Commission on the Arts. Additional support is provided by Pocahontas County Drama, Fairs and Festivals. Information on upcoming performances can be found at pocahontasoperahouse.org
REGISTER-HERALD
MOUNTAIN STAGE
Published: November 20, 2006 11:00 pm
Beckley couple plays for show at Tamarack
By Michelle James, Register-Herald Reporter
Dreams sometimes do come true. That was the case for Beckley native Doug Harper, as he and his wife Shelley and bassist Dave Fondale stepped on stage as performers on the famous Mountain Stage radio show at Tamarack Sunday night.“This is something I’ve wanted to do for many years,” said Harper, who said probably 30 friends and family members were in the audience for the show.The guitar player and singer, whose wife Shelley provides backing vocals, was just one of six acts who took the stage to tape the radio show which is broadcast on radio stations across the country.
Harper was not the only one whose dreams were fulfilled Sunday night, as Mountain Stage producer Andy Ridenour, says several members of the Alaska-based bluegrass quartet Bearfoot had also long aspired to be part of the show.“They said they grew up listening to it,” Ridenour said, adding a radio rigged to a car battery enabled the musicians to tune in.
Sunday’s show marked the fourth time Mountain Stage, now in its 20th year of broadcast, has visited Tamarack.Cindy Whitlock, marketing director for Tamarack, says Mountain Stage always gets a great response when the show visits town.“It’s the perfect match for Tamarack,” she said, adding the show has sold out each year. “We’re both selling the best of West Virginia so it’s a perfect partnership.
"In addition to the Harpers and Bearfoot, Sunday night’s show also included performances by Jim Lauderdale, Klezmatics, Parkersburg native Todd Burge and Abigail Washington with The Sparrow Quartet featuring Ben Solee, Casey Driessen and Bela Fleck. The music performed on Mountain Stage ranges from traditional roots and country music to avant garde rock and jazz, and Mountain Stage house band leader Ron Sowell says it’s the eclectic mix of performers, which have included Norah Jones and Mary Chapin Carpenter, that make the show a success.“It’s something you can’t really get anywhere else,” Sowell said. “It’s music that kind of slips between the cracks. It’s all different kinds of music.”That mix of music is exactly what brought Athens resident Scott Ash to Tamarack Sunday.“That’s the thing about Mountain Stage,” Ash, who says he and his wife attend a live show two to three times per year, said. “It’s not just this ‘one type’ of music. It’s all sorts of music. It’s fantastic.
”Ridenour says Sunday night’s show will air locally on 91.7 WVPB-FM on Jan. 21 at 3 p.m.—
E-mail: mjames@register-herald.com
WONDERFUL WV MAGAZINE
By Debora Cashion
March 2006
Just like warm milk and honey, the voices of Doug and Shelley Harper blend naturally to produce some of the sweetest music in the Mountain State. ...
(CLICK LINK BELOW TO VIEW ENTIRE ARTICLE.)
The first time I heard you, Doug, I fell in love. Oh, not like that!!! Your words and your voice took me back to the time when my grandmother's brothers gathered with her and the music went on until long after I went to sleep. Then I heard you and Shelley together and I was truly in love! You guys sound as though you have been singing together since you learned to talk. All the moments are special whenever I get a chance to hear you live. Oh wait...I will get to do just that January 5, 2008 at the Woody Hawley Concert at the Clay Center in Charleston when you open for Bill Stains at 7:30 pm. Until then, I guess I will have to be content with CDs!!! By the way, the path of getting to know you guys has been such a wonderful journey and I eagerly await its further unfolding.
Many blessings, Trish
"Just read the Wonderful WV magazine article about you and your family and it was great. You are finally getting the recognition you deserve. Many successes in the future..."
"How appropriate - the Wonderful WV magazine does a feature on the wonderful Harper family! Congratulations."