The Ridge City Ramblers : Steve Reddick, Scott Linn, Mary Tuskan, Tom Beehan, Abbie Wilmore and Gary Coleman
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Country, classical and bluegrass music will be featured at the Eclectic Evening of Music on Friday, February 3, at the Grove Theater in Oak Ridge. The event is hosted by The Courtyards Senior Living to benefit Alzheimer's Tennessee.
Oak Ridge Mayor Tom Beehan will emcee the concert at 7 p.m. at the theater, 123 Randolph Road, in Grove Center. The concert will feature country performer Logan Murrell with Jim Clayton, classical pianist Harry Mursten, and the Ridge City Ramblers, a bluegrass and Americana band based in Oak Ridge.
Tickets for the concert are $20. For tickets, call The Courtyards Senior Living, (865) 481-6009. Tickets may be picked up between 9 a.m. and 6 p.m. at The Courtyards at 300 Briarcliff Ave., Oak Ridge, or held for pick up the evening of the concert.
Murrell, 15-year-old singer, songwriter and musician, will perform country music, with Jim Clayton, founder of Clayton Homes and Clayton BanCorp, Inc., joining her for a few numbers on guitar and vocals. Critics describe Logan as a singer and songwriter with the confidence and stage presence of a much older musician.
She started singing at age 2 and began performing professionally at 8. Since then, she's been a featured performer at Old Smoky Hoedown and Country Tonite theaters in Pigeon Forge, was featured vocalist in the 2006 and 2011 Clayton Holiday Concerts with the Knoxville Symphony Orchestra, and performed with the Knoxville Opera.
Harry Mursten, Julliard-trained pianist from Florida, will present a program of classical music during the concert. Mursten presents a salon-style classical performance, playing pieces by such composers as Chopin, Liszt, Debussy and Beethoven. His son, Mike Mursten, is President of The Courtyards Senior Living.
The Ridge City Ramblers will entertain with bluegrass and Americana music. The band features Steve Reddick on guitar, harmonica and vocals, Scott Linn on mandolin and vocals, Gary Coleman on bass, Abbie Wilmore on fiddle, Mary Tuskan on guitar, mandolin and vocals, and Tom Beehan on guitar and banjo.
The Ramblers first came together in 2010 to celebrate the 20th anniversary of the Oak Ridge Sister City relationship with Naka, Japan. Two of the band's musicians, Beehan and Wilmore, orchestra teacher at Robertsville Middle School, were delegates visiting Naka from Oak Ridge earlier in 2010 to observe the anniversary. When Oak Ridge's Sister City Support Organization hosted a farewell party for Naka visitors that fall, Beehan and Wilmore invited other musicians, some active in the Sister City group, to perform with them.
The Ridge City Ramblers enjoyed the gig so much they continued performing together. Reddick and Linn, both eighth grade American history teachers at Jefferson Middle School in Oak Ridge, had each accompanied Oak Ridge students on visits to Naka, and Coleman's family later hosted a Naka student.
Coleman, who trained with Edgar Meyer Sr., has played rock, jazz and blues with many bands, including Knox Vegas and currently Soul Candy. Reddick and Linn are members of the bluegrass and Americana band Carroll Hollow, and Reddick performed with The Diablos and both he and Linn were with High Altitude. Tuskan, Clinton High School guidance counselor, is a member of Shamrock Road, an Irish music band. Wilmore performs with the Lake Terrace Trio, a string trio. Beehan performs occasionally on the local Ciderville television show.
Alzheimer's Tennessee, Inc., founded in 1983 by East Tennessee families, advocates for top research initiatives and provides services for more than 22,000 individuals and families facing Alzheimer's disease and dementia in East Tennessee and the Cumberlands.
The Courtyards Senior Living offers assisted living and memory care in warm and caring communities designed to create a home environment for those in need of elder care services. Specializing in Alzheimer's and dementia care, The Courtyards currently operates the only dedicated Alzheimer's facilities in Oak Ridge, Knoxville and Johnson City. Its senior living communities are concentrated in the southern United States.
