Iron Horse Bluegrass

Whitewater Bluegrass Company

Maggie Valley, NC, — Iron Horse Bluegrass from Muscle Shoals, Alabama, brings their distinctive sound to Eaglenest Entertainment Friday, October 23rd @ 7:30pm with special guests Whitewater Bluegrass Company.

Eaglenest Entertainment in Maggie Valley, NC, is once again proud to present a diverse night of Bluegrass music featuring the more traditional sounds of special guest, Whitewater Bluegrass Company as well as the distinctively eclectic “bluegrass heavy metal” music of CMH recording artists Iron Horse. Band member Tony Robertson of Iron Horse says “We’ve been at bluegrass festivals and have learned if we don’t tell the crowd that it’s a heavy metal song, they love it. But if we go on stage and say ‘this is a Metallica song,’ then they look at it a little differently.” “Yeah, all of sudden, it’s dinner time!” Anthony laughs.

Iron Horse was formed in 2000 in the famous hit recording capital of the ‘60’s and ‘70’s, Muscle Shoals, Alabama. The band consists of four members including Vance Henry, guitar, lead & tenor vocals; Anthony Richardson, banjo, baritone & bass vocals; Ricky Rogers, bassist, baritone & lead vocals; and Tony Robertson, mandolin, lead & tenor vocals. Iron Horse creates much of its own music, with an innate ability for cross-genre arrangements. Iron Horse was approached in January 2003 by Los Angeles-based CMH Records to record a tribute album to the heavy metal band, Metallica, which was released in October 2003. To date Iron Horse has recorded a total of ten projects for CMH, including the July 2009 release of, A Boy Named Blue: The Bluegrass Tribute to the Goo Goo Dolls.

The skill and ability of Iron Horse to transpose metal to bluegrass while maintaining the identity of the originals is exceptional. The versatility of Iron Horse is demonstrated by the more traditional flavor of their first CD, “Ridin’ Out the Storm”. This versatility enables Iron Horse to perform such standards as “Rocky Top” and “Man of Constant Sorrow” with little effort, while entertaining “metal-heads” with the familiarity of the compositions of metal and pop icons – all on the same stage.

Opening up the show is one of the area’s favorite groups, Whitewater Bluegrass Company. Whether they are playing a festival, convention, wedding or just a good old mountain-style party, The Whitewater Bluegrass Company offers the best interface between culture and crowd. With their tight sound they have served as the host band for Folkmoot USA, the Smokey Mountain Folk Festival, Kanuga Conference Centers and the Historic Horse Barn on the Biltmore Estate. They have also been featured entertainers for the North Carolina Bar Association, the Carter Family Fold, the Mountain Heritage Center at Western Carolina University and the Grove Park Inn.

Eaglenest Entertainment is pleased to have Iron Horse and Whitewater Bluegrass Company return to the stage. Eaglenest’s General Manager, Selina Keller said, “We’re pleased to have these groups perform again. Eaglenest is rare among venues, in that we are privately owned, offer an elegant and extremely comfortable setting, and have plenty of on-site parking.” In addition (and very important) is the high-quality sound. The sound coupled with the intimate setting literally means there’s not a bad seat in the house. “The sound is remarkable; in fact, we’ve been referred to as the “best listening room in the Great Smoky Mountains.”

Tickets are available at the box office, Monday – Friday, noon until 5pm and by phone at 828-926-9658. Tickets are reserved seating. For more information and a seating chart, visit the website at Eaglenestnc.com.

– From Eaglenest Entertainment