Skeeter Brandon

UNC Asheville will kick off its 24th annual Concerts on the Quad summer music series at 7 p.m. Monday, June 5, with a performance by legendary North Carolina blues musician Skeeter Brandon and Prime Rib. Brandon’s unique mix of blues, funk, beach music and rock ‘n’ roll will have patrons dancing under the stars. The concerts, which are free and open to the public, will be held on UNC Asheville’s Quad Mondays through July 10.

Concerts on the Quad is fun for the entire family. The public is invited to bring picnics, blankets and lawn chairs. Sorry, no pets allowed. With nearly 3,000 people attending each concert, lawn-chair seating will be separate from blanket seating in order to preserve sight lines; please look for signage when arriving on the Quad. Café a la Quad will sell sandwiches, wraps, fruit, snacks, beverages, desserts and ice cream from 6-8 p.m.

In case of rain, the concerts will be held in Lipinsky Auditorium. A limited menu will be served at the rain location. Location decisions will be made at 5 p.m. the day of the show. Patrons may call 828/232-5000 after 5:15 p.m. each Monday to hear a recorded announcement about the location of that evening’s performance.

Other concerts in the series include:

June 12 – Two North Carolina jazz ensembles featuring female vocalists will take center stage. Asheville’s own Sharon LaMotte and the Bill Gerhardt Quartet will play from 7 to 7:40 p.m. The classic jazz ensemble will explore tunes from the 1920s to today, alternating their style from traditional to fresh and modern. The Charlotte-area Beth Chorneau Band will play from 7:50 to 9 p.m. An accomplished singer with six solo recordings, Chorneau performs on the heels of her most recent full-length release, “Sliver of Time.”

June 19 – Storyteller and humorist Andy Offutt Irwin will begin the night’s performance with hilarious family stories and songs. The Atlanta Journal-Constitution praises Irwins’s “…amazing interactive folk from an eccentric who punctuates his tunes with humorous anecdotes.” A world fusion trio, featuring Chris Rosser, Eliot Wadopian and Byron Hedgepeth will continue the evening with original music exploring global cultures. The Asheville Citizen-Times calls their music “beautiful, complex, diverse and played by masters of their instruments.”

June 26 – The popular Asheville Jazz Orchestra will showcase big band sounds with some of the best swing players in western North Carolina. Featuring a full horn section and powerful drumming, the 17-piece ensemble is the only professional big band active in Asheville.

July 3 – Four-piece Americana group The Blue Mountain Band will cover the sounds of vintage country with tributes to Johnny Cash and June Carter Cash, as well as Hank Williams, Patsy Cline and other legends.

July 10 – Concerts on the Quad will wrap up with a performance by “new-timey” bluegrass favorites The Shady Grove Band. The Raleigh News and Observer heralds The Shady Grove Band as “one of our state’s musical treasures.”

For more information about the series, call UNC Asheville Cultural Events Program Office at 828/251-6227 or visit the Concerts on the Quad Web site at www.unca.edu/summerquad/.