Little Big Town | Courtesy Williams + Hirakawa

Salem Football Stadium hosts the Blue Ridge Music Festival on June 1. Read more about it at roanoke.com/living or in today’s Extra section. Here is the schedule.

10 p.m. Gates open
11 a.m. – Skip Castro Band
Noon – Charles Esten
1 p.m. – Will Hoge
2:30 p.m. – Greg Bates
3:40 p.m. – Sara Haze
4:30 p.m. – Gloriana
6 p.m. – Colt Ford
7:30 p.m. – Hunter Hayes
9:10 p.m. – Little Big Town

10:30 p.m. – Rutledge plays after-party (at Salem Civic Center)

bethhart.com

BETH HART and JOE BONAMASSA

“Seesaw” (J&R Adventures)

Singer Beth Hart and guitarist Joe Bonamassa have a soulful and sultry new album out with “Seesaw.” With her voice and his guitar, the album has all the pieces in place to deliver bluesy fireworks built around some decades-old standards.

But purists will be put off by the cacophony of strings and a frequently overbearing horn section. Moreover, you don’t have to be a purist to want to hear Bonamassa — who plays Roanoke Performing Arts Theatre on Nov. 8 — race over the frets of his vintage Gibsons, yet he is occasionally reduced to the undeserving role of a backup ax on several tracks that fail to showcase his skills.

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Black Flag | Photo courtesy Robert Kenney

When Growler’s American Grill closed nearly two weeks back, one of the shows in limbo was Black Flag. The iconic punk band was scheduled for a June 18 gig, but like others, that show was left in limbo by the unexpected news.

The concert has found a new home. It is now set for June 18 at Awful Arthur’s, Salem. Showtime will be 9 p.m.

According to Kelly Scott, who books bands at the Salem venue, ticket sales will go live at 3 p.m. via inticketing.com. While the Growler’s version of the event remains live at the ticket sales site, show promoter Chris Lemons said that if that page had been turned off, all of the previously sold tickets would have been canceled. Growler’s former owner, Barry Caldwell, said last week that at least 50 tickets had been purchased for the show.

Black Flag, old-school hardcore from Hermosa Beach, Calif., formed in 1976 and brought on a young Henry Rollins in the 1980s. One of his predecessors, Ron Reyes, is fronting the band again. Founding member, guitarist and songwriter Greg Ginn remains with the act.

Ginn also will be onstage with opening act Good For You, a band he formed with Mike Vallely, a skateboarder and actor (“The Hangover,” “Paul Blart: Mall Cop”) who has also fronted a couple of bands in his day.

It will be Ginn’s first time in Roanoke since 2008, when he came to 202 Market, fronting his jambands the Goof Off Experts and Taylor Texas Corrugators.

Tickets are $30 in advance ($35 day of show).

And hey, courtesy Black Flag publicist Kat L. Diablo, is video of a brand new Black Flag song, “The Chase.”

Judi Jackson | facebook.com

It happens now and then — I miss stuff, or I get stuff too late for deadline, or stuff wasn’t included in the information I received. In a word — stuff! So let’s fill in some Sunday music blanks.

The Blue Ridge Vineyard, in Eagle Rock, is putting on its 3rd Annual Jazz Festival. I’ve seen sweet-singing Judi Jackson, on summer break from college, happily running around town checking out music, and she’ll be putting on some tunes of her own here on SUNDAY, as special guest of Milberger Section. Also on the bill — Lenny Marcus Trio with Kerry Hurley and The Funk Cousins (No Relation). That’s a nice bill! Admission is $10, or $5 if you’re a designated driver. Bring a Blue Ridge Beverage glass for $2 off admission. A barbecue vendor will be on the grounds, so bring your lawn chairs, blankets, appetites and ears.

J.D. Sutphin of Madrone (and local radio fame) is putting on a show SUNDAY night at Awful Arthur’s downtown. Madrone, SuperBob, Funk Punch and Mohamed Bhana of Electric Chameleon are on the bill. The venue will be taking donations to the Red Cross for Midwest tornado relief and is matching every cash donation up to $500. Very cool. Cover is $5 unless you’re a veteran, then you get in free to the 21 and older show. “It’s going to be an amazing night of fun, glad I have the next day off,” Sutphin wrote.

SUNDAY night at Festival in the Park, Ross Flora returns to town from his new home, Nashville, as sideman to a band called Smoke n Guns. The Music City-based band features another Virginian, Lindsay Bowman, from Danville. Bowman and Alecia Arnall combine for vocals that Flora writes are are “to die for.” The rocking country outfit has “played Texas to the Great Lakes, with stops in Nashville and the Ozarks – in the past two weeks,” Flora wrote. Their set starts at 7 p.m.

Have I mentioned all of these shows happen on SUNDAY? You’ve probably got Monday off, same as Mr. Sutphin, so live it up to some fun music.

David Wax Museum | Courtesy davidwaxmuseum.com

David Wax Museum plays Kirk Avenue Music Hall on May 24, 2013. We spoke with the band’s Suz Slezak last year, before a FloydFest appearance. I didn’t get to give the ‘cast as much love as it deserved at the time, with everything else going on, so here is a worthy rerun.

We talked about how the band got itself into the Newport Folk Festival, where it was a breakout act. Also in the podcast, a discussion of the quijada, a percussion instrument made from a donkey’s jawbone. Slezak counts that as one of her instruments, along with fiddle and vocals.

We stream “Chuchumbe,” a song from the 1760s that the Catholic Church banned in Mexico. All these years later, the song has re-emerged, and it is a big part of David Wax Museum’s gonzo fiesta.

Matuto | Courtesy Vincent Soyez

Tune in t0 101.5 The Valley’s Music Place on your FM dial, or stream the show via 1015tvmp.com. Tuesday Night News starts at 9 p.m.

1. David Wax Museum – Chuchumbe – Everything Is Saved
2. Matuto – Thousand to Three – The Devil & The Diamond
3. Erin Lunsford – Hey James – I Saw The Thread EP
4. Ben Bullington – Appalachian Mnt. Delta Blues – Ben Bullington
5. Yarn – Annie – Almost Home
6. Leftover Salmon – Aquatic Hitchhiker – Aquatic Hitchhiker
7. L Shape Lot – Down to Ride – Blackwater Sessions –
8. Corey Hunley – Kid on the Way – Red to the Bone
9. Folk Soul Revival with Brittany Carter – This Ol’ Flame – Prompting the Dapperness
10. The Rootdowns – Boogie In My Room – Songs with Friends
11. Sister Sparrow & The Dirty Birds – Lasso – Pound of Dirt
12. Dumpstaphunk – Blues

Rosanne Cash performs on June 14 at Blue Ridge Music Center | File photo

http://www.blueridgemusiccenter.org

June 1 – Tennessee Traditions: Mike Bryant & Joe Decosimo / dancer – Thomas Maupin & Daniel Rothwell / Roan Mountain Hilltoppers 7pm $10
June 8 – Mountain Duets: South Carolina Broadcasters /  Eddie & Bonnie Bond / Mac & Jenny Traynham. 7pm $10
FRI June 14 – Music Royalty: Rosanne Cash & John Leventhal / Wayne Henderson & Friends 7pm $20
June 22 – Hot Pickers Show: The Kruger Brothers / Buckstankle Boys 7pm $15
June 29 – Glorious Gospel: The Primitive Quartet / The Easter Brothers & Easter Family 2pm gospel singing workshop. Concert 3pm $15
July 6 – Holiday Concert & Squaredance: Slate Mountain Ramblers / New Southern Ramblers with caller Phil Jamison. Squaredance lesson 6pm. Concert 7pm $10
July 13 – Tar Heel Hoedown: Riley Baugus, dancer – Ira Bernstein & the Stuart Brothers. Flatfoot workshop 6pm. Concert 7pm $10
July 20 – Whitetop – Passing It On: Whitetop Mountaineers / The Crooked Road Ramblers. 7pm $10
July 27 – Blue Ridge Bluegrass: Big Country Bluegrass / Marshall Brothers 7pm $15
SUN Aug 4 – Music On The Mountain: Balsam Range / Cullen’s Bridge 7pm $15
Aug 10 No Concert – Enjoy the Old Fiddlers’ Convention in Galax!
Aug 17 – Sundown Blues: John Dee Hollman / dancer – Williette Hinton / Lightnin’ Wells. Uke workshop 5pm. Concert 7pm $10
Aug 24 – Bluegrass Gospel: Travis Frye & Blue Mountain / Gospel Plowboys 7pm $10
Aug 31 – Virginia Stringbands: The Wolfe Brothers / Skeeter & The Skidmarks 7pm $10

Children 12 and under are free. Advance tickets available at Barrs Fiddle Shop, the Galax Visitor Center, online at BlueRidgeMusicCenter.org or at the gate.
info: (276) 236-5309 x112

Concerts are made possible with the support of the Blue Ridge Parkway Foundation and National Park Service. The Blue Ridge Music Center is located at milepost 213 on the Blue Ridge Parkway only 10 miles from Galax, Virginia and 20 miles from Mount Airy, North Carolina. Music Center hours: 10am-5pm open everyday after May 23rd. Bring a picnic, folding chairs, your friends and the whole family! No alcohol or pets. Smokehouse BBQ available on concert nights. The Blue Ridge Music Center has mainstage concerts every weekend through August in the outdoor amphitheater at the foot of beautiful Fisher Peak. Also enjoy free Mid Day Mountain Music 12-4pm daily and the free Roots of American Music museum.

From the new Poe Mack CD, “Poe Mack on D.R.U.G.S,” here’s a new video, “Tragedy or Triumph,” featuring the reliably goofy Stevie D. and the bemused-acting Sierra Wofford. And of course, Stevie can’t go without some salty language, so if your children try to watch this, smack them and send them to their rooms.

Leftover Salmon | Courtesy Alicia J. Rose

http://roosterwalk.com/

THURSDAY – VIPs Only
8 p.m. – Riggs Roberson
9  – Rob Cheatham & Gunchux
10:30 – Funk Punch

FRIDAY
4 p.m. – Boy Named Banjo
4:45 – Travis Book (Infamous Stringdusters)
5:45 – The Floorboards
7 – Lizzy Ross
8:30 – Larry & Jenny Keel w/ Sammy Shelor
10 – Yarn
11:35 – KUNG FU
Late – Kings of Belmont

SATURDAY
11 a.m. – Virginia All Steel Orchestra
11:30 – Justin Johnson
12:15 p.m. – Hot Twang
1:15 – Hotel de Ville
2:30 – Yankee Dixie
3:30 – Mandolin Orange
4:30 – Common Foundation
5:30 – Sanctum Sully
6:45 – Dangermuffin
8 – The Steepwater Band
9 – Leftover Salmon
10:35 – Josh Panda & the Hot Damned
11:45 – Ivan Neville’s Dumpstaphunk
Late – Sister Sparrow & the Dirty Birds

SUNDAY
11:30 a.m. – Patriot Players
Noon – Bear Mountain Picnic
1 – Big Fat Gap
2 – After Jack
3 – Stephane Wrembel & His Band
4:30 – The Stickley Brothers
5:45 – Dave Eggar, Amber Rubarth & Deoro
7 – L Shape Lot
8:15 – Yarn
10 – Space Capone

WORKSHOP STAGE SCHEDULE
SATURDAY
10:30 a.m. – Funk Punch Brunch
12:15 p.m. – Magic Show – Caleb Johnston
2 – Bear Mountain Picnic
3:45 – Empire Strikes Brass
5:45 – Songwriting Workshop – Andrew Marlin (Mandolin Orange)

SUNDAY
12:15 – Broken Levees
2:15 – Patriot Players
4:45 – Levi’s Gene Pool

SILENT DISCO
FRIDAY NIGHT
Rometti
Agent
Epic Platonics
Phil Dice

SATURDAY
Phil Dice
Pressee
Agent
Rometti

Rio Semione in a photo from several years ago with her dog, Lila | facebook.com

It’s almost surreal to me, as Rio Semione has been a presence in my working life ever since I started covering music at the paper, and longer, in fact. The longtime artist relations representative at FloydFest died unexpectedly on Saturday at her home in Floyd County. Semione was 60, and had lived in Floyd for about 36 years.

I didn’t know Semione extremely well, as many did, but every time I ran across her — either in real time or online — she was interesting, with a lot of spirit and a legitimate point of view about music and culture. And let me tell you, to be an artist relations rep at a festival like FloydFest, a person needs to be firm but cool. She was both.

She had also been events planner at The Sun Music Hall and Cultural Arts Center and had booked and promoted shows at The Pine Tavern in those venues’ previous iterations. But she had been involved with FloydFest in one way or another since the first year, when she supervised hospitality for the musicians.

George Penn Jr., a drummer with several local acts, has been a stage host at several FloydFests and got to know her well. In response to an e-mail query, he wrote: “She was a positive force, an integral part of the Floyd community. I always enjoyed seeing her behind the scenes at FloydFest and other musical events in the area. We bonded over reggae music, especially Awareness Art Ensemble (1st popular reggae at in VA). Bless Rio’s sweet soul.”

She was an artist in her own right, as well. Among her other talents was pumpkin-carving, and not just gashing out some rough teeth and eyes. Check out this soundslide from 2006, with her describing her process and talking a bit about herself and life in her county. She taught pumpkin-carving, too, and I’d imagine her method was sound.

UPDATE 5.24.13: In response to phone and e-mail queries, I have gathered responses to Semione’s death from several FloydFest folks. I used portions of these for the column that runs in Saturday’s paper. Below are fuller thoughts on their good friend.

Erika Johnson, FloydFest co-founder:

Personally, although Rio has always been at the core of the original center of the ‘Floyd Community’ (and Kris and others know her from those days as well), I got to know her, of course, through FoydFest. She was our earliest and most enthusiastic submission for our first annual ‘Floyd World Music Harvest Festival (can you *believe* that?! – thank God ‘FloydFest’ just kind of naturally came out of that!) artwork competition, and entered a beautiful, hand drawn black and white graphic design. We were equally taken by both her design, and the colorful, dancing flowers by Rick Cooley, and thus just called it a ‘tie’ and split the prize money between the two of them.. Rio was thrilled with the $500, but even more than that, just so happy that we liked what she’d produced, and that her own art would be part of the inaugural event.

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