Alison Brown Quintet performing with Wayne Henderson & Friends at the Blue Ridge Music Center

The Blue Ridge Music Center presents Alison Brown Quintet performing with Wayne Henderson & Friends live in concert at its outdoor amphitheater on the Blue Ridge Parkway (Milepost 213) just south of Galax, Va., just north of Mount Airy, N.C. and just east of Sparta, N.C.

One of the most multi-faceted minds in roots music, Alison Brown is a Grammy-winning musician, Grammy-nominated producer, and one of The First Ladies of Bluegrass – an elite group of women who were the first in their categories to win Instrument of the Year awards from the International Bluegrass Music Association. Brown began her musical career as a teenager in the Southern California bluegrass scene, and has built a reputation as one of today’s most forward thinking and innovative banjo players. She is known for taking the instrument far beyond its Appalachian roots by blending bluegrass and jazz influences into a sonic tapestry that has earned praise and recognition.

Wayne Henderson is an accomplished luthier and performer from Rugby, Va. He developed a unique guitar-picking style using a thumbpick and fingerpicks that mimics the sound of flatpicking — producing fast, accurate, clean notes. In addition to handcrafting guitars that are coveted by musicians around the world, Henderson has won more than 300 ribbons at fiddlers’ convention competitions, is a National Endowment for the Arts National Heritage Fellow, and was part of the Masters of the Steel String Guitar tours.