Latest News, WVPA Sharing

Annual Hank Williams tribute concert scheduled for Jan. 9 in Charleston

Hank Williams
Hank Williams

The 15th annual Hank Williams tribute concert will take place in Charleston at the Clay Center for the Arts Sciences’ Maier Performance Hall at 7:30 p.m. on Saturday, Jan. 9. Tickets are $25. 

Known as the “Hillbilly Shakespeare,” Williams was a star of the Grand Ole Opry and a best-selling songwriter, known for composing such hit songs as “Cold, Cold Heart,” “Jambalaya” and “I’m So Lonesome I Could Cry.” He was among the first artists to be inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame in Nashville. His music remains popular today, especially in West Virginia, where he passed away on New Year’s Day 1952 in Oak Hill.

A special guest at this year’s concert will be Nashville steel guitarist Billy Robinson, who appeared with Williams and other country music legends during the late 1940s and 1950s. Robinson accompanied Williams on his Grand Ole Opry debut in 1949, when the singing star was called back to the stage for an unprecedented seven encores. 

Also appearing at the Clay Center show will be Charleston singer John Lilly and Ashland, Kentucky, vocalist Rob McNurlin. Other band members will include Buddy Griffin (fiddle), Ritchie Collins and Robert Shafer (guitars).

The Jan. 9 performance will include many songs made famous by Williams, as well as several lesser-known songs, some of which Williams released under his pseudonym “Luke the Drifter.”

The two-hour concert is cosponsored by the Woody Hawley Concert Series and by the Kanawha Valley Friends of Old-Time Music and Dance (FOOTMAD).

Tickets are available in advance by phone at 304-561-3570 or online at www.theclaycenter.org.

 

For more information, contact the Woody Hawley Concert Series at 304-561-3570 or visit www.woodyhawleyconcerts.com

Comments are closed.

Subscribe to Our Newsletter

Subscribe to Our Newsletter

And get our latest content in your inbox

Invalid email address