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Canvas

Earl Scruggs, Red Clay Ramblers to unleash season's first taste of American roots music

North Carolina native Earl Scruggs is bringing his banjo back home.

Shelby-born and Shelby-raised, Scruggs started picking the banjo when he was four. Since then, he has gone on to write the hit country theme song to The Beverly Hillbillies sitcome, win two Grammy awards and be inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame. The three-finger technique he developed has since become a staple of the bluegrass style.

Scruggs is the third of a line of renowned performances from Memorial Hall this year. He takes the stage with country string group and fellow North Carolinians the Red Clay Ramblers tomorrow night. (The Ramblers return to campus in April as the stage band for PlayMakers’ Repertory Company’s production of “Big River.”)

But if you haven’t gotten tickets, don’t expect to grab them at the door. Scruggs’ show has been sold out for weeks.

“Whenever we bring out our key names, the heavy hitters, we certainly expect our students will come out in droves,” Harry Kaplowitz, marketing manager for Carolina Performing Arts, said.

CPA has had a consistently strong series promoting the American roots genre. Scruggs perfectly embodies the series’ theme, Kaplowitz said.

In the past, Memorial Hall has hosted blues singer Bonnie Raitt and bluegrass banjoist Béla Fleck. Fleck, who picked up a banjo because of Scruggs told Kaplowitz his work wouldn’t have been possible without him.

“Earl Scruggs revolutionized bluegrass,” Kaplowitz said. “To be able to present a living legend – that’s important to our series.”

Earl Scruggs and the Red Clay Ramblers are performing Wednesday night at 7:30 in Memorial Hall. If you missed the chance for tickets, tune in for Canvas’s review after the show.

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