Country Rock Favorites at Library Saturday Broadstone Kicks Off Tour This Weekend Country rock band Broadstone will perform live this Saturday at the Library in Boone before embarking on its 2006 “Throw It To Your Head” Tour. Photo submitted By Jeff Eason For a lot of bands in North Carolina, there’s country and then there’s rock and roll…and never the twain shall meet. That’s not the philosophy of High Country band Broadstone. They love that type of hybrid music featuring a country heart with a rock and roll beat. They can take a song like Van Morrison’s “Brown Eyed Girl” and infuse it with enough country music soul to get all the boots on the floor. Or they can take a tune like Jimmy Buffett’s ballad “Margaritaville” and rock it up a few notches. Broadstone will perform live this Saturday, January 28th at the Library Restaurant and Pub in Boone. The show starts at 10 p.m. and admission is $5 per person. The Library show is the opening date of the band’s “Throw It To Your Head” Tour. “Three of us are from here so we decided that this year we would start our tour off in the town where it all began,” explained James Jestes, lead vocalist and rhythm guitarist for Broadstone. “There is nothing like playing music for the people you grew up with and the folks you see every day. They are by far the best fans we have and our fans are why we put everything we’ve got into our shows.” Joining Jestes in Broadstone are bassist Kenneth Reece, vocalist and drummer Brad Martin, and vocalist and lead guitarist Joe Crisp. The band has been together with this particular lineup for several years and displays a musical and vocal tightness that only comes from playing together for so long. “This has always been about music, friendship and having a great time,” said Jestes. Saturday’s show will be the first time that Broadstone has played at the Library since late last year. “The audience and staff there were awesome,” said Jestes of the Library. “That’s why we picked The Library to start off our new year.” It looks as if 2006 will the busiest yet for Broadstone, a band that hosted the stage at the Biltmore Estate’s Wine Festival last year. “This year we are busier than ever,” said Jestes. “We have added some new shows on the North Carolina coast, Virginia and Tennessee. That combined with school and our jobs is going to make for a very interesting year. But we love playing so it’s worth every mile and sleepless night.” Broadstone has a self-produced album to its credit called All Covered Up and are looking forward to another trip to the recording studio. For more information on Saturday’s show, call the Library at (828) 262-5772.