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Storytelling musician brings smiles
to the aisles at Hayes Center
Fiddler, guitar player, singer
and storyteller Mike Cross returns to the Hayes Center
in Blowing Rock this month.
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Mike Cross didn’t pick up a guitar until his junior year
in college. In fact, he was planning to become a professional
golfer. Fortunately, a high school sweetheart altered his golfing
future, and the weather (plus the flu) sealed his musical destiny.
The Tennessee-born Cross, who had lived and breathed golf since
he was 10, sold his clubs prior to heading off to UNC-Chapel
Hill, where he gave up his golf scholarship to pursue medicine
in order to impress his girl; they broke up his freshman year.
Without a putter, a four-iron or a spousal prospect, a new preoccupation
was just waiting to take hold. Thankfully, along came a snowstorm
and a faulty immune system that left an ailing Cross stranded
for two days in a friend’s dorm room, where the roommate’s
guitar leaned seductively against the wall. Boredom and obsession
prevailed as Cross spent the next couple of days learning how
to play his first chords and songs, thus sealing his fate as
a popular singer-songwriter who 20 years, 13 albums and hundreds
of concerts later, entertains crowds from Boston’s Symphony
Hall to outdoor music festivals in California.
Back by popular demand after last year’s sold out performance,
the Hayes Performing Arts Center presents Cross in concert for
one night only, February 28 at 7:30pm.
The guitarist-fiddler’s Appalachian mountain upbringing,
a region renowned for its storytellers and songwriters, clearly
contributes to Cross’ unique stylings. His shows teem with
backwoods wit and folksy charm in the vein of Will Rogers and
Mark Twain as much as they delight audiences with a blend of
12-string bottleneck blues, fiery Irish jigs, original music
and tall tales. In other words, the self-proclaimed “wandering
hillbilly hippie folk singer” will simultaneously pull
your leg and set your toes to tapping.
Tickets are $32, $20 students, and are available now by calling
the Box Office at 828-295-9627. You may pay by credit card or
by cash (in person). Tickets can also be purchased online at
www.HayesCenter.org by credit card. Special group rates are
also available. Season and Flex Passes can be purchased and
used throughout the entire ’09 season.
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