Larry Sigmon and Martha Spencer return to the Historic Earle Theatre with their Unique Sound of the Mountains show on Saturday, April 9 at 7 p.m.
Larry Sigmon was born in Callaway, Virginia. His father, Lewis Eldridge Sigmon, was a locally beloved banjo and fiddle player. Larry Sigmon taught himself harmonica as a child and then moved to guitar, learning to play by backing up his father. When he took up the banjo at 15, it became his main instrument, and he developed a signature hard-driving, rhythmic style.
The younger Sigmon’s first band was the Sugar Hill Ramblers, a six-piece group that performed old-time tunes and old country numbers for six years. He went on to play stints with Carl Scott and Richard Bowman until the late 1980s when he met bassist Barbara Poole at a local fiddlers’ convention.
He and Poole began performing together, winning countless ribbons in banjo, bass, and folk song competitions and playing at festivals, dances, and other concert venues. Their sound was so distinctive with just the banjo, bass, and Sigmon’s distinct singing, they became known as the “Unique Sound,” and gained a dedicated local following, particularly among flatfoot dancers.
The two drew upon a repertoire of old-time and bluegrass songs from Charlie Poole to Jimmy Martin and Bill Monroe, making songs their own through Sigmon’s strong vocals and Poole’s double-slap bass. Throughout their 18-year career, the duo performed at the Carter Family Fold, the Grand Ole Opry, and mountain music festivals throughout the South, becoming one of the most popular bands in the Blue Ridge Mountains until Poole passed away in 2008 after a long struggle with cancer.
Sigmon had quit performing until old-time musician and advocate Martha Spencer arrived to interview him for her online documentary project, Mountain Music Magazine. Like Sigmon, Spencer was raised in a musical family, the daughter of acclaimed old-time musicians Thornton and Emily Spencer and a longtime member of their family group, the Whitetop Mountain Band.
During their interview, she encouraged Sigmon to play some tunes, joining him on bass and playing Poole’s signature spirited double-slap style. The two took to each other immediately, and the “Unique Sound” was reborn.
This performance at the Historic Earle Theatre is part of the Surry Art Council’s Blue Ridge and Beyond Series. Tickets are $12 per person. For additional information or tickets, visit www.surryarts.org, call 336-786-7998, or email marianna@surryarts.org.
Source: https://www.mtairynews.com
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