BB&T Blue Skies and Golden Sands, NC SYMPHONY IN THE PARK::

Saturday, May 23 2009
7:30PM

BB&T Blue Skies and Golden Sands
to Tour the Coastal Carolinas
Bank Sponsors North Carolina Symphony's Concert
Featuring North Carolina Artists, Beach Music and Shagging

Raleigh, NC- Over two dozen artists will share the stage with the North Carolina Symphony in BB&T Blue Skies and Golden Sands, a celebration of the coastal Carolinas that continues a musical journey that began with Blue Skies and Red Earth in the fall of 2006. Concerts take place Friday and Saturday, March 27 & 28 at 8pm and on Sunday, March 29 at 3pm in Meymandi Concert Hall at the Progress Energy Center for the Performing Arts in Raleigh. The Symphony will take the show on tour May 19-23 to Charlotte, NC, Columbia, SC, Hilton Head, SC, Murrells Inlet, SC and Wilmington, NC (complete schedule below).

The all-star cast includes Legends of Beach, a band comprised of five former members of The Embers. Also joining the Symphony are the Monitors, the Gospel Jubilators, Native American flutist Arnold Richardson, vocalist and concertina player Jeff Warner, vocalist Laurelyn Dossett, and dancers Heidi Kulas and Tyler Mercereau. NPR's Frank Stasio will be the narrator.

Conceived, in part, to celebrate the orchestra's 75th anniversary, the 2006 Blue Skies and Red Earth concerts brought the orchestra together with some of North Carolina's finest folk musicians for a grand homage to the state's musical heritage. But in spite of the sheer depth and breadth of the homegrown traditions showcased in Blue Skies and Red Earth, those performances by no means exhausted North Carolina's musical resources.

"There is such a wealth of talent and tradition here, and we want to provide a showcase for all the many facets of North Carolina's musical and cultural life throughout its rich history," said vice president for artistic operations and general manager Scott Freck. "The coastal region has been alive with music for centuries, whether played and sung by its original inhabitants or brought over from Europe and Africa. More recently, we were particularly fascinated by the adaptation of rhythm & blues styles into the Carolina staple known as beach music."

Beach music, with its unique rhythms and moods is, as most native Carolinians know, the inspiration for a style of swing dancing known as the Carolina Shag. Once found most commonly at beach clubs and dance pavilions from Wilmington to Myrtle Beach, shag dancing is now performed all over the Southeast and has even become the official dance of both North and South Carolina.

BB&T Blue Skies and Golden Sands both celebrates this music and explores its roots as well, diving deeply into the history of coastal Carolina music. The concert begins with a tribute to the first music makers and dancers of eastern North Carolina, the many Native American tribes who first inhabited the region, and continues through the centuries right up to the beach music that still rocks Carolina nights.

"BB&T is very pleased to continue its long-standing support of the North Carolina Symphony as the primary sponsor of this exciting tour," says H. Wade Reece, BB&T Insurance Services CEO. "This celebration of our coastal Carolina musical heritage will create memorable, educational, and fun experiences for all ages."

Music Director Grant Llewellyn is looking forward to performing this enduring music with the orchestra. "As a Welshman," he says, "I come from a country of people who love to sing and play traditional music. Our Blue Skies and Red Earth program was my first introduction to the music of North Carolina and I'm thrilled to continue my education, this time in the music of the coastal Carolinas, and bring it to new audiences in our area."

About BB&T Corporation
With $137 billion in assets, Winston-Salem, N.C.-based BB&T Corporation is the nation's 12th largest financial holding company. It operates more than 1,500 financial centers in 11 states and Washington, D.C. More information about the company is available at http://www.bbt.com.