BoCO Summer Concert Series at the Turnage was a Mixed Success | Eastern North Carolina Now

    The three piece ensemble, Uncle Mountain, from Asheville, NC are a young group of musicians, who are striving to carve out their niche as a band with a more eclectic flair. Their original melodies ranged from a random collection of flat notes with off-beat harmonizing vocalization to a indie pop fusion that kept one guessing as to what was melodically around the bend.

    Reminded me a bit of The Fleet Foxes with a good bit of headroom to explore an advancement in projecting who they were yet to become. Well, they are young, and youth is always a great proving-ground for change.

Uncle Mountain consists of Ryan Furstenberg, Ryan Lassiter, Dan Shearin. The future is yours. There's no mistake in that: Above and below.     photos by Stan Deatherage
The bassist for Uncle Mount made a fashion statement by not wearing shoes and remained barefoot throughout their entire set. The Barefoot Movement; however, made a larger fashion statement by all four members of the group remaining barefoot throughout their entire evening at the Turnage Theater: Above and then below.     photos by Stan Deatherage

    Going barefoot throughout an evening, while performing on stage, is quite a gimmick - maybe a movement of sorts, an expression of commitment. Regardless, The Barefoot Movement, was my personal high point of BoCO Summer Series, and actually, in their one night's performance climbed into the ranks of some the best acts to have ever played the Turnage Theater. With apologies to the many other acts that have played the Turnage, and that I have not seen on stage, I was dumbstruck by the pure talent, and the remarkable blending of that talent within the context of this barefoot quartet, which produced such a rich textured sound that was so simple to understand, and yet so complex in their earnest communication of their obvious intent.

    Their aggregate youth as a band, Quentin Acres (on guitar in the hat) is the oldest at 24, belies their abilities to deliver a powerful musical message. At 12.00 a ticket, which was the price of every ticket for every seat during the entire BoCO Summer Concert Series, I felt that I was bequeathed a great bargain, leaving me funds to purchase their CD.

    In this economy a bargain is always a great find. Discovering a band of this measurable talent, as exhibited on stage and on compact disk, is an even grander reward.

Above: Barefoot Movement, from left to right: Tommy Norris - Mandolin, Noah Wall - Fiddle and Vocals, Quentin Acres - Guitar, Hasec Ciaccio - Stand-up Bass. Noah Wall, at 23, lays down some mighty riffs on the fiddle, as if she was born playing the instrument. She actually sings as well as she plays: Below.     photos by Stan Deatherage

    Remarkably, Barefoot Movement, as an entity, came together at East Tennessee State University, where the precocious Noah Wall and Quentin Acres were introduced by a zealous professor bent on musical match making. There was no romance involved here, other than the fact that I fell in love with their melodic chemistry, and I will take the opportunity in the future to do a feature on these outstanding music makers when I cn find the precious time.

   Barefoot Movement, on their own musical volition, nearly redeemed the entire BoCO Summer Series by the sheer strength of their amazing musical instincts and intuition. It was worth every meager 12.00 per ticket I paid to enjoy much of the other musicians to find this fine band of youngsters.

    If I may reiterate: This made the BoCO Summer Concert Series a rewarding experience for me. I hope you may find the same good fun that I experienced, so ... buy a ticket ... live a little.