There will be a free concert held by the The Elkville String Band on Saturday, December 19 from 2 to 2:45 pm at the Blue Ridge Parkway Visitor Centers&bsp; Indoor Theater.

The Elkville String Band from Wilkes County performs old-time mountain music, playing mostly older music, but also some newer compositions from band members Drake Walsh and Jeff Michael. The band consists of Drake Walsh (fiddle and mandolin), Herb Key (guitar and singing), Bill Williams (harmony singing and bass), and Jeff Michael (banjo, fiddle, guitar, and singing).

Band members are very interested in local and regional music. The band served for three years as house band for the Wilkes Playmakers annual production of Tom Dooley, a Wilkes County Legend. The Elkville String Band has also won two Paul Green Multimedia Awards presented by The North Carolina Society of Historians, Inc.

In 2006, they recorded a version of the ballad Otto Wood on the 75th anniversary of the year Otto Wood was shot. The song was released as a single and was included on the album Carolina Scrap Book – Volume Two, which was produced by the Kruger Brothers and features Wilkes County and regional musicians.

In case of inclement weather, please call 298-5330 (ext. 305 or 301). More information about the performers can be found online in the Traditional Artist Directory of the Blue Ridge National Heritage Area: www.blueridgeheritage.com.