By Susanne Reynolds

Special to The Post-Searchlight

The Carter Arts & Lecture Series at Bainbridge State College is pleased to bring “An Afternoon of Bluegrass in the Wiregrass” to on Sunday, Oct. 16, beginning at 2:30 p.m., in the Charles H. Kirbo Regional Center auditorium.

Flatt Lonesome, the 2016 Bluegrass Band of the Year and regulars at the Grand Ole Opry, will headline the event.

Since their debut in 2011, Flatt Lonesome has enjoyed a nearly unprecedented trip to place them among bluegrass’ elite. Bluegrass Today calls them “the sort of band bluegrass needs right now” and says their brand of original bluegrass is “some of the freshest our genre has been offered in a while.”

Stellar picking and heartfelt songs centered around beautiful sibling harmony have made Flatt Lonesome a hit among bluegrass fans both young and old and their vibrant, youthful spirit with careful respect towards tradition has earned the praise of peers twice their age.

Awards include: IBMA Emerging Artist of the Year (2014), SPBGMA Bluegrass Band of the Year (2016), IBMA Vocal Group of the Year nominee (2015), Frequent performers on at the Grand Ole Opry; Runaway Train (2015 Album) SPBGMA Album of the Year (2016), Debuted at #2 on Billboard Bluegrass, Includes the #1 hit, “You’re The One”, Three Top Five Songs, and Six charting singles. Recently the group claimed three International Bluegrass Music Association (IBMA) awards: 2016 Vocal Group of the Year, Album of the Year; and Song of the Year.

The Bottom Dollar Boys featuring Bainbridge native and Georgia Music Hall of Fame inductee fiddle player, Max Tillman, will open for Flatt Lonesome.

For over 40 years, The Bottom Dollar Boys of Tallahassee have been entertaining audiences near and far. The talents of Fred “Butch” Burns, lead singer and mandolinist; Brent Kittrell, upright bassist and harmony vocalist; Lee Kotick, guitarist; David “Fiddle Britches” Langston, fiddler; and Donovan Wiseman, banjo, make up The Bottom Dollar Boys. Their traditional Bluegrass harmonies and heartfelt picking are sure to capture any audience’s attention—and bring the joy they feel for Bluegrass music to all.

Max Tillman, of Bainbridge, fiddler, is an iconic ambassador of bluegrass music and has a long and storied career as one of the world’s finest country and bluegrass fiddlers. Tillman has traveled the world playing his fiddle, starting as a little boy watching barn dances and then learning to fiddle.

Throughout his honorable military career, Tillman played fiddle in various combinations during the Korean War. When returning to the States, Tillman and his buddies were known as the “Country Grunts,” and played country and bluegrass in the Alabama, Florida and Georgia areas. 

Tillman is often requested to play in Australia. Numerous newspaper articles have been published about Tillman, with the most recent feature article appearing in Bluegrass Unlimited. He was inducted into the Georgia Music Hall of Fame in 2006. Max and his son, Pat Tillman, are promoters for two festivals a year known as the Great Southern Music Festival, held in Ochlocknee, GA.

Please note: A ticket is required for entry to this event only since there is limited seating. Tickets are free and open to the public. For ticket registration, please visit www.bainbridge.edu or call 229.243.6078.