‘This May be the Last Time’

Joe Penland wears many hats: old-time ballad singer, songwriter, historian and irrepressible raconteur. Joe, who lives in Marshall, North Carolina,  will be in concert the Madison County Arts Center, 90 S. Main Street, Marshall, on Saturday, November  9, at 7:30 p.m. This show is entitled, “This May be the Last Time.”

“Joe’s stories make you thirsty for more local history,” said Laura Boosinger, executive director of the Madison County Arts Council. The one about “walking four miles while 8½ months pregnant to sing for an Englishman conjures up enough images to last the whole evening,” she said. “And then there’s that one about the rooster riding the chicken coop down the French Broad.”

Penland’s running commentary of growing up in rural Madison County and along the banks of the mighty French Broad have made him one of the South’s most beloved storytellers and songwriters. Deemed “A Cultural Treasure,” Joe’s award-winning Appalachian ballad singing and storytelling have made him a favorite at festivals and folk venues on both sides of the Atlantic. In 2005 he won the prestigious Bascom Lamar Lunsford Award, named for his cousin and founder of the longest continually running folk festival in America.

Tickets and information are available by contacting the Madison County Arts Council at (828) 649-1301 or by visiting www.madisoncountyarts.com.