By Marla Ballard
Reporter
DEKALB COUNTY - Mentone Arts Center is a community art center created and supported by the community and works to preserve and promote the rich culture of music and art in the Appalachia region. MAC is a 501c3 nonprofit corporation. The center offers a wide range of social and educational activities.
On June 6, at 6:30 p.m. MAC welcomes back Hall-of-Fame banjo player and singer-songwriter Jim Connor for the monthly Music on the Mountain Songwriters Series. Connor will be the feature of the Nashville-style songwriters round. He is best known for writing the hit song “Grandma’s Feather Bed,” made famous by John Denver.
Connor was a member of the Kingston Trio (1968 - 1973). Earlier he had formed a duo with Richard Lockmiller called R & J. They toured Europe and England with success; and recorded an album while in London. They also opened Barbra Streisand’s original New York Nightclub Show. Connor has played harmonica for Claire Lynch and Linda Ronstadt, and appeared in Specials with dozens of famous Nashville and Hollywood Stars including Dolly Parton and John Denver.
In 2018 Connor was inducted into the Alabama Bluegrass Hall of Fame. He and his wife Dr. Cynthia Connor have a longtime connection with Mentone, they were married in 1988 at St Joseph’s on-the-Mountain Episcopal Church and had their reception at the Mentone Springs Hotel.
The opening songwriters round will include Scott Henderson, Buck Buckner and
Jon Kinsey. Award-winning songwriter and Mentone resident Craig Henricks will serve as the event’s host. The event is free to the public, however any donations/tips will be given to the songwriters for their travel expenses.
Join the MAC on June 15, at 5:30 for their Summer Social honoring their second quarter Artists of the Month: Balpha Noojin (April); Eugenia Johnston (May); and Sweet Tea Pottery’s David and Tina Pendley (June). Refreshments served. Event is free.
Music lovers should mark their calendar’s for July 14, at 7:00 p.m. for a return performance from Gwen Hughes and the Kats. Hughes is an American jazz singer, songwriter, and actress based in Atlanta, Georgia. She has released six albums on Fairfield Records, starting with “Torch Life” in the 1990s up until her newest album, “Dancing in the Moonlight.”
Hughes is known as a musical explorer, her latest singles fuse jazz with EDM (electronic dance music) and hip-hop. The Atlanta Journal-Constitution declared, “Gwen Hughes was swinging before swinging was cool.” Reservations are $25 in advance and $30 on the day of the show. Reserve general admission seats at https://square.link/u/gSdTCh7H.
Visitors to MAC will find: oil and watercolor paintings, pottery, glass, jewelry, woven works, sculptures, and more. Located at 5951 Alabama Highway 117, Mentone in the Chuck Sennett Center for the Arts. More information at mentoneartscenter.org or call 256-674-3366. Hours of operation are: Thursday - Monday 10:00 a.m. - 4:00 p.m.
