West Virginia Folklife Apprenticeship Showcase:

Fiddle, Blues & Gospel

Wednesday, January 16, 5:30-7:30pm

West Virginia Humanities Council Headquarters

Historic MacFarland-Hubbard House

1310 Kanawha Blvd E., Charleston

Please us on the evening of January 16th for our second Folklife Apprenticeship Showcase, featuring master gospel and blues musician Doris Fields (aka Lady D) with apprentice Xavier Oglesby, and master old-time fiddler John D. Morris with apprentice Jen Iskow.

The event will be held from 5:30-7:30pm at the historic MacFarland-Hubbard House, headquarters of the West Virginia Humanities Council (1310 Kanawha Blvd. E), in Charleston. The evening will include musical performances by the two pairs and a question-answer session. A reception with light refreshments will follow. The event is free and open to the public, but guests should RSVP here or by calling 304.346.8500.

Doris Fields, who performs as Lady D, is known as West Virginia’s First Lady of Soul. A West Virginia native, she began singing in church choir as a child and has performed original and traditional blues, gospel, R&B, and soul across the state and country, including for the Obama for Change Inaugural Ball. Xavier Oglesby grew up singing in the black Pentecostal church and has performed in local a capella and theatre groups. He recently recorded voiceovers for the New River Gorge African American Heritage Auto Tour. Both Fields and Oglesby reside in Beckley.

John D. Morris, of Ivydale, is an acclaimed West Virginia fiddler and tradition bearer who has been honored by the Augusta Heritage Center, the West Virginia Music Hall of Fame, and the West Virginia Fiddler Award for his role in sustaining the tradition. Jen Iskow, of Thomas, is a West Virginia University alumni, community organizer, artist, and designer at Beartown Design Studio. She has studied with numerous masters of Appalachian old-time fiddle.

The West Virginia Folklife Apprenticeship Program offers a stipend to West Virginia master traditional artists or tradition bearers working with qualified apprentices on a year-long in-depth apprenticeship in their cultural expression or traditional art form. These apprenticeships aim to facilitate the transmission of techniques and artistry of the forms, as well as their histories and traditions. 2018 is the first year of the biennial Folklife Apprenticeship Program.