EVENING SHOWS
May-October
Join us at the Jackson Theatre for the Story Power performance, featuring Bil Lepp, a live auction, and the musical traditions of Nest of Singing Birds. Experience a powerful evening of story and song while supporting the International Storytelling Center’s mission and programs.
Josh grew up in Madison County, North Carolina surrounded by the music and stories of his ancestors. He is a highly accomplished storyteller and old-time, bluegrass, and swing musician playing close to 20 instruments. His fiddling was featured in the movie Songcatcher, both onscreen and on the soundtrack. He has performed in all 50 states, throughout Europe, Asia, and Australia and gracing such stages as the Lincoln Center, Carnegie Hall, and The Grand Ole Opry.
Traveling the world, making friends and music, Lipbone is a one-man orchestra and award-winning collaborator, who makes stories into songs, and songs into birds. In his early days, he left his home in North Carolina to live in New York City, where he busked nightly for three years in Subways. Those early experiences have led to many adventures and accolades. He is currently an artist-in-residence at Oak Grove Retreat, in Tarboro, North Carolina. His style is groove-inspired, unique, and heartfelt, paying tribute to influences from around the globe, Lipbone is uncompromisingly true to his own voice and music.
Storyteller and musician Adam Booth is the 2022 West Virginia Folk Artist of the Year. Adam blends traditional mountain folklore, music, and an awareness of contemporary Appalachia to create original, forward-thinking story artistry. As a nationally touring artist, his professional path has spanned the Kennedy Center Millennium Stage, a commission from the National Academy of Medicine, a Spoken Word Residency at the Banff Centre (Alberta, Canada), and arts events in across 30 U.S. states. Adam serves as the inaugural Storyteller-In-Residence at Shepherd University.
Featured at the National Cowboy Poetry Gathering for the past several years, Brigid Reedy has become a singular young voice representing her beloved home state of Montana. A charismatic performer since the age of two when she first yodeled at the Pioneer Saloon, Brigid (now in her 20s) has traveled widely, carrying with her boundless enthusiasm, grace, passion, and soul. Brigid will be joined by her little brother, Johnny “Guitar” Reedy, who at only 15 has transcended the role of sideman, becoming a full-fledged collaborator, possessing a phenomenal gift for rhythm and extraordinary musical sensibilities.
With a manic, Silly Putty voice, hilarious, heart-filled stories, and amazing mouth noises, (arguably the greatest whistler in the world), Andy Offutt Irwin has been described as “The Marx Brothers meet Eudora Welty.” Irwin is a keynote speaker, theater director, songwriter, comedian, newspaper columnist, and Shakespearian actor. His appearances have taken him across the U.S., including the Library of Congress and Walt Disney World.
Designated an American Masterpiece Touring Artist by the NEA, Elizabeth Ellis grew up in the Appalachian Mountains hearing stories from her grandfather, a mountain minister. The “Divine Miss E” is a versatile and riveting teller of Appalachian and Texas tales and stories of heroic American women, though her personal stories are arguably her best.
Storyteller, actress, teaching artist, and writer, Sarah Brady taught communication and theater at Hampton University before making her way toward the storytelling world in 2014. Sarah’s telling spans genres of historical, traditional, literary, and personal tales, while her awards include being chosen the Sunburst Performing Artist of the Year by Arts for Learning Virginia. Passionate about stories that help us see each other and the world around us, she specializes in finding the heart of each story she tells.
Welsh storyteller and author Daniel Morden has been a professional storyteller for more than 30 years. He has traveled across the world, from the Arctic to the Pacific to the Caribbean, to tell and hear traditional stories. With an engaging manner, Morden humorously and compassionately confronts serious existential questions. His appearances include the National Theatre and the British Museum, and he has conceived and presented numerous documentaries on storytelling for BBC Radio Wales.
A regular performer at festivals across the nation, Donald Davis tells true stories based on the better-than-fiction verities of human life. Davis grew up in a family of storytelling folks in the mountains of Western North Carolina and has continued their tradition throughout his career. He has performed throughout the U.S. and abroad, authored 19 books, and released over 50 audio recordings.