What to Do:
In the Area

 

River House 2013 Sunday Salons & Events

Thursday, May 16th: Moroccan Dinner
Sunday, May 19th: Phyllis and Casey Van Hoy – A tribute to Ella Fitzgerald and Frank Sinatra
Sunday, May 26th: Emile Pandolfi
Sunday, June 2nd: Patrick Lui, Classical Guitar
Sunday, June 9th: Tom Atkinson
Saturday, June 15th: Wayne C. Henderson Music Festival and Guitar Competition at Grayson Highlands
Sunday, June 16th: Father’s Day – Herbie Burns and Friends
Sunday, June 23rd: Steve and Ruth Smith
Sunday, June 30th: Jamie Laval
Thursday, July 4th: Independence Day!
Sunday, July 14 – Rob Mangum and Donna, Alvin Shaw
Saturday, July 20th: 11th Annual River House Winefest
Sunday, July 28th: Lisa Baldwin and David Haney
Sunday, August 25th: Sasha Papernik
Sunday, September 1st: Bluesfest
Thursday, November 28th: Thanksgiving

More celebrating to come!

See some of our past talent at Sunday Salons

 

Sunday Salons
Just about every Sunday beginning in April, our Sunday Salons at the River House Inn on the New River are patterned on the famous international "salons" of the past. While we were never invited to those heady Parisian parties of the twenties and thirties - to hobnob with Hemingway and Gertrude Stein (not to mention Alice B. Toklas!) - the idea of such literary and artistic gatherings sounded appealing. Drop by at 4:00 for food and wine, music and conversation, perhaps a poetry reading or a short play, a book-signing, an exhibit of art or pottery, or an occasional film. Dinner, usually a four-course set menu, follows about 6:00.

SALONS: Bar opens at 3 PM (As does the Gallery across the drive). Music 4-6 PM
Hors d’Oeuvres at 5 PM
4-Course Chef’s Choice Menu

If you can’t make dinner, you’re welcome to come for the entertainment in the North Carolina mountains and a libation with hors d’oeuvres! But please call 336-982-2109 to reserve.

Jen, from www.onemomsworld.com and Sarah from www.highcountrymomsquad.com / www.reallifeblog.net visited the River House Inn for a Sunday Salon. The evening was full of great food, live music, and new friends. Enjoy her video!

Emile Pandolfi. Read more about Emile Pandolfi.

Clay Lunsford Jazz Quartet

John Stewart: Pianist, Author, Biographer, Genealogist and Raconteur - "A Life in Music”

Tres Amigos – Justin Poindexter, Sam Reider and Eddie Barbash

Sasha Papernik, Russian pianist and composer

Steve & Ruth Smith: Besides Ruth’s hammered dulcimer and Steve’s fingerstyle acoustic guitar, the Smiths include clawhammer banjo, Appalachian mountain dulcimer, and vocals. Read more on their website.

Lisa Baldwin and Dave Haney: Bluegrass, country, and singer-songwriter material. Read more on their website.

Patrick Lui: Classical Guitar. Read more on his website.

The Tony Williamson Duo: Mandolin and Guitar

The Ardmores: Southern rock, blues and easy listening. Read more on their website.

Wayne Henderson, legendary guitar-picker and luthier - and Helen White, equally legendary musician and founder of JAM, Junior Appalachian Musicians.

The Marie Vanderbeck Trio: Mike Chrzanowski on bass, Ken Broun on piano, vocals and jazz - sweet and sassy

Joyce Rouse: Singer, songwriter, environmentalist. Read more on her website.

Doug Davis: Rock, soul, roots

Tim and Debbie Yates of Acoustic Heritage: bluegrass, country, original singer song writers

Martha Bassett and Patrick Lawrence: Sultry, southern, swing, awesome vocalist

Lee and Susan Terry: Guitar and Viola – acoustic and folk

Wet Paint - Rob Mangum and Dennis Shaw: country, bluegrass, blues, soft rock

Linda Carroll: extraordinary vocalist, with auto-harp or "naked" - folk, labor songs

Aaron Price and Vendetta Crème: Cabaret music at its finest

Bob Child: Flautist, flaunting his amazing flutes

The Lower Brass of the Winston-Salem Moravian Band

Robin Voiers and Bill Voiers in “Love Letters”

Phil ‘n’ the Blanks: soft rock, blues, fun

The Sunday Salons begin at 4:00 PM; hors d’oeuvre at 5:00 PM; more music and a four-course chef's choice menu is served at 6:00 PM. $45 for entertainment, hors d'oeuvre, and dinner.

For information and reservations please call River House 336-982-2109.

Drop by at 4:00 for food and wine and entertainment in the North Carolina mountains, even if you can't stay for dinner. But please call 336-982-2109 to reserve.

 



 

Reviews & Comments from our Guests

‘Tis the gift to be simple, ‘tis the gift to be free,
‘Tis the gift to come down where we ought to be.
And when we find ourselves in the place just right,
‘Twill be in the valley of love and delight.


-From a 19th Century Shaker song
Quoted by a guest to describe her stay at River House.

- It (the German Wine Dinner) was very well done, and all enjoyed the evening immensely. Thank you, Gayle!

- We unanimously vote that the ethnic/theme dinners are a wonderful idea! We look forward to the next iteration.

- Gayle and River House = good medicine for body & soul.

- Check out Tripadvisor.

- I’ve heard it said that most people will never remember what you may say but will always remember how you make them feel. You make us feel special and you have that Gift of hospitality. Thanks for sharing so much.

- We loved our stay from the comfy comfy bed to the wonderful cocktail followed by a spectacular dinner. Coffee at our door was such a pleasant surprise. We will return.

- No words can adequately express our thanks and appreciation for your fabulous help with the bridal luncheon!! The food for luncheon and wedding was delicious!! Your hospitality is superb!

- I don’t know how many times I’ve been here - but it keeps getting better and better – and I want to be back soon!

- Thanks for a great Bluesfest.

- Thank you for an amazing step back into a slower, more attentive environment. We loved playing Scrabble on the front porch, sipping the greatest whisky ginger, and watching the fireflies light up!

 

Sunday Salon, May 19th – Phyllis and Casey VanHoy doing Ella Fitzgerald and Frank Sinatra

Both Phyllis and Casey have been performing since their early teens in a variety of musical art forms. Casey is an accomplished piano/keyboard player, who also plays guitar and mandolin. Phyllis, with the vocal range of a contralto, can deliver the sultry sound of a jazz ballad, to the upbeat swing and sambas, to the high notes of our National Anthem, which she has performed for various college and professional league sporting events. This is a duo that you'll not want to miss!

 

Dori Freeman and David Long

Dori Freeman, a native of Southwest Virginia has been singing for as long as she can recall and took up quickly with the guitar at fifteen. Dori’s influences span a varied list of genres including traditional, swing, jazz, and folk. Perhaps one of her greatest influences is the regional music of the Appalachian Mountains that she grew up listening to. Dori has two records available: “Porchlight,” featuring smooth vocals tinted in shades of jazz and swing paired with traditional instrumentation and “Those On the Moon,” a soulful set of songs spanning old-time inspired tunes and her original compositions.

Mandolinist and vocalist David Long was a 2006 nominee for the International Bluegrass Music Association Recorded Event of the Year for his album “Stomp” with Mike Compton, and is considered to be one of the new masters of traditional, bluegrass mandolin playing. He has performed around the world, including two previous tours in Japan as well as Australia, playing at the Port Fairy Folk Festival and National Folk Festival in Canberra (2005). The online journal Mandozine wrote, “Today, a revival of traditional music is in full swing and gritty, soulful mandolin playing is again at the forefront. At the top of the list of new masters is David Long.”

 

Emile Pandolfi is a frequent guest and performer at River House

  • Steinway Artist Emile Pandolfi is a performing pianist/comedian/recording artist.
  • His catalog of 28 CDs have sold nearly three million copies nationally. All were recorded on his own label, MagicMusic, which he started in 1991. He is reportedly the top-selling artist in the alternative (gift and bookstore) market in the US.
  • He has been performing 25-30 shows a year in Performing Arts Centers around the country for the past 15 years. The shows are solo two-hour performances combining his passion for the piano, his love of laughter, and his instant rapport with his audiences. Emile has never met a stranger - and his fans see it when he takes the stage.
  • His shows are so successful presenters have re-booked him as many as eight times, with three or four venue returns the usual.
  • If a comparison is called for, most people compare his shows to those of Victor Borge because of his signature combination of friendly humor and elegant interpretations supported by an extraordinary classical technique.
  • For streaming audio, video, recording catalog, and a lot of other information about Emile Pandolfi, visit: www.emilepandolfi.com.

George Hamilton IV - another friend of River House
Born in Winston-Salem but with deep roots in Ashe County, Hamilton began his singing career at the age of 19 when a student at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill recording “A Rose and a Baby Ruth.” The song climbed to No. 6 on the United States Billboard Hot 100 chart; it continued its rise to fame and attained Gold Record status.

In late 1959, Hamilton moved to Nashville to pursue his work in country music. A few months later he became a member of the Grand Ole Opry.

Hamilton's breakthrough hit was the 1961 song "Before this Day Ends". His biggest hit came two years later with "Abilene;” four weeks at No. 1 on Billboard's country singles chart and Top 20 of the Hot 100. The success of "Abilene" was followed with the song "Fort Worth, Dallas Or Houston" (a Top 5 hit in late 1964).

A decidedly folk influence became evident with 1966's "Steel Rail Blues" and "Early Morning Rain", and 1967's "Urge for Going". Another 1967 hit was "Break My Mind". One more Hamilton song of this genre was "Canadian Pacific". His last Top 5 single came in 1970, with "She's a Little Bit Country".

In the early 1970s, Hamilton began touring the world, across the Soviet Union, Australia, the Middle East and East Asia. These widely-acclaimed international performances earned Hamilton the nickname The International Ambassador of Country Music. He also hosted several successful television programs in the UK and Canada during the 1970s, and in the 1990s he played himself in the West End musical, Patsy, based on the life of Patsy Cline.

In 2004, he recorded an acoustic gospel album with producer Dave Moody entitled On a Blue Ridge Sunday which earned Hamilton a Dove Award nomination in the "Best Bluegrass Album of the Year" category by the members of the Gospel Music Association. A single from the album, "Little Mountain Church House", won nominee recognition in the "Best Bluegrass Recorded Song" category the following year. Hamilton, still a regular at the Grand Ole Opry, continues to tour and record, concentrating on gospel albums.

 

 

River House Country Inn & Restaurant
More than a Bed and Breakfast.
In the Blue Ridge Mountains on the New River near Boone & West Jefferson.
1896 Old Field Creek Road, Grassy Creek, NC 28631
336-982-2109 | riverhouse@skybest.com