Photo: A big time will be had by all.
A conversation. A film. Even history. It’s all about the story. The ones that appeal to us are the ones that capture our imagination. We never forget them. As Willie Shakespeare once said, and I’m paraphrasing, the story is the thing.
This Saturday night you will have the chance to hear and see a master storyteller at work, explaining the art as well as spinning a few himself. The evening is officially titled “Blue Ridge Tales and Tunes – Homespun Humor and Heart” and will be held at Harper House in Hickory.
Michael Reno Harrell is the featured artist and has a thing or two or three to say and sing about storytelling. He is a gifted songwriter/musician/humorist/slash all kinds of other things that equals an entrancing entertainer. His roots in this area go back eight generations so he knows the same things we know. But like a good story, he knows how to tell ‘em. With guitar in hand, Harrell has performed all over the world. He was a Featured Teller at the National Storytelling Festival, been Teller-in-Residence at the International Storytelling Center, and has even graced the stage at MerleFest.
Perhaps the best way to describe Michael Reno Harrell’s style is “like a breakfast of butter and molasses on warm biscuit…Southern, easy and sweet.” If that can be said about your storytelling, then you have accomplished much. His life experiences come out in his songs which tell tales of growing up around here, in the Southern Appalachians, but always with a point to make and a lesson to learn.
Tickets are going fast for this one, especially since members of the Historical Association of Catawba County get in for free, just one of many reasons to join. It’s $10 for non members and reservations are a must, since seating is limited. The show will actually be in the Lyerly House, next to Harper (310 North Center Street). The show begins at 7 and lasts who knows how long, well before all the tales are told.
The show will also include an announcement of how you too can craft your own story. Few of us have the gift that Michael Reno Harrell has to pick up a guitar and create a world that mesmerizes, but early next year, the Historical Association will offer sessions on how you can tell your own stories in your own way. More on that coming up. Meanwhile, come on out and see how it’s done. You will be inspired.
