Stark Raven
Stark Raven, formed in the mid-1980’s in Charleston, WV, was a genre-bending band that played for thousands of excited fans throughout West Virginia and the United States during the nine years that they were together. Combining acoustic and electric guitars, bass and drums, an amplified string section (electric violin and cello), electric dulcimer, mandolin, harmonica, accordion and tight three-part vocals, Stark Raven recorded two albums (“100 Million Reasons” and “Learning to Fly”) of mostly original songs. Combining folk, rock, blues, classical, and mountain music, they achieved a unique sound that they coined Rhythm and Roll.
The band played their last concert in 1992. Most of the members became members of the Mountain Stage Band. Eventually violinist Deni Bonet and bassist John Kessler left to pursue solo careers, and multi-instrumentalist Bob Webb became a sought-after recording engineer. Ron Sowell (vocal/guitar), Ammed Solomon (drums) and Julie Adams (vocal/guitar) still form the core of the Mountain Stage Band heard today on NPR on 200 stations.
Opening Act: The Sea The Sea