Charleston Gaillard Center Announces Steep Canyon Rangers In Partnership with SEWE

FOR RELEASE MONDAY, DECEMBER 5, 2022 MEDIA CONTACTS:

Kellie Lawson Director of Marketing klawson@gaillardcenter.org

GAILLARD CENTER SOCIAL MEDIA: @gaillardcenter @gaillardcenter facebook.com/thegaillardcenter

Charleston Gaillard Center Announces Steep Canyon Rangers In Partnership with SEWE (February 16, 2023) Charleston – December 5, 2022 – The Charleston Gaillard Center is delighted to announce Steep Canyon Rangers, in partnership with the Southeastern Wildlife Exposition (SEWE) on February 16, 2023.

Tickets on sale Friday, December 9 at 10 AM EST at gaillardcenter.org. Gaillard Center Members receive presale access. Become a Member today! Contact our Advancement Office at jdacy@gaillardfoundation.org or (843) 718-1578 for more information.

Download photos here.

Steep Canyon Rangers are Asheville, North Carolina’s GRAMMY winners, perennial Billboard chart-toppers, and frequent collaborators of the renowned banjoist (and occasional comedian) Steve Martin. Steep Canyon Rangers re-signed with Yep Roc Records in 2019. “It feels like coming home,” says Sharp of the partnership. “The Yep Roc family was among the first to welcome Steep Canyon Rangers when we

were just pups. As we’ve grown, so have they. We’re incredibly excited for the future and all the music it holds.”

Steep Canyon Rangers released three albums in 2020, all on Yep Roc Records. The Grammy-Nominated North Carolina Songbook is a recording of their live 2019 performance at Merlefest in Wilkesboro, NC, in which they performed a selection of songs by North Carolina songwriters (Ola Belle Reed, Doc Watson, James Taylor, Ben E. King, and others). Be Still Moses — perhaps their most singular musical partnership to date – has the band teaming with Philadelphia soul legends Boyz II Men and their hometown Asheville Symphony to completely overhaul the Rangers’ original “Be Still Moses,” which was first recorded on their 2007 breakout album Lovin’ Pretty Women. The album includes re-imagined versions of Steep Canyon’s previously released original songs performed with an orchestra. Their most recent release of all original music, Arm In Arm came out in October of 2020.‘Every song on Arm in Arm captures the North Carolina group’s innovative spirit, weaving in jazz, gospel, folk, and even rock phrases, creating an intimate and intricate sound that challenges, cajoles, and comforts.’ -No Depression The Rangers are made up of Graham Sharp on banjo and vocals, Mike Guggino on mandolin/mandola and vocals, Nicky Sanders on fiddle and vocals, Mike Ashworth on drums and vocals, Barrett Smith on bass, guitar, and vocals, and Aaron Burdett.

Steep Canyon Rangers have been on a journey that is uniquely their own. The band started in college at UNC-Chapel Hill, then dove head first into bluegrass in its most traditional form, and over the years have risen to the top of the bluegrass genre headlining top festivals such as Merlefest and Grey Fox Bluegrass. Only to then be discovered by Steve Martin, famous actor and banjo player. Martin has taken the Rangers on over a decade long tour introducing them to hundreds of thousands of new fans and giving them prime time TV exposure. This has helped SCR become the most recognizable modern name in bluegrass music. The band has continued to tour extensively on their own, without Martin, and have expanded their genre into country, jam and Americana. The Rangers are big players in the bluegrass/country and Americana scene today. They are often compared to predecessors The Band, Nitty Gritty Dirt Band, and the modern Zac Brown Band.

ABOUT THE CHARLESTON GAILLARD CENTER A leader in the performing arts in the Southeast, the Charleston Gaillard Center commissions, supports, and presents ambitious, multidisciplinary cultural programming and provides access to the best local, national, and global artists and companies on its stage. Deeply rooted in the community, the Gaillard Center committed to elevating local and regional voices and partnering with Charleston institutions to reflect the city’s diversity, both on stage and off. Through programming on its public campus and extensive arts education initiatives, the Gaillard Center serves as a platform to participate in community building and essential dialogue.

Established as a nonprofit in 2015, its campus includes the 1,818-seat Martha and John M. Rivers Performance Hall, a 16,000 square-foot exhibition hall that is home to artistic activations, community and corporate events, and celebrations, and an adjacent park space that was recently activated for artistic presentations. Behind the scenes the Gaillard Center also fosters a culture of excellence and inclusion, employing a robust and talented staff, and providing opportunities for growth and engagement across the arts sector. Find more information and upcoming programming at gaillardcenter.org.

ABOUT SOUTHEASTERN WILDLIFE EXPOSITION For more than 40 years, the Southeastern Wildlife Exposition, a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization, has proudly presented the finest in wildlife art, conservation and the outdoor lifestyle at its annual event in Charleston, South Carolina. SEWE will host its 41st event in 2023 at multiple venues throughout downtown Charleston from February 17-19, with VIP events beginning on Thursday, February 16. For more information on the event, please email sewe@sewe.com, visit sewe.com or call 843.723.1748. ###