CHESTERTOWN, MD—The High and Wides will perform their rollicking mix of country, swing, and rockabilly Thursday, July 9, at 6:30 p.m. on the Custom House lawn, 101 South Water Street, as they close out the 2015 Riverfront Concert Series. Sponsored by the C.V. Starr Center for the Study of the American Experience at Washington College, the Concert Series explores America’s musical traditions through song and commentary. The concerts are free, and so are the cookies and lemonade. Guests are encouraged to bring blankets, chairs and a picnic-supper. 

Local favorites, the High and Wides hark back to an era when the genres of bluegrass, country, swing, blues, and rock were still unsettled—a time when jazz groups had banjos and country bands had horns, bluegrass bands ventured into rockabilly, and every country group had a boogie song. The band features Sam Guthridge (banjo/mandolin) and Marc Dykeman (guitar), veterans of the bluegrass band Chester River Runoff, and upright bass player Mike Buccino. Nate Grower, a member of Chester River Runoff and the David Bromberg Band, rounds out the foursome with a mean fiddle chop. 

The hometown favorites of the High and Wides include Marc Dykeman, Sam Guthridge and Mike Buccino. Not pictured is Nate Grower.The concert is hosted by Michael Buckley, program manager and oral history instructor at the Starr Center.  A 30-year veteran of the American roots music scene, Buckley has an award-winning radio show on WRNR.

In the event of inclement weather, the concert will be held at Hynson Pavilion, Wilmer Park, Chestertown. For more information and weather-related updates, call 410-810-7156 or visit http://www.washcoll.edu/starr. The concert series is supported in part by funding from the Maryland State Arts Council.