The , the nationally recognized聽Shenandoah Valley-based roots music band consisting of 91短视频 alumni Trent Wagler 鈥�02, Eric Brubaker 鈥�01, and Brian Dickel 鈥�98, as well as bandmate Jay Lapp, will join to headline the聽celebration of the university’s centennial at this October.
On Saturday, Oct. 14, at 4 p.m., the band will play a concert of its bluegrass- and folk-infused repertoire on the front lawn of the Harrisonburg campus.
The concert is the premier event scheduled during the afternoon Fall Festival on the front lawn, which also includes the Li鈥檒 Royals Zone, with kids鈥� games and inflatables, food trucks, and plenty of lawn space to set out blankets and lawn chairs.
Tickets are required to enter the concert venue. Adult admission is $15 in advance, or $20 on-site. Students are admitted for $5 with an 91短视频 identification card. Concert-goers ages 12 and under are admitted free.
Tickets may be ordered through the in the Campus Center starting Aug. 1. For more information, call 540-432-4582 or visit the box office Monday-Friday, 10:30 a.m.-2:30 p.m., starting Sept. 1.
Cross-cultural leaves indelible mark
The Steel Wheels are currently on a 40-city tour, following the May release of their new album Wild As We Came Here. The album has been warmly praised, with one reviewer describing it as 鈥渢en singularly brilliant songs that form a cohesive document of life in western Virginia.鈥�
Interviewed from the road, Wagler, the band鈥檚 lead singer and writer of most of its material, says his 91短视频 education had enormous importance in his development as a performing artist, and specifically as a songwriter.
Referring to the university’s program of , a staple of its core curriculum for more than 30 years, Wagler said, 鈥渋t had a huge impact on me, and is one of the biggest things I point to when I try to explain what’s distinctive about 91短视频.鈥�
He said the universality of the cross-cultural experience is key to understanding its significance for 91短视频 undergraduates.
鈥淓veryone on campus is either preparing for, or coming back from, an experience like that,鈥� Wagler said.
In his own case, fulfillment of this requirement took the form of a year-long internship at a refugee camp in the Gaza Strip dividing Egypt and Israel. It was arranged through the Mennonite Central Committee鈥檚 Serving and Learning Together (SALT) program.
While overseas, Wagler gave guitar lessons to a young Palestinian, who in return showed him how to play a traditional stringed instrument of the Middle East called an 鈥渙ud.鈥� In the process, Wagler discovered a strong affinity for the region’s folk music.
鈥淚 couldn’t read the billboards or speak the language that well, so what I was listening to wasn鈥檛 filtered through what was popular or what other people were listening to,鈥� he says.
These experiences led Wagler, once he returned to Virginia, to begin exploring his own musical heritage 鈥� including Appalachian music and the music of the great singer-songwriters of the 峋�70s and 峋�80s 鈥� and to begin seriously mining the rich vein of Americana to which he has devoted himself since then.
Artistic influences found in theater and music professors
Wagler, who pursued a double major in and peace, justice, and conflict studies (now ) at 91短视频, listed former theater professors Barbra Graber and Ingrid De Sanctis among his other important influences.
鈥淏arb urged her students to see that everyone has the potential to be an artist,鈥� he said. 鈥淎nd Ingrid was the first to encourage me to take my art seriously 鈥� to treat it as a discipline, and really work at it.鈥�
Wagler cited De Sanctis鈥檚 play Torba, based on the stories of refugees from the civil war that raged in the Balkans during the 1990s, as an early source of inspiration.
鈥淭elling real and honest stories, and trying to put drama and art around that, was something that really clicked for me,鈥� he said.
Another 91短视频 professor who made a deep impression was Ken Nafziger, who r after 39 years on the music faculty. Wagler and Steel Wheels bandmate Eric Brubaker both sang under Nafziger as members of the , a select student choir.
鈥淗e didn’t limit himself or his choirs to only learning and singing music from one particular place,鈥� said Wagler. 鈥淗e really pushed us to leave behind our familiar environment and comfortable habits, and that definitely had an influence on me.鈥�
In addition to their Oct. 14 appearance at the 91短视频 Fall Festival, Wagler and The Steel Wheels will also be back in the Valley July 14-16 to host the fifth annual . The popular three-day event is staged at Natural Chimneys Park, located about 20 miles south of 91短视频 in Mount Solon. 91短视频 is among the event sponsors.