‘Bluegrass power couple’ Dewey and Leslie Brown to bring high lonesome sound to Sunset Series

Leslie and Dewey Brown

The intense, authentic high lonesome bluegrass sounds of Dewey and Leslie Brown will ring from the stage in the second 2021-22 Sunset Series event.

The performance will take place at 7 p.m. Saturday, October 16 at the historic Sunset Theatre in downtown Asheboro. It’s free and the public is invited. The event also will be livestreamed on the Sunset Theatre’s Facebook page.

The Sunset Series is sponsored by the Heart of North Carolina Visitors Bureau, the City of Asheboro and the Friends of the Library. It is respectfully requested that audience members wear face coverings during the performance.

Backing the “bluegrass power couple” will be their band, the Carolina Gentlemen.

Dewey and Leslie perform original tunes such as “Dana,” “Ultimate Sacrifice” and “Bury Me on the Mountain” that climb the bluegrass and gospel charts. The couple also owns and operates the Liberty Showcase Theater in Liberty, N.C.

Dewey started playing fiddle at age nine, and began his professional career in high school with the band Blue Ridge. At age 17, he won first place at the Old Time Fiddlers Convention in Galax, Virginia.

He played fiddle as a Clinch Mountain Boy with the legendary Dr. Ralph Stanley for 11 years until Stanley’s death in 2016. Stanley and the Clinch Mountain Boys also appear on Dewey’s album, “Traditional Fiddle.”

Dewey has recorded on Grammy nominated albums with artists such as Josh Turner, Dierks Bentley and Lee Ann Womick. He has appeared at the Grand Ole Opry and played for the Queen of England.

Leslie is an authentic coal miner’s daughter, raised by her grandparents in the Appalachian Mountains of Vansant, Virginia, where her grandfather played in a family band. Her mountain upbringing has played a major role in her songwriting (she writes most of the couple’s songs), dancing and singing. She began clogging at local bluegrass festivals at age seven, becoming a well-known clogger in the bluegrass world.

In addition to their Liberty Showcase Theater duties, Dewey and Leslie, who have been married since 2007, run two annual festivals, “Deweyfest” and “Gospelfest,” held on their 52 acre farm in Burlington.

Following Dewey and Leslie, Sunset Series events are: actor/playwright Mike Wiley with his one-man show Breach of Peace: Stories of the Freedom Riders, 1961, 7 p.m. Saturday, November 6; and Performance Speed Painter Tim Decker, 7 p.m. Saturday, March 19, 2022.

For further information, call the Heart of North Carolina Visitors Bureau at 800-626-2672.

Jeopardy! champ Ken Jennings to kick off return of Asheboro Sunset Series

Ken Jennings

Jeopardy! “Greatest of All Time” champion Ken Jennings will usher in the return of the Friends of the Library Sunset Signature Series with a talk at 7 p.m. Saturday, August 28, at downtown Asheboro’s historic Sunset Theatre.

His appearance is free and the public is invited. The Sunset Series is sponsored by the Heart of North Carolina Visitors Bureau, the City of Asheboro and the Friends of the Randolph County Public Library.

Attendees are requested to wear face coverings, which will be available at the theater.

Jennings will talk about his experiences appearing on the game show, his techniques for winning, and how his life has changed since.

Jennings became the stuff of legend when he beat fellow champions James Holzhauer and Brad Rutter to be named the “Greatest of All Time” player.

The honor topped his previous achievements as one of the winningest game show contestants of all time. He still holds three big Jeopardy! records: longest winning streak, 74 games; highest regular-season winnings, $2,520,700; and highest average number of correct responses per game, 35.9.

After his Jeopardy! conquest, Jennings became a best-selling author, penning 12 books including the New York times bestseller Maphead: Charting the Wide, Weird, World of Geography, and a series of children’s books.

Jennings grew up overseas in Korea and Singapore, where his father worked as an attorney. His only lifeline to American pop culture during those years was TV on the Armed Forces network, where he watched Jeopardy! religiously after school every day.

He graduated from Brigham Young University, where he captained the quiz bowl team. He was working as a software engineer in Salt Lake City in 2004, when he received a phone call notifying him that his Jeopardy! audition was successful.    

Following Jennings, upcoming Sunset Series events include:

• Bluegrass musicians Dewey and Leslie Brown, 7 p.m. Saturday, October 16;
• Actor/playwright Mike Wiley with his one-person show Breach of Peace: Stories of the Freedom Riders, 1961, 7 p.m. Saturday, November 6; and
• Performance Speed Painter Tim Decker, 7 p.m. Saturday, March 19, 2022.

Randolph library launches community survey

ASHEBORO – The Randolph County Public Library is asking county residents to help envision the library’s future by taking a brief community survey. 

The survey, in English and Spanish versions, can be found at www.randolphlibrary.org/survey. 

It’s part of a strategic planning process that will result in a five year plan for the library system. 

“Responses to the questions will help the library prioritize its efforts and better serve the people of the county,” said Library Director Ross Holt. 

The survey also can be found on the library’s Facebook page at www.facebook.com/randolphlibrary, and in paper form at each library. 

The libraries in Archdale, Asheboro, Franklinville, Liberty, Ramseur Randleman, and Seagrove are all part of the Randolph County Public Library system.

 The survey will be open through June 19.