The Fayetteville

Bluegrass Blast, a benefit for the Fayette County High School Select Chorus,

was so successful the past two years that they are bringing it back again

this weekend.

Each year three

of Georgia's premiere bluegrass bands take the stage at Sams Auditorium

to raise money for the select chorus. This year's bands are J. Max Mckee

and the McKee Family, Cedar Hill and, back by popular demand, steelBlue.

J. Max Mckee

and the McKee Family will open the show. They are featured on Pharaoh

Records' Gold Rush Country volume six with their original instrumental

masterpiece, "Outlaw Boogie." The band is made up of J. Max

McKee playing a variety of instruments, including banjo; Teena McKee on

guitar and vocals and Doris McKee on bass and vocals.

A four-piece

group, steelBlue is made up of Scott Woody, Keith Morris, Buck peacock

and Joe Stratton. Their bluegrass also features elements of folk, swing,

newgrass and rock. They have performed at many venues around the area,

including the Georgia Bluegrass Jam in Macon, the Georgia Mountain Fair

and Virginia Highlands Summerfest.

Cedar Hill

has appeared at the Frederick Brown Jr. Amphitheater and the former Lone

Star Cafe in Fayetteville. The group has been together since 1976 and

has performed at a number of high-profile events in Atlanta, including

the 1996 Olympics. They have also opened for a number of national acts,

including Phish.

Cedar Hill

is best known for blended harmonies and occasional morphing into an alter-ego,

The Dazzling Duckwavers, performing their own special brand of music,

Duck Wave. The members of the band are Pete Lussier, Jim Adkins, Brad

Laird, Freddy MacIsaac and Bob MacIsaac.

The third annual

Fayetteville Bluegrass Blast will take place Friday, Jan. 26 at 7 p.m.

at Sams Auditorium. Tickets are $8 and are available at the door. Advance

tickets may be purchased at the Fayette County High School front office

or from members of the select chorus.

The chorus,

under the direction of Janice Folsom, is a highly accomplished group,

having traveled previously to England and France where they performed

at Canterbury Cathedral, Trinity Church in Stratford-upon-Avon, the Tower

of London and Notre Dame Cathedral. The group will perform in Munich,

Vienna, Salzburg and Budapest during its European choir tour March 28-April

6.

Jack Masters,

a Fayetteville native, has worked with folsom to organize the event. He

is also a member of the Southside chapter of the Southeastern Bluegrass

Association. "The Bluegrass Blast isn't just for bluegrass fans,"

said Masters. "It is for anyone that is a fan of good acoustic music."

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