Leroy Troy prepared to pick, grin

LEROY TROY

On Tuesday night, June 28 at 8 p.m., one of the top five banjo pickers in the world, Leroy Troy, will step to the stage of the Cumberland County Playhouse with his Tennessee Mafia Jug Band for the benefit of WCTE-TV, the public television station based in Cookeville. In its 40th anniversary season the Playhouse is reaching out in support of its long time friend, WCTE-TV. Jim Crabtree, producing director of the Playhouse invited Troy and the band to team up to help raise money for WCTE-TV.

“WCTE is of one of the premiere non profit organizations in the Cumberlands,” said Crabtree. “The station and its staff have been very good friends to the Playhouse,” he said. “We share many of the same values and challenges,” he said.

Leroy Troy is known for touring in between the planting and the harvest on his farm. He is serious about his music and serious about his farming. Troy has been playing the banjo since the age of twelve and has always been attracted, even as a young boy, to the style and showmanship of early Grand Ole Opry favorite, Uncle Dave Macon. Troy made a name for himself by focusing on the old-time claw hammer style of playing the banjo made famous by Macon and Grandpa Jones, also of Grand Ole Opry fame.

The Tennessee Mafia Jug Band is actually made up of excellent Nashville studio musicians (Mike Armistead, Lester Armistead, Matthew Combs, Dave Ferguson, and Troy Boswell) who enjoy throwing in the sound of homemade instruments when it suits them among the easy professional sound of their regular instruments. “Leroy and the members of the band are just really funny people who are extraordinarily talented,” said Buster Irvin, concert series administrator for the Playhouse. “Their music reminds you of The Darling Family on the Andy Griffith Show. The June 28 8 p.m. show will also put you in mind of the front porch of an old general store in the 1930s and 40s when men used to sit around and play for a while, swap stories, talk to neighbors coming in, play a little more,” he said. “You’re going to hear incredible bluegrass and country music. They know just when to let the washtub with a string take over for the real base?just when to let the jug become the percussion instrument?and how to get the most out of a washboard?all while playing some of the best banjo, guitar, mandolin, and base in the nation. It is a great evening of pure joy. Leroy and the band treat the audience as though each person has just dropped by Leroy’s farm and stepped up to the porch where they’re playing for fun on a Saturday night. Excellent music and laid back, natural humor makes it a great evening for every age,” said Irvin.

Tickets for the Leroy Troy WCTE Benefit are on sale now at the Cumberland County Playhouse, 931-484-5000. “The Playhouse will retain only its direct expenses on this concert,” said Crabtree. It is anticipated that 70 to 80 percent of the proceeds will go to WCTE. “A strong WCTE makes the Playhouse stronger and vice versa,” said Crabtree. Adult Prime/Main: $25/$22; Student Prime/Main: $12/$10. Students include full time college students with college ID and anyone under the age of 18.