concert set for saturday, sept. 9; dinner at 6, music at 7

LENOIR, N.C. – Cullowhee, a six-person band formed initially as a trio in 1973 – including Lenoir Musician Terry Edwards – will be performing a Fifty Year Reunion concert at the Theater Room in the 1841 Café at 117 N. Main Street this Saturday, Sept. 9 at 7 p.m. (A buffet option is available beginning at 6. Details below).

In a recent conversation, Edwards demonstrated the secret to the band’s success. He is a consummate storyteller. It is one of the reasons that he has enjoyed success as a songwriter. He can take an event, person or place – such as Lenoir’s most notable landmark, Hibriten Mountain – and with the turn of a phrase share a parable about longing for home and the grace of redemption rolled into one tune. The other reason for his success is due to the people he has played with for half a century and many more musicians they met along the way.

Indeed, all of his five band mates are songwriters.

The musicians he’s been with for 50 years – Cullowhee – began as a trio with Michael Clark and Sandy Flynn – called, appropriately enough, Edwards, Clark and Flynn. During the next few years it became a six person band called Cullowhee with the addition of Thom Jenkins, Rick Hubband, and Woody Jenkins.

According to Edwards, the trio’s first gig was in 1973 at the Red Baron Room in the Beech Tree Inn in Beech Mountain, N.C.; they also played the Hub Pub Club in Banner Elk, N.C. As Edwards explains, the trio doubled its size over a few years. “We were a trio during the Red Baron Room and Hub Pub Club days. Thom would play with us when he could and joined us full time in ’75. We met Rick Hubbard at the Winston-Salem location of the Hub Pub Club in ’76. He started managing us and then joined on stage in ’77. Woody Jenkins joined in ’78.”

Edwards recalls, “When Rick joined, he was our manager and tech guy. Then he joined us on stage. At that point, we decided adding another name to our group would make us sound like a law firm, so we chose Cullowhee,” the home of Western Carolina University and where they all met. In time, they gathered a solid following enamored by their unique blend of “Mountain Rock.” As Edwards observes, “Today, it would be called Americana. We were playing Americana before it was called that.”

Reflecting back on those first days that included perks – food, lodging, drinks and even free skiing – at Beech Mountain, Edwards says, “It was the best gig we ever had. Three guys, paid well, having fun and saving money.”

Yet, as Edwards observes, “One gig leads to another,” and soon the trio found themselves playing a month-long gig at the Hub Pub Club in Banner Elk, N.C., owned by Bill Shepherd. He offered them the gig serving as the opening act for four different acts over four weeks. In order, they opened for Howard Chadwick, Farquar, Jimmy Buffet (who passed away Sept. 1) and the Kingston Trio.

Each week was a lesson in the music business. Edwards says, “Bill was responsible for sending us to ‘music business university.’” Through observation they learned some valuable lessons, says Edwards. From Chadwick, “We learned to sing and use a microphone. He was an incredible vocalist and good songwriter. He told us, ‘Think of the mic as someone’s ear. If you get close, sing like you’re whispering. If you sing louder, move back from the mic.’” Farquahr, shared Edwards, taught them showmanship. “They would engage the audience and make them laugh. They knew how to entertain. Without a doubt, they were the funniest people I’ve been around.” He continues, “Buffet taught us songwriting. Just by being exposed to his songs and how catchy they were.” The Kingston Trio, reveals Edwards, “Taught us how we did not want to end up.” Their harmonies and showmanship had largely been damaged by a member with substance abuse.

Undaunted, Cullowhee hit the music circuit, playing a single gig in Lexington, Ky. That led to a gig in Louisville. “There was a popular group called the Cumberlands. They played in the basement of the Radisson in a bar called The Cumberland Gap. They were taking a week off. We filled in for them. That week in Louisville started a years-long love affair with the city,” remembers Edwards.

Then, recalls Edwards, “We thought, we’re songwriters. Let’s move to Nashville.” The result? “We starved,” admits Edwards. Only contracted musicians from Music Row could get gigs in Nashville, so they went on the road in 1977, finally settling in Atlanta in 1981. They continued to play in Louisville and also played in Dallas and Houston. In that time, they played small venues with just a couple of hundred seats up to arenas sitting thousands.

According to the band’s website, “Each band member wrote songs encompassing styles including pop, rock, country, folk, jazz, reggae, and other styles, and played a multitude of musical instruments. Every set featured segments by each member – a show within a show. The mixture of personality, music, comedy, and sincerity made a connection with many audiences.”

In 1984, as work and family demands took precedence over traveling and playing music, they disbanded. Edwards recalls, “We started as friends and wanted to disband as friends so that we would stay friends.”

Indeed they have, for they continue to meet annually, generally in Atlanta. This year they chose Lenoir because of its central location to the band members. Edwards adds, “This is a good venue. The 1841 Café staff is great.” And, he adds, “We might get to see some people who remember us from PB Scott’s,” a legendary music hall in Blowing Rock, N.C.

He continues, “The concert is a ‘family and friends’ reunion – a chance to get together and see each other and catch up. As you might imagine, the six band members have gone on to pursue other careers both in and out of music, but we still manage to get together once a year to swap tunes and relive the ‘glory days.’ He notes, “There is no big stage production concert anymore. Since the pandemic, the more recent shows are more in the ‘Austin City Limits’ song circle tradition. But it is heartwarming to see how many people will travel a good distance and spend good money to see old farts in their 70s try to remember songs they wrote 40 and 50 years ago, as well as songs they’ve written in the years since.”

He promises some new music as well, as he and his wife used the pandemic to pen some new tunes. “Annie and I also wrote a few songs during the pandemic. We call them quarantunes. We’ll be sharing some of those during the show.”

Learn more

The event is from 6:00 until 10:00 p.m. Saturday evening, Sept. 9, 2023, at the 1841 Café, Lenoir, N.C. Seating is limited and reservations are recommended for the concert and buffet. Edwards says, “Folks can let us know they’re coming to the show by going to www.cullowheeband.com and clicking on the ‘upcoming events’ link. The $20.00 is for the dinner buffet taco and salad bar if they are interested. The music is free. No one has to pay unless they want to eat. Donations to defray the costs of production and travel are welcome.”

About Cullowhee and role of individual members here.

You can read a review on the band’s History page.

© Michael M. Barrick, 2023; Photo credits: Annie Edward