BLACK MOUNTAIN, N.C. – Cullowhee, a six-person band formed initially as a trio in 1973 – including Lenoir Musician Terry Edwards – will be playing White Horse Black Mountain on Sept. 19 at 7:30 p.m. It is part of Cullowhee’s 53^rd Reunion. Edwards, Sandy Flynn, Thom Jenkins, Rick Hubbard, and Woody Jenkins will be together without founding member Mike Clark, who passed away in December 2025. Edwards shared, “The concert will include some of his songs and a tribute to him.” He played rhythm guitar, lead guitar and clarinet.

Edwards added, “Joining us this year will be percussionist/drummer Chris McAvoy and lead guitarist Brad Edwards. He shared also, “This is a band reunion weekend. In addition to the Saturday Concert, we’ll also have a song circle at the Hampton Inn in Black Mountain on Friday night along about 7:30.”

He continued, “It’s a time to catch up. We only see each other once a year. To hear and learn the new songs that everyone’s come up with. Everyone keeps writing. The fans want to hear what’s new. We love all these people. The fans and each other. It’s a chance to renew those relationships.”

“It’s about the brotherhood, the music. It’s always been about the songs. Our fans have become family over the years. There are a group of people that followed us all over the country, like our music and still do. Back in the 70s and 80s we were the the soundtrack of their lives and as there numbers dwindle too we think it’s important to connect with them every year and they apparently do too because they keep coming.”

Terry Edwards

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 real 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., 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 and the Kingston Trio.

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.”

Referring to Hub Pub Club owner Bill Shepherd, Edwards shared what he loved most about him – and what he misses in venues today. “He would come in and tell folks, ‘Over there is the bar. If you want to go there and swing on the chandelier you can. But in here, you are going to shut up and listen. Folks have paid a cover charge, so please contain your conversation to between songs.’”

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.”

Soon, 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 back 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 seating thousands.

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 began meeting for an annual reunion in the mid 1990s, and except for a few years, have met annually since. Edwards explains, “It’s about the brotherhood, the music. It’s always been about the songs. Our fans have become family over the years. There are a group of people that followed us all over the country, like our music and still do. Back in the 70s and 80s we were the the soundtrack of their lives and as there numbers dwindle too we think it’s important to connect with them every year and they apparently do too because they keep coming.”

He continues, “We all grew up together. It’s deeper than just the music. You spend that long traveling and living and playing music you just grow closer together and over the years you realize the most important thing is to keep the connection going. To keep the songs alive. So long as Mike Clarks’ songs are sung, he’s still alive. So long as those songs are out there and we have people who listen, we’ll play.”

Getting Tickets

White Horse Black Mountain has changed its ticket policy. You can read it here. So, donations are accepted at the level you can afford, though the recommended ticket price for this concert is $20 per person. You can also buy tickets online.

Learn more about Cullowhee here and here.

© Michael M. Barrick, 2026; Photo credits: Annie Edwards