The 51st Home Craft Days festival will commence Friday, October 21st at 6:30 PM with the annual Opening Night Concert presented by the Pro-Art Association and Mountain Empire Community College. Multi-Grammy-winning, multi-instrumentalist Tim O’Brien will headline Friday night’s concert with Jan Fabricius. The New River Railsplitters will also perform as well as hometown favorites Tommy Bledsoe, Rich Kirby, Todd Meade, and Tyler Hughes. The concert will take place in the Goodloe Center on the Mountain Empire Community College campus and is free and open to the public.

Tim O’Brien has traveled the world and delighted audiences since 1975 with his warm vocals, string wizardry, and heartfelt original songs. His latest recording “He Walked On” maps a pathway through today's world. In duet with his wife Jan Fabricius on mandolin and vocals, you can expect rootsy acoustic instrumentation and sweet harmony singing, interspersed with O’Brien’s self-deprecating humor. Over the years, Tim has collaborated with his sister Mollie O’Brien, songwriter Darrell Scott, and noted old time musician Dirk Powell, as well as with Steve Earle, Mark Knopfler, Dan Auerbach and Sturgill Simpson.

The New River Railsplitters play old time string band music from the mountains of Southwest Virginia, Eastern Kentucky, and Western North Carolina. The Railsplitters are made up of the combined talents of fiddler Adrian Shepherd-Powell, banjoist Julie Shepherd-Powell, and guitarist Trevor McKenzie. Be prepared to tap your toes or dance in the aisles, the music of the New River Railsplitters is made for moving!

Local favorites Tommy Bledsoe, Rich Kirby, Todd Meade, and Tyler Hughes will open Friday night’s concert. Tommy Bledsoe and Rich Kirby have extensive roots in Southwest Virginia’s old time music. The two have been instrumental in organizing music for Home Craft Days for over 40 years. Combined, the four represent over fifty years’ experience with the region’s music and its tradition bearers like Janette Carter, Uncle Charlie Osborne, and Ralph Stanley.

MECC will host a reception preceding the concert featuring Dough & Joe and Mr. Kettle Corn in the field adjacent to the Goodloe Center from 5:00 PM – 6:30 PM. All attendees are invited to enjoy free coffee, donuts, and kettle corn while supplies last. Backdraft BBQ will also be on site as a paid dinner option for guests. Mountain Rose Vineyard’s wine selections will be available as a paid beverage option.

The 2022 Home Craft Days celebration will be held October 21-23 on the campus of Mountain Empire Community College. Saturday and Sunday will feature performances every hour on two stages. The Craft Festival will begin on Saturday, October 22 from 10-6 and Sunday, October 23 from 10-5. Enjoy the food, fun, and friendship of Southwest Virginia and come home to the Home Craft Days festival. Find more information and the schedule of events at homecraftdays.org.

Pro-Art is supported in part by a grant from the Virginia Commission for the Arts and the National Endowment for the Arts, as well as the Slemp Foundation, The University of Virginia’s College at Wise, Mountain Empire Community College, and the Columbus Phipps Foundation. For more information about Pro-Art, please visit proartva.org, call the office at (276) 376-4520, or send an email to pro-art@uvawise.edu.