James “Sparky” Rucker and Rhonda Rucker will perform Civil War music in commemoration of the 150th anniversary of the start of the war in a performance titled “Blue and Grey in Black and White” on Monday, April 18, at 7:30 p.m., in the Fillius Events Barn. The event is free and open to the public.
Sparky Rucker graduated from the University of Tennessee and taught school in Chattanooga before becoming a full-time folk singer. For more than 40 years, he has been performing and telling stories from the American tradition. His instruments include the guitar, banjo and spoons. He has also contributed to More Ready-To-Tell Tales (2000), an anthology of stories from many of the nation’s best professional storytellers.
Rhonda Rucker received her medical degree and internal medicine residency from the University of Kentucky. She learned to play the blues harmonica in 1989, and soon began to perform on stage with Sparky. Her instruments include the blues harmonica, piano and banjo. Rucker has written articles for the Encyclopedia of Appalachia.
Sparky and Rhonda have performed at the Smithsonian Folklife Festival, the Kennedy Center in Washington D.C., and on NPR’s On Point. Their music is included on the Grammy-nominated anthology, Singing Through the Hard Times, and the syndicated television miniseries The Wild West. Their recording, Treasures & Tears, was nominated for a W.C. Handy Award.
The event is sponsored by the History Department and the Dean of Faculty.
