Although now an international phenomenon, Bluegrass music would have never reached such popularity without the musical community that formed in the DC area. Local bands, radio stations, and music venues, reverberated these melodies round the whole world. Join Zack Youcha, Andrew Acosta, Randy Barrett, Michael Jaworek, and Don Rusnak on a musical exploration of Arlington’s Bluegrass history. Through song and conversation, they will demonstrate and discuss Arlington’s important contributions to the cultural explosion of a beloved American genre. Due to the performance nature of this event, this will be an IN-HOUSE ONLY event and not available on Zoom.
Randy Barrett is president of Bluegrass Country radio, America’s oldest bluegrass, old time and Americana station (formerly operated by WAMU FM). Streaming worldwide, it offers a unique blend of musical offerings old and new curated by expert deejays from a library of more than 100,000 recordings. He is also a musician, songwriter, luthier and co-author, with Ben Eldridge, of the celebrated book On Banjo: Recollections, Licks and Solos.
Michael Jaworek has been a concert promoter for over 50 years, presenting pop/jazz/blues/world beat music, as well as dance companies. His activities currently are focused in the Washington DC/Baltimore MD markets, where he is promoter for The Birchmere along with other venues. He has been nominated many times as “Nightclub Talent Buyer of the Year” by Pollstar Magazine, the publication of record for the concert promotion industry. Mr. Jaworek was also a co-founder of the Washington Area Music Awards. He has been a NARAS member & served on the Wash DC Board of Governors for philanthropy of NARAS. He has received the International Talent Buyers Association “Club Buyer of the Year” Award.
Andrew Acosta is a Falls Church native. Born in 1952, he formed his first band The Dusters in 1975 with the encouragement of local bluegrass bandleader Benny and Vallie Cain. He attended college at VCU and Clinch Valley College (now UVA Wise) where he soaked up the deep musical traditions of southwest Virginia. In 1999, he formed The New Old Time String Band with banjoist Pat MacCauley, then added fiddle player Roy ‘Speedy’ Tolliver. They performed extensively in northern Virginia and also the Kennedy Center’s Millennium Stage and The Smithsonian Folk Life Festival in 2007, which is also the year the legendary Arlington bluegrass guitarist John Kaparakis joined the group. Andrew still resides in Falls Chuch, performs often, has produced four CD’s and is very thankful for the many blessings music has brought into his life.
Don Rusnak is a lifelong banjo player, steeped in the history and lore of Arlington and Alexandria. After moving here as a kid, Don leapt into the Bluegrass and Country music scenes, becoming a regular performer, as well as a banjo maker and repairman. Through the community that developed around his instrument shop, Vintage Music, Don founded the Capital Area Bluegrass and Oldtime Music Association (CABOMA) in 1978. It is still thriving and open to the public.
Zack Youcha is the executive director of Music is Culture, a non-profit record label and publishing company supporting the preservation of traditional music worldwide. His own work preserving the songs of his Sephardic ancestors led to collaborations with museums, universities, archives, and governments around the world. He wrote an article for the Arlington Historical Magazine’s 2024 edition titled: “From the Seldom Scene to the Seldom Heard of: An Interview about Arlington Bluegrass with CABOMA Founder, Don Rusnack” that inspired this presentation. You can find an ongoing publication of his research through the Jewish Music Research Centre.
This is an in-person event only. Zoom is not being offered due to the performative nature of this event.
DRIVING DIRECTIONS and FREE PARKING: Attendees planning to attend the event in-person should enter the Marymount University campus at the library gate on N. 26th Street. From Glebe Road going north, take a right onto 26th Street. Pass the intersection with Yorktown Road and then enter the campus through the next gate on your left. The library is to your left as you enter the campus. Free garage parking is just past the library at the bottom of the small incline. (Handicapped parking is immediately to your right as you enter through the gate onto campus.)
- If the university has lowered the garage gates, push the button and let them know you’re here for an Arlington Historical Society event in the library. To leave, push the button and they’ll raise the gate.
This event is one of the monthly series of free public programs sponsored by the Arlington Historical Society. This event is hosted courtesy of the Marymount University politics program’s American Heritage Initiative. For more information, please email: info@arlingtonhistoricalsociety.org.
