Mountain rock band Cullowhee to play reunion concert Sept. 18 at WCU
This article features an event that occurred in the past.
Cullowhee began in the 1970s as a folk trio and evolved into a six-man mountain rock band.
The mountain rock band Cullowhee, named for the community where its sound was born, will reunite for a concert at 7 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 18, in Hoey Auditorium at Western Carolina University.
The band began in the 1970s as a folk trio and evolved into a six-man mountain rock band featuring former WCU students Terry Edwards, Mike Clark, Sandy Flynn and Thom Jenkins, as well as Fred “Rick” Hubbard and Woody Jenkins. Members wrote and performed music including “Bring Back the Magic,” “Old Man of Sylva” and “Peace on the Mountain.” Cullowhee last toured in 1984.
The Sept. 18 event will be the group’s third reunion concert at WCU to benefit the Cullowhee Revitalization Endeavour, a nonprofit organization working to help revitalize the community along Old Cullowhee Road.
Members of the band Cullowhee, from left, Sandy Flynn on bass, Terry Edwards on drums and Rick Hubbard on guitar; perform at a reunion show held at Western Carolina University in Cullowhee.
“We were proud of where we came from,” said Flynn before the first reunion show to benefit CuRvE in 2008. “We called our music mountain rock, and spread the name Cullowhee around the country and world, playing to audiences from 10 to 20,000.”
The past reunion concerts have raised several thousand dollars used to support beautification projects, including a recently installed student-painted mural.
“I’ve been floored to see the following that the Cullowhee band has,” said Christopher Blake, co-chair of CuRvE and assistant professor of English at WCU. “The outpouring of support from their fans is astounding. We’ve received dozens of notes along with their ticket requests telling us their memories of attending concerts more than 20 years ago and thanking us for bringing them back.”
The reunion concerts also are attracting new fans, said Blake.
“Students leave the concert amazed at the depth of the group’s musical talent, as members rotate between multiple instruments during the concert,” said Blake. “The band wears not only a variety of musical hats, but also a variety of actual hats during the show. It’s all part of an entertainment package that really can’t be found anywhere else.”
Tickets are $25 for reserved seats and $15 for open seating, and can be purchased online at gocullowhee.org; by mail at CuRvE, P.O. Box 1322, Cullowhee, N.C. 28723; or at the door before the show.
Opening for the band at 6 p.m. will be “Eric Hendrix & Los Dos,” an acoustic band performing original music.
To learn more about the band, visit cullowheeband.com or find them on Facebook. For more information about the show, contact Blake at 828-399-1529 or cullowheerevitalization@gmail.com.
