2nd Saturdays @ 7

The Highland County Arts Council is thrilled to welcome back Scuffletown for our 2nd Saturday in April. This acoustic high energy duo of Marc Carraway on guitar and vocals and John Whitlow on harmonica, accordion, flute and vocals perform a unique blend of original music and acoustic roots, blues, jazz, bluegrass and country. They’ve performed at wineries, marinas, concert shows, pubs and boat docks for over 25 years, recording four acclaimed albums. Their show on Saturday, April 12 at 7 p.m. at The Highland Center is sure to be a memorable evening of great music. 

 

Scuffletown got started around 1996, when singer-songwriter Marc Carraway met harmonica player John Whitlow at a music shop in Orange, Va. John had seen Marc perform around the area, and invited him to do a basement show. The show was a hit, and Marc invited John onstage for an extended impromptu jam. Subsequent duo gigs came about, and two years later the two-man band adopted the name Scuffletown at a “name the band” concert in 1998. Vaughan Mairs, who had made several guest appearances with the band over the years joined Scuffletown in 2010, and performed with the band until his untimely passing in 2019.

 

John Whitlow, who honed his harmonica chops under the tutelage of Phil Wiggins of Cephas and Wiggins, also plays flute, melodica, and accordion.  He has performed and shared bills with a range of regional and national musicians, including John Stewart, Jesse Colin Young, David M. Bailey, and Pierce Pettis. John Hill, founder and former host of WNRN's Acoustic Sunrise, states "his harmonica abilities are truly world class.” John brings energy, musicianship, and humor to Scuffletown, and has contributed some of the most popular originals, including "Rock'n-Roll Man," "The Wine Song," and "Dorky Little White Man Blues" to the band's repertoire.

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Marc Carraway performed and toured professionally throughout the 1980's and 90's as a solo singer-songwriter, and as a member of Tidewater-based bands Now & Then, Skipper's Folly, and the Bay Trading Company, sharing bills with the Tony Rice Unit, the Kingston Trio, Martin Simpson, and Tom Paxton. The Mary Washington Bullet called him "...one of this region's stellar performers."  With several albums to his credit on the Tidewater-based Waterbound Records, Marc has received extensive airplay for several songs, including "Barrel of a Gun," and more recently, with "All These Roads." He plays mandolin and banjo as well as guitar, and does much of the lead singing and songwriting for Scuffletown.

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“Scuffletown is proof positive that the best things in life are the ones that last,” said Mark Grabowski of The Hook. Their return to our concert series on April 12 at 7 p.m. at The Highland Center will be a great evening of music and fellowship.