Advertisement
Saturday, Feb 14 - 7pm - FREE SHOW!Slate River Band - 36 Years of Making "REAL" Country Music & Still Killing It!
The Slate River Band was founded in 1989 by Michelle and Nick Nixon with Buddy Amos. The band was later revived with their son, Trace Nixon, in 2018 to bring an “acoustic” version of Slate River to the public. The original band members included Trace, Michelle and Nick, along with the late Mike Sharp on dobro, Steve Easter on bass, and Morgan Easter on keyboard.
The top-notch music paired with unbeatable vocals and killer family harmony catapults listeners right back to the 1990’s. Listeners can now enjoy one of the hottest bands around, with long time SRB members Craig Lokey on drums, Eddie Shifflett on guitar and mandolin, and Randy Cook on the steel guitar.
Old fans and new fans alike have been helping to sell out the selected shows being played by the Slate River Band. Don’t miss your opportunity to hear this group and enjoy their love of good, country music with a twist of Grass. From slow heart-felt ballads to two-steppin’, toe-tapping dance songs, the Slate River band plays a variety of the best originals and covers that is sure to leave you with a smile on your face!
Michelle Nixon
Band Leader, Lead and Harmony Vocals, Songwriter
Michelle Nixon began singing when she was just a kid and has never stopped! Her professional music career truly started when she formed the band Slate River with her husband Nick in 1989. In 1990 and 1991, Nixon won the Virginia Folk Music Association’s female vocalist of the year award.
In 2006, Michelle won SPBGMA Female Vocalist of the year. She is also a proud member of “The Daughters of Bluegrass” project, winning 2 IBMA Recording Events of the Year awards. Nixon’s last “bluegrass” project was released on Mountain Fever Records and earned the label & Michelle her first #1 cd on the Bluegrass charts! After supporting this project Michelle & Nick decided to “come home” and back to their country roots to Revive “SLATE RIVER BAND” with their son, Trace Nixon, the late Mike Sharp, a member of Drive and many of the original members of Slate River Band!! Loving every minute of playing music with & for people she loves; Slate River Band is still Going Strong!
Nick Nixon
Rhythm Guitar, Lead and Harmony Vocals, Songwriter
Nick truly loves “Real” Country Music! From the time he picked up his first guitar, given to him by his Grandad, & and started honing his voice at the age of 11, he hasn’t put it down nor stopped singing!! Together with Michelle Nixon & Buddy Amos, they started Slate River Band 35 years ago and it’s still thriving!! Besides a few years of National touring with Michelle Nixon & Drive on the bluegrass circuit, Nick has always dedicated his career to keeping Classic Country music alive and is still doing so! Nick was honored as Top 2 in the National Ed McMan Next Big Star Search Competition as well as Slate River Band won the Country Music Showdown back in the day!! With the sound of George Strait, Alan Jackson to Randy Travis, country music fans LOVE Nixon’s smooth voice!
Steve Easter
Electric Bass
Stephen Easter, of Midlothian VA, has been playing electric and upright bass for over 40 years performing across jazz, blues, rock, bluegrass, and country genres. He started playing with Slate River Band in 1995 and was part of Michelle Nixon’s earliest bluegrass groups, Local Exchange.
Stephen comes from a musical family (related to the southern gospel performers, The Easter Brothers) and started playing in church at 10 years old. He currently plays bass and serves at his local church, Chapel RVA. He feels honored to have played with incredible local talent over the years and looks forward to many more gigs!
Morgan Easter
Keyboards/Organ
Morgan is blessed with a magnificent talent! He hears it and then his fingers play it! He has been playing piano his entire life since he is from a long line of talented musicians!! He has always played in his church, played in his family 80’s rock band, as well as Morgan has been a part of Slate River Band for many many years. Morgan also has a beautiful voice as well as is very skilled at audio & video sound production!! The crowd LOVES Morgan’s phenomenal talent & his uplifting stage presence behind the keyboard!
Eddie Shifflett
Lead Electric and Acoustic Guitar, Mandolin
AKA “Little Eddie” started playing music at age 11 when his Uncle Ray taught him chords on the mandolin & acoustic guitar. He comes from a long line of musicians/singers, lovers of good music, his Grandma Nellie, his Dad, Uncles, Cousins all played/play & Eddie is carrying on the legacy!! After his cousin Butch turned him onto the Electric guitar @ age 14, this led the way to his first paying gig with the band Sweetwater at 17. Eddie has continued to hone his skills as he also played with Cadillac Country Band, Bluegrass Band, Local Exchange onto touring & recording with Award winning Michelle Nixon & Drive & Now he is happy playing Good Country Music with a twist of Grass in Slate River Band!! One of Eddie’s highlights playing music happened in 2004 when he got to play with the Legendary Vern Gosdin “The Voice” in NY. Eddie is a very talented player/singer and SRB is very happy to have him be a part of the family!! Eddie is happily married to his supportive wife, Angel Shifflett, living in his home town of Earlysville, VA.
Randy Cook
Steel Guitar, Mandolin
Randy Cook lives in Hanover County, Virginia and plays steel guitar for Slate River. Randy also plays guitar and mandolin. In the mid-1980’s, Randy helped form the well-known country-rock band Second Helpin’. Second Helpin’ was a fan favorite throughout Virginia for many years. The band opened for numerous major country music acts including Ricky Skaggs, Johnny Paycheck, and the Bellamy Brothers, just to name a few. During the “Oh, Brother..” explosion of Bluegrass music, Randy was the leader in his own bluegrass band, Commonwealth Bluegrass Band. They released two albums that are still being sold and played today. In 2022, Randy returned to his steel guitar and his love of “real” country music and joined Slate River soon thereafter.
Stop out early to get a table seat and have dinner at Hops Kitchen @PRN!
***Special Thanks to Rod Phillips - Dogwood Realty Group (Cville & Crozet) for his continued support and sponsorship of live music at Pro Re Nata!
PRN Music & Media: Brian Combs / Gaslight BC Media
Advertisement
Event Venue & Nearby Stays
Pro Re Nata Brewpub & Music Hall, 6135 Rockfish Gap Tpke, Crozet, VA 22932-3325, United States
Concerts, fests, parties, meetups - all the happenings, one place.
