A Civil War Evening with Sparky & Rhonda Rucker

A Civil War Evening
Kingsport Cultural Arts and the Tri Cities Civil War Round Table are co-sponsoring “A Civil War Evening” next week in the Renaissance Center Theatre.
The event – “America in Crisis – The Civil War Years” – will be performed by James “Sparky” Rucker and Rhonda Rucker. The one-hour event will be held at 7 p.m. on July 14 in the Kingsport Renaissance Center Theatre (1200 E. Center Street).

Through song and storytelling, the Ruckers chronicle 19th Century America beginning with the causes and events leading up to the Civil War. The folk duo uses heart-rending, soulful music along with colorful anecdotes to present the highlights of the conflict.

Their presentation gives the history from the perspectives of both the North and South, including the participation of the African American soldiers. The stories, ranging from poignant to humorous, include insights into the charismatic, larger-than-life personalities who participated in the war.
Sparky and Rhonda accompany themselves with fingerstyle picking and bottleneck blues guitar, old-time banjo, blues harmonica, spoons, and bones.
Over the decades, the Ruckers have performed at the Kennedy Center, the Smithsonian Folklife Festival, and the International Storytelling Center, as well as NPR’s On Point, Prairie Home Companion, Mountain Stage, and Morning Edition.
To learn more about the Ruckers, visit their website at www.sparkyandrhonda.com.

Tickets for the event are $10 each and can be purchased at the Fun Fest store in the Kingsport Chamber of Commerce (400 Clinchfield Street).
For more information about the event, please visit https://bit.ly/3Iv165E or contact Wayne Strong with the Tri-Cities Civil War Round Table at 423-367-4545 or trustwrks@aol.com.

About Kingsport Cultural Arts
Kingsport Cultural Arts connects, coordinates and engages the public with a creative community. We operate the Renaissance Arts Center, the Farmers Market Pavilion, the Kingsport Carousel, the Carousel Fine Craft Show, Kingsport Public Art Program, Engage Kingsport Performing Arts Series and a broad range of support to the area’s arts organizations. KCA works in tandem with Engage Kingsport, Inc., the “Friends of the Cultural Arts” group, a private, volunteer-led 501(c)3 non-profit community organization. For more information, please visit www.artskingsport.org.
About the City of Kingsport
Founded in 1917, the City of Kingsport (pop. 55,400) is located on the Tennessee-Virginia border at the crossroads of I-81 and I-26 near the geographic center of the eastern United States. The city is widely known as a planned community, designed by renowned city planner John Nolen and wrapping around the foot of Bays Mountain – a 3,750-acre park, nature preserve, planetarium and observatory. Kingsport is recognized as an International Safe Community by the National Safety Council, a Healthier Tennessee community, and won the 2009 Harvard Innovations in American Government Award for its higher education initiatives. While many city names are duplicated throughout the U.S., there’s only one Kingsport – a fact that invokes community pride, known locally as the “Kingsport Spirit.” For more information, please visit www.kingsporttn.gov.