Sounds of Summer Concert

Don’t miss this! Big Al Hall & The Marching Rams will hit the stage at 6:30pm this Thursday, 07/08/2010 in the Wrightsville Beach Park at 1 Bob Sawyer Drive, Wrightsville Beach, NC. Bring a picnic and enjoy a music-filled day in Wrightsville Beach Park. Sponsored by WECT and hosted by Wrightsville Beach Parks & Recreation. In the event of rain, concert will be held the following Thursdays. (See Summer Concert schedule here)

Alex Hall, or Big Al, was raised and educated in the bread basket of traditional old time and string band music. The border between western Virginia and North Carolina is home to the oldest and most popular fiddle conventions and traditional music festivals in America. It was at these festivals he learned the traditional songs and tunes handed down through the generations. Here, also, he found other like-minded young people who saw the raw beauty in the ancient music. Alex quickly saw and felt a likeness between the energy of the Alt-rock and punk music popular at the time and the rowdy moods of the old time string bands. This connection is one that seemed far-fetched then but one that many make today.

Shortly after college, Alex started his first old time bands. These projects help to launch the musical career of many of the most popular artists in the genre. Finding his way to Nashville he began to focus on songwriting. After Nashville, Alex made his way to Wilmington, NC. It was here that he teamed up with local rockers Kevin and Lincoln and began to combine modern sounds with old. After adding their friend Jones on upright bass they started recording Alex’s original material as well as new takes on traditional songs. The band has two new records coming out in 2010.

Big Al Hall has gathered a devout fan base with his high energy shows and earnest songwriting. When the band plays the acoustic jammers, metal and punk rockers and music lovers young and old all turn out to dance, clap and sing along with Big Al Hall.