Old School Hip-Hop Drops on Snowshoe
A crew of crazy collegiates will descend on Snowshoe this month for the annual College Winter Break, a one-week blowout of happy hours, hooking up, and hangover skiing. This year the kids will be dancing to the beats and rhymes of hip-hop has-beens Biz Markie (January 4) and DJ Jazzy Jeff (January 7). In case you forgot, Markie had a hit with the sloppy ballad “Just a Friend.” Lately he’s been making party house calls and doing a little acting in film (Men in Black) and TV. Jazzy Jeff got the short end of the wishbone from his former partner Will Smith (aka the Fresh Prince), who launched off into Hollywood mega-stardom. But he does get credit for that forever-relevant anthem “Parents Just Don’t Understand.”
Pickin’ Party in Bristol
On January 20 a herd of the finest string slingers will congregate in Bristol, Tenn., for the annual “Pickin’ at the Paramount.” The line-up at the ornate Paramount Theate on State Street showcases some of the best musicians in bluegrass, as individual members from bands such as The Seldom Scene, Mountain Heart, Ricky Skaggs and Kentucky Thunder, Del McCoury Band, and others will be picking all night.
