Bluegrass set to take over PowPac Friday, Saturday

Overloaded on the Christmas carols? Take a break from the jingle bells with the Front Porch Music Preservation Society, who will be performing Friday and Saturday at PowPAC, Poway’s Community Theatre.

The concerts will be at 8 p.m. both nights at 13250 Poway Road, in the Lively Center. Tickets are $21.50 online, $22.50 by phone at 858-679-8085, by email at boxoffice@powpac.org or at the door.

The two-hour concerts will feature a history of bluegrass, as well as original music from the Front Porch Music Preservation Society and some bluegrass-style covers of well-known country and rock and roll songs.

The Front Porch Music Preservation Society, despite the name, is a bluegrass band consisting of Corky Shelton on banjo, Greg Burrows on lead guitar, Scott Edwards on bass and Shelton’s son, Jeremy Shelton, on guitar.

The group has been together for about three years, said Corky Shelton. “I’ve been a musician for over 35 years,” said Shelton. “I took up the banjo when I was 26 and most of the music I learned on my front porch, which is where the name came from.”

The concerts will include two 50-minute sessions with a short break in between, said Shelton. The first part of the concert will focus on the history of bluegrass with Shelton providing anecdotes and information and performing older, string band music. The second part will include the Front Porch Music Preservation Society’s original music, as well as some bluegrass covers of older country music and rock and roll, including Queen’s “Fat Bottomed Girls.”

“It’s amazing to see how it fits (when adapted to bluegrass),” said Shelton of the cover. “People almost break their necks turning to look when we play it at bars.”

Shelton said he was approached by Mike Davis, one of PowPAC’s board members, to perform at the theatre as part of PowPAC’s new concert special events. The Front Porch Music Preservation Society will be the third special event PowPAC has held.

“I’m a part-time teacher of luthery (guitar making and repair) at Palomar College, where I met Mike Davis,” said Shelton. “He came to see us perform and approached us about performing at PowPAC. He said they wanted to do something different for Christmas, to take a break from Christmas.”

Shelton said he was looking forward to performing at PowPAC. “We’re going to have a lot of fun with it,” he said. “I’m really honored to have been asked to perform. I think it’ll be a hoot for everybody, and I’ll spin a few yarns.”