Martha Redbone’s ‘Bone Hill – The Concert’ comes to Kahilu Theatre

Martha Redbone’s “Bone Hill – The Concert,” an epic musical journey that tells a uniquely American story about family and dreams, comes to Kahilu Theatre on Oct. 29.

Inspired by Redbone’s own life, and the lives of the women whom she descended from in Appalachia, the show tells a radical story through a wide-ranging musical palette that consists of traditional Cherokee chants and lullabies to bluegrass and blues, country, gospel, jazz, rock ‘n’ roll, rhythm and blues, and funk. The concert gets underway at 7 p.m. at the Waimea theater.

“Bone Hill – The Concert” is uncompromising in its desire to be honest about uncomfortable subjects and especially the subject of race in America. The piece addresses the plight of the Cherokee people who returned home after the Trail of Tears, the U.S. government’s racial reclassification legislatures of the mid-Atlantic states, ancient burial grounds being desecrated in the name of industry, and more. While it reveals erased, forgotten truths, the show does so with humor, pathos, and exuberance.

Redbone will be accompanied by a six-piece band led by co-creator Aaron Whitby (piano, organ) and featuring Charlie Burnham (violin and harmonica); Marvin Sewell (banjo and guitar); Alan Burroughs (dobro and guitar); Fred Cash (bass); and Tony Mason (drums).

Tickets range in price from $20-$68 and can be purchased online at www.kahilutheatre.org, by calling 885-6868 or at the theater’s box office, 67-1186 Lindsey Road, in Waimea between 9 a.m. and 1 p.m. Monday through Friday. Doors will open at 6 p.m.

There will also be a Youth Show performance of “Bone Hill – The Concert” at the theater at 10:30 a.m. on Oct. 31. For more information, contact Education Coordinator Lisa Shattuck at youth@kahilutheatre.org.

Info: www.kahilutheatre.org.