Charles Atkins Blues Band - Drums

Sir Charles Atkins, Professor of the Blues, Tallahassee's Soul Brother Number One: these are all titles that Charles Atkins has earned. To most people, he is known as a serious musician and a polite gentleman with a social conscious. A real, down home person, and a talented musician with a big heart. Charles learned music at the Florida School for the Blind in Saint Augustine, Florida and later earned a degree in music education at Florida State University. His chosen instruments are keyboards and vocals. He has performed with Sam and Dave, and Benny Latimore. He has since branched out on his own. Charles Atkins is not just a piano player, a soulful vocalist, and a talented songwriter; he has produced and played for other artists' recordings. Charles is willing to share his experience, teaching music in several settings. Charles plays in various groups, duos and trios, and with his most recent venture, the Charles Atkins Blues Band: Charles "Sir Charles" Atkins- Keyboards and Vocals Adam "Rooster" Gaffney - Bass; Deborah "Sweetgroove" Osborne-Berlinger - Percussion; Lois Hinners - Guitar and Vocals


The Mayhaws - Drums and Percussion

Mayhaws MySpace - Music

The mayhaw is the fruit of several kinds of hawthorn trees native to the low and swampy parts of the deep south. As the name implies, the fruit ripens in early May. Because hawthorn trees are covered in thorns and impossible to climb, folks used to go out and collect the fruit by laying a blanket under the tree and shaking the haws out onto it. The jellies and wines made from the mayhaw are considered to be amongst the finest in the world.

Like their namesakes, The Mayhaws are sweet and thorny, playing music rooted in American and American-immigrant traditions. Each member brings to the enterprise a wealth of musical experience, their combined talents resulting in a piquant mix of folk, honky-tonk, soul, bluegrass and old-school country. A Mayhaws set can run the gamut from traditional hill music to delta blues to pop songs re-imagined as jug tunes.

When Dave Leporati of Singing Biscuit signed on with Sharla June & The Mayhaws as occasional man of the mandolin, he couldn't have known that eventually it would lead to two bands merging into one. Upon original bass player Doug Morgan's departure, Carrie Hamby of Singing Biscuit—an accomplished songwriter and singer—joined in on upright for a series of gigs. It was apparent to everyone who saw these early shows that something special was happening, and it wasn't long before the two groups decided to activate their Wonder Twin powers and take the form of The Mayhaws.

With their roots in folk and country music and their hearts in the honky-tonk, The Mayhaws do rockabilly Stooges, samba Patsy Cline, and a wealth of originals (written by all three core members) that saunter, swing, or make folks weep into their shot glasses. Come and see them soon—you will be moved. You'll shake your tail feathers. You'll remember why they call it folk music.