Rockapella
September 4th, 2008 at 8:00 pm - The undisputed kings of contemporary pop a cappella, the sound of this five-man powerhouse is an inf Learn More...
Gleb Ivanov, pianist
September 11th, 2008 at 8:00 pm - Twenty-five year old Russian pianist Gleb Ivanov is “eerily like the ghost of Horowitz…His talent is Learn More...
Music in the Air VI
September 14th, 2008 at 5:00 pm - Bells and more will ring from the tower of Tillman Hall as university carillonneur Linda Dzuris pres Learn More...
Neil Berg's 100 Years of Broadway
September 16th, 2008 at 8:00 pm - 100 Years of Broadway is a revue featuring five of Broadway’s finest singers accompanied by an all-s Learn More...
The Musical Adventures of Flat Stanley
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Ricky Skaggs Shares Wisdom and Advice
With Students
Before his concert that opened the Brooks Center’s 2006-2007 season, bluegrass legend Ricky Skaggs took the time to speak with Clemson University performing arts students.
The 11-time Grammy Award winner answered questions and told stories about his 35 years of playing, recording and touring. He even signed a few autographs.
Skaggs challenged the students to follow their passion, but heeded their enthusiasm with a word of caution. “If you think you have the ability to make a living in the music industry, check your heart first,” he said. “Make sure you’re doing it for the right reason. The music business is tough and isn’t as easy as it appears. But if you have the calling, you will know.”
And Skagss should know. He began performing professionally as a teenager. Born on July 18, 1954, in Cordell, KY, he was an accomplished singer and mandolin player by his early teens. In 1971, he was invited to join the band of bluegrass patriarch Ralph Stanley, and soon after, Skaggs began to build a reputation for creativity and excitement through live appearances and recordings. Other early collaborations teamed the young Skaggs with Emmylou Harris as well as J.D. Crowe & The New South.
In the 1980s, he moved into more mainstream country music, re-invigorating the genre with a sound that was contemporary yet traditional. Skaggs then returned to his bluegrass roots in the 1990s, where he is now viewed as one of the genre’s greatest ambassadors. 
“As a modern artist, his depth of experiences and broad knowledge of country music history truly sets him apart from his contemporaries,” said Mark Hosler, a Clemson music professor who teaches and researches country music.
At the end of his presentation, Skaggs reminded the students to strive to do their best and to keep learning.
“My advice to young musicians,” he said, “is to get in a band were the other musicians are better than you. That’s the way you learn. That’s what I’ve done. My college education was in the bands of Bill Monroe and Ralph Stanley. The guys in the current band, Kentucky Thunder, teach me something new all the time. Never stop learning.”
Skaggs performed before a sellout Brooks Center audience on Tuesday, September 5.
