The Reason for the Benefit

Why is it important to keep places like White Horse Black Mountain alive and well?

White Horse Black Mountain makes a difference in the lives of people.

The venue has been a huge asset for the people of Black Mountain and the surrounding areas of Western North Carolina. The venue has been praised by musicians, audience members, and members of the community for it's quality peformances and it's warm and welcoming spirit.

But it goes beyond that. White Horse Black Mountain has demonstrated that it truly cares about people and desires to make a difference in the lives of people; locally, regionally, and around the world.

During early March, White Horse Black Mountain held it's 2nd Help Haiti Heal Benefit event. Asheville resident and friend of White Horse, Lorin Mallorie, was in Haiti at the time and helped arrange and remote Skype broadcast of Haitian musicians who once again had a stage to share their lives and music with the world. Their performance was shown live on the huge screen at White Horse and White Horse arranged to have the performance webcast live ..... so that anyone in the world could see and hear the voices and music of Haiti.

Lorin Mallorie describes the impact of that event as follows:

On Saturday evening we stage a "live" concert via satellite call to White Horse Black Mountain, which is hosting a Haiti benefit. James Vergenau (aka Rebel) of the Haitian reggae band Yizra'el sings an original tune called "Mother Nature"; Jagat accompanies him on the hand drums. The smaller venues here are still closed for reconstruction, and it's Rebel's first performance since the quake two months ago.

They tell me the White Horse audience was in tears. But what stays with me from that night in Kenscoff is the look in Rebel's eyes, alive and inspired to once again be playing the music he loves — this time for a little town in far off America.





Billy Cardine and Jay Sanders

Billy Cardine and Jay Sanders


Billy Cardine is a Dobro player and multi-instrumentalist who currently performs with a variety of bands and is an active session musician and producer. He has been featured on BBC World's Destination Music, the PBS Roadtrip Nation, at The Ryman Auditorium, Carnegie Hall, The Kennedy Center, NPR's Mountain Stage, and recently The History Channel's Our Generation.

Billy plays a variety of slide guitars from around the world. He is featured on a new project produced by Jerry Douglas honoring the music of Tut Taylor, to be released in may 2010.

"Billy Cardine is an amazing Dobro player. I got to be with him for a little while at Carnegie Hall for Edgar Meyer’s 'Porous Borders'...I couldn’t have picked a better example for them of where the Dobro is now or what the possibilities are with the instrument." --Jerry Douglas
“Billy Cardine proves to be one of the new generation of resonator guitar players who truly understands the possibilities of the instrument” -- Bluegrass Unlimited



Jay Sanders
If there is one thing you can say about bass player, Jay Sanders, it is that he has never stopped following the path his heart leads him through music. With thirteen years in the saddle, he is still touring and recording with folk rock band, Acoustic Syndicate. He played four years with Americana roots rock legends Donna The Buffalo. Jay was one of the original members of the Snake Oil Medicine Show, CX-1, and one of the primary forces behind AVAS (The Acoustic Vibration Appreciation Society). He also currently leads the jazz band, The E.Normus Trio.


As a bass player, what characterizes Jay's music is an overwhelming sense of space, time and genre. His compositions tend towards the melodic and sublime while improvisations can go from the most peaceful melody to full-scale free jazz and noise music. His attention to styles and versatility are the hallmark of his playing. Sanders can either be the "rock," holding the steady rhythmic heartbeat of a song, or take you down a sensitive melodic road of adventurous organic experimentation. The element of creativity that he admires most is collective collaboration with keen awareness.

This spring, Sanders commenced the weekly "Mindtonic Music Series" on Tuesday evenings at the Rocket Club in Asheville; he brings together various collaborative players including Andy Pond and Billy Seawell from Snake Oil Medicine show, Billy Cardine (Biscuit Burners), Mark Van Allen (Blueground Undergrass), Vic Stafford (Donna the Buffalo), Jeff Sipe, Cyril Lance, Jason Krekel (Mad Tea Party), Jason Flournoy (Larry Keel and Natural Bridge), Aaron Woody Wood and David Gans amonst many others. Each week's collaboration results in a completely different sound than the week before, always keeping a dynamic edge. Groups are assembled in order to bridge various music scenes and to showcase the co-creations that form when unlikely musical companions of contrasting styles are set free in an open environment.

Throughout his career Sanders has had the opportunity to play with many of his heroes including Ornette Coleman, Bela Fleck, Sam Bush, Paul Barrere and Fred Tackett of Little Feat, Bernie Worrel, Kirk Joseph, Vassar Clements, Jim Lauderdale, Tim O'Brien, Larry Keel, Hank Roberts and many more. He has studied with Reggie Wooten, E. Michael Harrington, Jerry Coker and countless inspiring individual talents over the years.

Over the years, Jay Sanders has become a sought after bass player for his versatility and attentiveness. "Anyone can play the bass, but it takes keen intuition and a good ear to become a great bass player," he says. With so many projects in the works, it will be exciting to see what shape his next musical adventure will take.