CITIZEN STAFF REPORT
INEZ — Johnny Staats and the Delivery Boys will bring bluegrass to Inez as the Sept. 18 headliner for the 30th annual Martin County Harvest Festival.
The band will perform at 8:30 p.m. on the stage behind the Martin County Courthouse.
A Grand Ole Opry performer and longtime favorite on the West Virginia-Kentucky bluegrass circuit, Staats was inducted into the West Virginia Country Music Hall of Fame in April.
Admission to the Harvest Festival concert will be free.
A West Virginia native, Staats began playing mandolin at age 7 and was performing with his family in area churches by age 10. His father played guitar, his mother piano and his sister banjo.
His career gained national attention in 2000 with the release of his major-label debut album, Wires and Wood, on Giant Records/Warner Bros. The album featured guest appearances by artists including Sara Evans, Kathy Mattea, Pam Tillis, Sam Bush, Jerry Douglas and Tim O’Brien.
But Staats became known for more than his mandolin playing. Even as his music career brought national recognition, he continued working as a UPS driver in West Virginia rather than moving to Nashville and pursuing music full time.
The unlikely combination caught the attention of national media. Staats was profiled by The New York Times and later featured by CBS News, CNN and NBC’s Today. He went on to spend 37 years with UPS while continuing to record, tour and perform.
Staats has performed six times at the Grand Ole Opry and has also appeared at the Ryman Auditorium and on West Virginia Public Broadcasting’s Mountain Stage. His music has taken him overseas for performances in France, Taiwan and Ireland.
During his career, Staats has shared stages with artists including Ricky Skaggs, Del McCoury, Tyler Childers, Brad Paisley, Huey Lewis & The News and the Davisson Brothers Band. He has also performed with the West Virginia Symphony, Wheeling Symphony and Huntington Symphony.
The Friday night concert will open a milestone weekend for the Martin County Harvest Festival.
Jake Hoot, winner of Season 17 of NBC’s “The Voice” in 2019 and “The Voice” All-Star Showdown earlier this year, will headline Saturday, Sept. 19, at 8 p.m. on the Court Street stage. That concert will also be free, with America’s Quick Mart, owned by Jack and Ashwin Patel, sponsoring the performance.