Matthew Weaver

"'Unreferenced|date=January 2007Matthew Weaver was born on July 12, 1972 in the Pocono Mountains of Pennsylvania, and in 1984 moved to Salisbury, North Carolina. A talented musician that play 19 different instruments. He has traveled all over the United States performing in hundreds of Bluegrass Shows, Appalachian Mountain Music shows, and 15 off-Broadway musical shows. He comes from a musical family, the "Tommy Schaffer & The Blue Mountain Ramblers," that performed mountain, hillbilly, and country music, for over 80 years, hosted the longest running live radio show in Pennsylvania, and made several guest appearances on The Grand Ole Opry.

From 1994-1999 he traveled and performed with the bluegrass off-Broadway show, "Smoke on the Mountain." In 2000, he performed in the reunion show, "Sander's Family Christmas," which became the sequel to "Smoke on the Mountain." In 2001, he performed and danced in "Pump Boys and Dinettes".

November 2006 was the original cast reunion for the new world-premier at the Merony Theater, Salisbury, N.C. of "Smoke on the Mountain Homecoming" or "Smoke III" is what the show is referred too.

Matthew has performed at "Tweetsie Railroad", in Blowing Rock, North Carolina, "Dollywood", in Pigeon Forge, Tennessee, and appeared on PBS's "Across The Blue Ridge". He has also been featured in "Country Weekly Magazine", amongst several other publications.

Matthew started playing the piano at the age of three, and developed a "Floyd Cramer style" that is in demand for studio productions all over the South. He has personally recorded eight CDs, and are available on his web page.

He serves as director of music at Sacred Heart Catholic Church in Salisbury, North Carolina, and holds First Degree status in the Knights of Columbus. He is actively involved in the National Right to Life, Appalachian Trail Conservancy, Nature Conservancy, North Carolina Wildlife Association, and the Appalachian-Bluegrass Music Preservation Association, and is an active conservationist.

Matthew has performed and recorded with the legendary Mike Craver, who is a former member of The Original Red Clay Ramblers, and has appeared numerous times on public radio's, "A Prairie Home Companion".

Matthew is attending Appalachian State University, Boone, North Carolina, where his major is in History with a minor in Appalachian Studies. Upon completion, he plans to work on a graduate degree in Appalachian Studies and Appalachian Mountain Music.

When Matthew is not traveling, you will find him and his best friend Justin Troutman, hiking, fishing, exploring, and taking thousand of pictures through out Cades Cove, the Appalachians, the Great Smokey and Blue Ridge mountains of North Carolina-Tennessee. As of summer 2007, Justin is in Brazil teaching English at the University. His girlfriend Ludmila and her family is from Uberlândia, Minas Gerais Brazil.

External links

* [http://www.appstate.edu Appalachian State University]
* [http://www.appalachiantrail.org Appalachian Trail Conservation]
* [http://www.kofc.org Knights of Columbus Official Web Site]
* [http://www.justintroutman.org Justin's Official Web Site -Cryptographer, Consultant, and Lecturer]
* [http://www.theabramsbrothers.ca/index.cfm The Abrams Brothers-Bluegrass brothers from Canada]
* [http://www.watauga-arts.org Watauga Arts Council-Boone, NC]
* [http://www.matthewweavermusic.com Matthew Weaver's Official Website]
* [http://www.ibma.org/ Intentional Bluegrass Music Association (including BITS)]
* [http://www.thelewisfamilymusic.com The Lewis Family's Official Website]
* [http://www.dollywood.com Dollywood]
* [http://www.bluegrasslyrics.com Bluegrass Lyrics]
* [http://www.bluegrassmusic.com Bluegrass Unlimited]
* [http://www.mikecraver.com/ Mike Craver's Official Website (Original Red Clay Rambler)]

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