COPPERHILL, Tenn - North Carolina bluegrass/gospel band Mountain Faith will appear at the Copperhill Opry Saturday evening.
"This family gospel bluegrass band is really one of the best 'unknown' bands I've come across in a long time," said Danny Davenport, president of Copperhill Enterprises LLC and one of the driving forces behind the Copperhill Opry.
The band performs a mix of old standards and newer songs, according to Summer Brooke McMahan, Mountain Faith's 17-year-old singer and fiddler.
Despite her young age, McMahan has played with Mountain Faith for nearly 10 years. Founding members include her father, Sam; brother, Brayden; and a cousin, John Morgan. Paul Hargill, a recent addition to the band, is the oldest youngster in Mountain Faith; he turns 21 today.
She said they began by playing in her grandmother's church, and from there it became a regular schedule of church appearances and festivals on weekends from April through October. Their motto is "Bluegrass is our music ... Christ is our passion."
The band has many influences, but McMahan said she takes special inspiration from Alison Krauss. The young singer/fiddler especially cherishes a 10-minute conversation with Krauss at the Grand Ole Opry.
"It was very hard to breathe," said McMahan, laughing.
Copperhill Opry performances take place in the recently renovated upstairs gymnasium of the city's landmark city hall building on Main Street.
Paul Leach is based in Cleveland, Tenn. Contact him at paulrleach3@gmail.com.