Aaron Burdett Acoustic Trio performed to a sold out crowd at the In Your Ear Recording Studios on January 24, 2019. JAMinc board members Bill Rice and Tim Timberlake worked with Aaron on the Cabin Stage at last year’s MerleFest and were excited to bring them to Studio A.
Band members mingled with attendees and ate some food at the pot luck before the show. Overheard after the show – “It was a wonderful show … so glad I came.” The band also said it was a great show for them and they wished every city they played had a venue/show like this.
Visit to a local school
As part of their visit, the band performed at Mary Munford Elementary School to about 250 children. Chatting with the kids, Aaron asked if their rooms were messy – many raised their hands and so did a few teachers. He said his room was pretty messy too and suggested they all go home and clean their rooms … a funny moment.
About Aaron Burdett
Creating music isn’t a means to an end, it is an end with a meaning for Aaron Burdett. Writing and creating songs is rooted somewhere deep in his psyche; it’s something that can’t be denied and must be shared. His lyrics are soul-touching, intelligent, witty, and poetic all at once, while his music style is a seamless blend of Americana, country, blues, bluegrass, and folk-rock that cohesively creates a story.
Aaron is listed as one of the top 10 most important musicians of western North Carolina by WNC Magazine, alongside such greats as Doc Watson, Steep Canyon Rangers, and The Avett Brothers. He has also received critical acclaim as a songwriter, winning Our StateMagazine’s Carolina Songs competition in 2012 with “Going Home to Carolina.” Aaron’s song “Magpie” won third place bluegrass song in the prestigious Chris Austin Songwriting Contest at Merlefest in 2013. Over the years Aaron has been a finalist in numerous other songwriting competitions, including The Mountain Stage Songwriting Contest, The NC Songwriter’s Cooperative Songwriting Contest, and the Hank Williams Songwriting Contest.
Aaron’s writing is as prolific and genuine as the man. He grew up the oldest of three boys in the fairly isolated small town in Saluda, NC, where the Blue Ridge meets the Smoky Mountains. When Aaron was about 10 years old he was introduced to the music of Cat Stevens, the first of many musical influences that include the Grateful Dead, Led Zeppelin, Doc Watson, Tony Rice, Norman Blake, and David Grier.
“His sense of melody and depth of lyrics is the perfect combination. His trajectory will be comparable to Ray LaMontagne and Amos Lee when people start to take notice. It will be exciting to watch.” – Brian Swenk (Big Daddy Love), The Mountain Times