Jay Brown presents the best of local songwriters

White Horse Black Mountain owner Bob Hinkle  schedules several ongoing series at the venue, including the Cabaret Jazz Series, the jazz duo series Take Two and the Wednesday Waltzes. Now, songwriter Jay Brown is introducing a new monthly series wherein  he joins guest songwriter-performers whose work is particularly distinctive and individualistic.

The inaugural concert will showcase the work of the White Horse’s resident songwriter, Bob Hinkle himself, as he and Jay share and swap songs on Monday, June 20. 

Ketch Secor of Old Crow Medicine Show affirms that Jay Brown is “the most authentic songster to come out of the Carolina High Country since a man named Doc Watson.”

A singer, songwriter and multi-instrumentalist, Brown has hundreds of classic songs in his repertoire as well as about 100 originals. He performs with Boone-based roots band The Lazybirds, Indian-flavored world music group Shantavaani and early-jazz cats Swing Guitars. In 2007 he founded The Jay Brown One-Man-Band, in which the sole member handles vocals, guitar, harmonica, percussion and piano. The busy musician can be found gigging in clubs and pubs around Asheville and Western North Carolina. He has also performed and studied in locales around the world, including New Orleans, California, India, Ghana, and Peru.

Hinkle, the series’ first guest songwriter, is a native of Asheville who got his big break in show business as a member of the folk pop band The Good Earth, with whom he toured and recorded, sharing stages with major acts. He also made a solo album, "Ollie Moggus," before migrating to the business side of the music world. Hinkle spent over 40 years in New York, where he wore many hats in the music and entertainment industry as touring and recording performer, composer, record company executive, consultant, artist management, executive producer and more.

In 2008, Hinkle returned to the mountains of North Carolina to wear a new hat, that of music venue owner. He writes both poetry and songs, which he delivers with a voice of experience accompanied by guitar backup refined by years of playing. He sings about issues both lighthearted and serious, but there’s often an undercurrent of wry humor in even the weightiest songs.  

Celebrating the songster

Who: Jay Brown, with Bob Hinkle

When: 7 p.m., June 20

Where: White Horse Black Mountain

Cost: $6