Expect a range of music styles from Mountain Friends Trio

BLACK MOUNTAIN - If you're looking for variety in a concert, Mountain Friends Trio may be the right group for you.

Made up of married couple Cheryl and Doug Frey and their good friend Mike Gosey, the Mountain Friends Trio enjoys performing a wide range of genres from traditional Appalachian folk to gospel to jazz to Beatles, tunes they have loved throughout their long history.

The Black Mountain Center for the Arts presents the Mountain Friends Trio at 7:30 p.m. Dec. 19 as part of its holiday lineup. Tickets are $12.

Doug and Mike began playing music together in the early '70s, but professional and family life separated their band after college graduation. Thirty years later, the mountains of Western North Carolina found them in the same place at the same time again, and their music and friendship was quickly rekindled.

Mike recently released his first CD of original “new age” Christian music.  Doug and Cheryl’s previous bands produced CD recordings of traditional and folk tunes and performed across Virginia and the Carolinas. Retirement has allowed this group to come together much more often to share their love of vocal and instrumental harmony.   

Cheryl and Doug Frey are native Virginians who have been performing together since 1972. Celebrating 45 years of married bliss this year, music has been the glue that holds the beautiful bond they share. They have performed with ensembles including Homespun and the Inn-tentional String Band as well as many opportunities as a duet. 

Before her recent retirement from school leadership, Cheryl served as assistant director at ArtSpace Charter School in Swannanoa. Doug worked for Volvo Heavy Trucks as an industrial engineer for 37 years. He is semiretired and currently works with a Swedish consulting firm in leadership development and organizational change. Cheryl plays dulcimer, mandolin and bass and Doug plays bass and autoharp, but their forte is singing lead and harmony vocals together.

Mike Gosey was born in Rutherford County but moved to eastern Virginia at an early age and was raised there. He has been playing guitar since he was 8 years old. Since age 15, he has played in too many bands to count, from lounge bands to country bands to hard rock bands through the jazz-fusion-crazy ‘70s. At the ripe age of 68 he has narrowed his musical interest to straight ahead jazz, particularly the bebop genre pioneered by Charlie Parker, Dizzy Gillespie, and a host of others. 

Gosey is a retired technology salesperson having held positions from entry level to executive roles and directorship of world-wide organizations in companies such as Oracle Corp and IBM. He retired from IBM in 2016 but has recently joined his two professional mentors from the old days in a technology services startup called BoxBoat. In addition to guitar, he also plays piano just enough to make a real pianist angry.

This concert is sure to warm the hearts of those who listen. The Mountain Friends Trio are seasoned entertainers whose mastery of their instruments and years of performing together offer audience members a glimpse into the ties that bind us together and how the harmonious results can lift us as one.

For more tickets or information call 828-669-0930 or visit BlackMountainArts.org. The Black Mountain Center for the Arts is located at 225 W. State Street.