Abby Roach is affectionately known as “The Spoon Lady” as she tells the stories of her adventures and struggles of “hoboing” across America for eight years, busking from city to city to make ends meet. She finally landed in Asheville, NC. (by mistake) and has become a permanent fixture in the downtown street music scene referred to as busking.
Three years ago Abby created the Asheville Buskers Collective in an effort to bring the busking community together and address concerns of downtown merchants and the Asheville police department regarding some of the busking acts becoming a hinderance to pedestrian and motor vehicle traffic in the congested and narrow, downtown Asheville streets. With Abby’s guidance, acting as a liaison between the buskers, merchants and city officials, compromises were reached in forming new regulations for buskers that help to make the street entertainment experience safer for pedestrians and more palatable for downtown retailers.
Abby is not only a great bridge builder, she’s an extremely talented percussionist, playing the spoons and bells while accompanied by Chris Rodriques on guitars and banjos as well as some incredible vocals. Their style of music is best described as “Old Timey Jug Band” as many of the songs they perform are from the 1920’s-1940’s and Vaden is happy to tell stories of those songs before they perform them. Don’t be surprised though, if you hear a current and more familiar tune mixed in with other older ones.
Abby is one of a very few professional spoon players in the United States and has been a professional street performer for well over a decade. She studied American folk percussion and music while traveling the country, by both foot and rail. She’s now an internationally known street entertainer who has recently began playing in more traditional settings such as festivals and event venues in the southeast.
Abby’s stories are raw, heart felt stories of her life on the road when she traveled from town to town, riding the rails and playing the spoons for a living.
Abby makes her home, just outside of Asheville in Weaverville, NC. but she can be found most every weekend, and most seasonable weekdays, on the streets of Asheville, NC. playing her spoons and attracting a large crowd of listeners and onlookers.
You’ll be able to see Abby this week at Patton-Crosswhite VFW, 14 16th Street, Bristol TN on Saturday, June 23rd. To purchase visit facebook.com/pg/VFWPost6975/. To learn more about Abby the Spoon Lady visit spoonladymusic.com
