Art Notes: concert for cancer treatment

Three local bands are taking the stage in Appomattox this weekend to raise money for resident Mary Gunter’s treatment for Follicular Non-Hodgkin’s Lymphoma.

Set for 6 p.m. Saturday at the Black Rock Hunt Club, the concert will feature performances by Gator and the Sundown Band, which specializes in classic country tunes; Southland, which focuses more on contemporary country; and Band of Gold, which plays rock songs from the 1960s and 1970s.

Larry “Gator” White, front man of the Sundown Band, and Johnny White, from Southland, are Gunter’s sons. Band of Gold’s Rocky Robertson is her cousin.

The night will also feature food, door prizes and a 50/50 raffle. Admission is a $10 donation.

The Black Rock Hunt Club is located at 4195 Watt Abbitt Rd. (Va. 654) in Appomattox. Call (434) 660-5750 for more information.

Riverviews Artspace holds poetry night

Riverviews Artspace’s Third Thursday poetry night will feature authors Leslie Pietrzyk and Deborah Cummins presenting their most recent works at 7:30 p.m. tonight.

Pietrzyk is the author of two novels, 2004’s “A Year and a Day” and 1998’s “Pears on a Willow Tree,” and her short fiction has been published in many journals, including the New England Review and Shenandoah. She’s also received eight Pushcart Prize nominations, the Columbia Editor’s Choice Award for Fiction and Descant’s Frank O’Connor Memorial Award.

Cummins has written three poetry collections: 2006’s “Counting the Waves,” 2002’s “Beyond the Reach” and 1997’s “From The Road It Looks Like Paradise.” She is also the winner of the Headwaters Literary Prize and the Washington Prize in Fiction.

Call (434) 847-7277 or visit www.riverviews.net for more information.

Duo Al & Amy to perform in Bedford

Acoustic music duo Al Petteway and Amy White are performing at the Bedford Public Library at 7:30 p.m. Saturday as part of the Friends of the Bedford Public Library concert series.

Drawing inspiration from musical traditions across the globe, their shows include plenty of colorful stories about wildlife in their own backyard in the Appalachian Mountains of North Carolina, as well as the people and places they’ve met in their travels.

Their sound is a blend of original, traditional and contemporary Celtic and Appalachian music, and they play a variety of stringed instruments, including the mandolin, Celtic harp, banjo, Irish bouzouki and guitar.

Admission to the concert is a suggested donation of $10. Visit www.friendsofbedfordlibrary.org for more information.

Academy event mixes dance and music

The Academy of Fine Arts, Virginia School of the Arts, the Lynchburg Symphony Orchestra and local band Square Peg are teaming up for the second annual “Dancing With Strings & Other Things,” scheduled for 7:30 p.m. March 26 and 2 p.m. March 27 in the Academy’s Warehouse Theatre.

The program features a diversity of dance styles — choreographed by VSA’s Lisa Thomas, Dominique Angel and Cameron McNinch — and genres of music, featuring sections of Schumann, Bach, Rachmaninov, traditional Bulgarian tunes and even the Bee Gees.

Tickets are $22 for adults, $19 for seniors and $11 for students. They can be purchased by calling (434) 846-TIXX or visiting www.AcademyFineArts.com.