Juanita Fireball & The Continental Drifters

When a band performs high energy music, they just can’t sit down. They must be standing and moving with the rhythmic sounds, whose intensity within itself incites energy.

Such is the case with Juanita Fireball & The Continental Drifters. This is an old-time West Virginia band whose inspiration has developed from sources as diverse as the members of the band; from the "Lexington (Va.) style" of music, taught to many young musicians in the 1970’s by the late Odell McGuire to the sounds of the great Tommy Jarrell of North Carolina. They have learned first hand from legendary West Virginia artists like Wilson Douglas, Woody Simmons, and Melvin Wine; as well as from "newer" artists such as The Bing Brothers and The Highwoods String Band. Over the years, the band has developed its own style. Their brand of good old foot-stompin’ Appalachian mountain music showcases the breakdown tunes commonly heard at square dances. The music, by its own nature, entices the listener to get up and dance.

Juanita Fireball & The Continental Drifters have been entertaining their fans for more than 25 years, mostly at private functions, church gatherings, and fundraising concerts. Their concerts are casual, yet convey the genuine fun they have in playing and singing this timeless music. Their goal is to recreate that sound which a listener may have heard on 1920-1930’s radio, before the advent of visual communications. With rousing fiddles, banjos, guitars and bass, Juanita Fireball & The Continental Drifters is definitely an old time music crowd-pleaser.

Juanita Fireball & The Continental Drifters

Mike Burns	"Juanita Fireball"	fiddle, banjo, mandolin, banjouke
Mary Sue Burns	"Lulu"	banjo
Jay Lockman	"Pluto"	fiddle, banjo
John Sparks	"Preacher John"	guitar
Terry Richardson	"Double Dog"	guitar
Norris Long	"Roy"	bass

Contact

3 Smith St. Addition
Marlinton, WV 24954
tel. 304-799-6447