Glenville, WV--Grammy nominee and three-time International Bluegrass Music Association award winner ‘Valerie Smith & Liberty Pike’ is coming to the Glenville State College's Fine Arts Auditorium for one night only on Friday, June 11th! The group performs a high energy, highly entertaining brand of original Americana and bluegrass music. They are favorites wherever they go!

Valerie Smith’s music has taken her from coast to coast and around the world. She has become an ambassador of bluegrass music and has entertained music lovers in New York, London, Berlin, Dublin, Amsterdam, Copenhagen, and hundreds of other venues throughout the USA, Canada, the United Kingdom and Europe. She has appeared on the famous Grand Ol' Opry as guest of hall of famer Charlie Louvin.

‘Valerie Smith & Liberty Pike’ features Glenville State College alumna Rebekah Long on bass. Long a former music student majoring in percussion at Georgia Southern University in Statesboro, Georgia, transferred to Glenville State College. At GSC she combined her study of percussion with bluegrass music under the tutelage of Buddy Griffin, one of the former Virginia Boys playing backup to Jim and Jesse (McReynolds). Prior to transferring to Glenville State College, Ms. Long moved her primary residence to Nashville, Tennessee. In the summer months, she began assisting Ben Speer, renowned southern gospel singer, in the direction of the Ben Speer's Stamps-Baxter School of Music and his publishing company Ben Speer Music. While at Glenville State College, she orchestrated the formation of a bluegrass band, Mountain Fury, consisting of four female performers. Long produced and engineer their first CD, Some Sweet Day. In 2008, she graduated with a Bachelor of Arts in Music Education and a Bachelor of Arts in Bluegrass Music, the first Bluegrass Degree awarded at Glenville State College or anywhere. During her final semester, she was selected as the Outstanding Teacher Intern. Since graduation, Long has toured full time playing bass and singing with performances that include the Little Roy & Lizzy Show, appearances with legend Earl Scruggs, and in 2008 participate playing bass and sing lead vocal on a musical selection recorded on the Award Winning Bluegrass Bouquet, a CD recorded by Tom T. & Dixie Hall's Blue Circle Records featuring the Daughters of Bluegrass. Most recently, she has graduated from Nashville's School of Audio Engineering (SAE). While at SAE, she had the opportunity to study under award winning producer, Alan Shacklock, and mentored by four-time Grammy Award winning engineer, Mark Capps.

The opening act for the evening will be XM Radio favorites, ‘Retro & Smiling’ featuring GSC’s Buddy Griffin and Ashley Messenger along with some GSC students. The benefit concert begins at 7 p.m., doors will open at 6:30 p.m. Tickets are $10 each and can be purchased at the door or reserved in advance by calling (304) 462-6340. All proceeds from this event will benefit the Glenville State College Bluegrass Music Program.

For more information about ‘Valerie Smith & Liberty Pike’, visit the group’s website: at ValerieSmithOnline.com.