Pearl to host Grammy-nominated bluegrass band

Special to Leader-Press

 

White Dove, an award-winning band from Sealy, Texas, will be the featured artists on Saturday, February 4 at the free Pearl Bluegrass 1st Saturday Jam & Stage Show.

 

All Saturday afternoon, from 12:15 p.m. until 5 p.m., six different bands will each take turns performing 45-minute shows in the 265-seat auditorium of a historic rock school house now used as the Community Center in Pearl, Texas. White Dove will take the stage at 2 p.m. 

 

Open jam sessions will happen all afternoon and late into the evening in all the classrooms and outside under the pavilion and shade trees if the weather is nice. 

 

White Dove has been singing traditional bluegrass and bluegrass Gospel music at festivals, churches, and private gatherings throughout Texas, Oklahoma, Arkansas and Missouri for nearly 20 years. 

 

The band has produced three CD recordings and their second project, “The Gathering”, was nominated for a Grammy in 2002. 

 

In 2004, the White Dove Band received the Horizon Award for Best New Artist and lead singer, Angie Beaubouef, received the Musician of the Year Award from the South Texas Gospel Music Association (STGMA). 

 

Beaubouef is a songwriter whose tune “Thank Heavens For Dale Eveans” was recorded by the Dixie Chicks on their first album. Songwriting runs in the family, with the tune “Wayfaring Stranger” written by her great-grandfather. 

 

In addition to singing lead and harmony, Angie plays the guitar, mandolin and bass. Glen Beaubouef, Angie’s husband, plays both guitar and mandolin with the band and also adds lead and harmony vocals. Glen is the founder of the White Dove band which he started in 1997 as a nursing home music ministry. 

 

Bill Gravet plays 5-string bluegrass banjo with White Dove. While banjo has been his hobby, Bill spent 30 years in mission control at NASA in Houston as his career. 

 

Bill Massey plays the big upright acoustic bass with the band and is the music leader for his church. 

 

Dale Mitchell will be a special guest with White Dove for their Pearl Bluegrass performance. Dale will be playing one of the many dobros that he has built. A retired shop teacher from Texas CIty ISD, Dale has built a combined total of 35 guitars, dobros, dulcimers and banjos. 

 

Also at the community center, the Bluegrass Café will be open from 11 a.m. until 5 p.m., with the nearby Book Cottage open from 10 a.m. until 6 p.m. 

 

For more information, visit www.pearlbluegrass.com.