CARTHAGE — NewFound Road will bring its blend of bluegrass and Celtic country to Skye Theatre Performing Arts Center on Wednesday, July 4, for its fifth annual strawberry shortcake night.

The band will also take the stage at Unity College Centre for the Performing Arts in Unity on Thursday, July 5. Curtain is 7 p.m. at Skye, 7:30 p.m. in Unity. Jam sessions are scheduled one hour prior to curtain.

NewFound Road is a vivid reminder of the power inherent in undiluted, stripped-down bluegrass. This unflinching immediacy is bolstered by a wide range of stylistic influences, three soulful vocalists and solid songwriting.

On their fourth album, “Life in a Song,”  mandolinist/vocalist Rob Baker, bassist  Randy Barnes, guitarist/vocalist Tim Shelton and banjoist/guitarist/vocalist Jr. Williams balance both the timeless and modern elements of bluegrass.

The album was produced by musician Rob Ickes, a man who, as a member of Blue Highway, is no stranger to cutting-edge contemporary bluegrass. Ickes, who occasionally contributes resonator or slide guitar, and fiddler Jim Van Cleve are the only outside instrumentalists heard on “Life in a Song.” The core instrumental sound comes entirely from NewFound Road, steered by Williams’ haunting, driving banjo and Baker’s fleet mandolin breaks.

“Making this album was a challenge,” Shelton has said. “We did things completely different than we’ve ever done, and for the better I think. We did pretty much all of the album live with very little overdubbing. We wanted it to sound like us.”

Tickets to the New England Celtic Arts concerts are $15 at the door. For reservations, call Skye Theatre at 562-4445 or UCCPA at 948-7469. Skye Theater is at 2 Highland Drive off Winter Hill Road and U.S. Route 2 in Carthage. UCCPA is at 42 Depot St., Unity.

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