CLEARWATER — Jon Tyler Wiley and His Virginia Choir will perform Friday, March 10, 7 p.m., at the Music4Life Living Arts Center, 1204 Rogers St., Clearwater.
Tickets are $25. Visit wileyhouseconcerts.org.
Wiley is a seasoned touring/ session musician who has performed with a diverse range of acts such as Sister Hazel, Stephen Kellogg, and Ron Holloway. As a performing teaching instructor with the MusiCorps program, he has performed on stages such as the Grand Ole Opry, the Kennedy Center and PBS’s a Capital Fourth with artists like Paul Schaffer, Aloe Blacc, John Stamos, and Trace Atkins. He has performed all over the world as a member of the Americana band Melodime and is a frequent collaborator of country songwriter Kevin MaC.
After Wiley wrote and recorded his debut solo album, performing all of the instruments himself, he assembled a band of his close friends to bring the music to life. His band — the Virginia Choir — is made up of seasoned musicians who have performed with Keller Williams, Curtis Grimes, and The Dirty River Boys, as well as jazz ensembles and pit orchestras around the Northern Virginia area.
The band, made up of Eddie Dickerson (fiddle, guitar), Thomas Johnson (keyboards), and husband-and-wife rhythm section Brian ‘Piper’ Barbre (drums) and Joanna Smith (bass), is becoming known for energetic live performances and masterful musicianship.
Its first single, “Laura Lee,” was released in March 2021. Their single, “Strong,” became available on the following month. The band released four singles throughout 2021. Wiley’s full length solo album, “The Longing,” was released to critical acclaim in February 2022. Additional singles “Drive All Night,” “I Saw Her in the Sky,” and live versions of “Strong” and “Whiskey” were also released in the summer and fall of 2022. A cover of “She’s Leaving Home” by The Beatles was released in the winter.
