The Top Of The Grade Concerts In McCreery Park continue their fourth summer season on Aug. 12 with Bob Sinclair and The Big Deals making beautiful, fun-loving, country-swing music at its best. Characterized by exceptional songwriting, tight harmonies, great arrangements and stellar instrumentation, their music is fresh and vibrant. Each song is a perfectly crafted little vignette wrapped around some seriously powerful melodies, and the band wrings every possible drop of emotion out of each one.

The Big Deals feature the immensely talented Molly Barrett on fiddle, Tim Gallagher on mandolin, Jim Clark on up-right bass, and Sinclair on guitar and vocals. Brand-new as a group, Sinclair and The Big Deals caught fire with audiences in 2016. Along with a busy summer performance schedule, The Big Deals were featured at the Southeast Regional Conference of the Folk Alliance International (FAI). This fall, they headline the Folk Art Festival, perform at the Purple Onion in October, and are the featured act at MushMash.

Sinclair has twice been awarded the North Carolina Artists Grant for songwriting and performing. All of The Big Deals are seasoned and award-winning performers.  Molly Barrett is a member of the Western Piedmont Symphony, a superb accompanist and the hands-down favorite to win most fiddle contests. Tim Gallagher is a powerful mandolin player with a diverse musical resume, and Jim Clark is a veteran of the Americana festival scene and one of the best jazz bassists around.

There is a good reason why The Big Deals are quickly getting traction on the festival and listening room scene and have been described as the next big thing on the regional music scene: They have that perfect blend of original style, exceptional talent and great songs. Watch for a new disc from Sinclair before the end of the year.

For more information about Bob Sinclair and The Big Deals go to bobsinclairmusic.com or find them on Facebook.

All Top Of The Grade Concerts take place in the heart of town in McCreery Park. They begin at 7 p.m., rain or shine. (In case of heavy rain, bands will move to the pavilion in McCreery Park.) Concertgoers are encouraged to bring chairs and blankets. Coolers are welcome, and local restaurants are open.

The Top Of The Grade Concerts are made possible through a community grant from Polk County Community Foundation. All concerts are free to the public through a Free Community Events grant. Top Of The Grade Concerts are coordinated by the Saluda Downtown Foundation and produced this year by Peter Eisenbrown of Blockparty Productions.

For more information, contact Peter Eisenbrown at 828-290-4316 or petereisenbrown@me.com.

After the Big Deals, the final Top Of The Grade performance will be on September 2 with Aaron Burdett.

– article submitted by Peter Eisenbrown