Bar BQ Boys play Friday

Revelers can begin Carson Valley Days early on Friday night with entertainment on Highway 395 in Gardnerville.

The Bar BQ Boyz will perform at Nelson's Take Five on the back porch, 1435 Highway 395, at 7 p.m. tonight, with no cover charge.

The Bar BQ Boyz are a Carson Valley-based band that plays bluegrass music, classic rock, blues, country and reggae.

The Bar BQ Boyz came together early last fall, forming a bluegrass set-up that includes Paul Cutunilli on mandolin, Bobby Smile on guitar, Johnny Walter on stand-up bass and Michael Chambon on banjo. In addition to the instruments named, Walter plays blues harmonica, Cutunilli plays the bass, and Smile and Chambon both play the dobro.

Walter, Smile and Cutunilli are co-workers at GE/Bently, and have played together annually at the GE-sponsored "Relay for Life," a charity event for the American Cancer Society. The Bar BQ Boyz will open at this year's Relay on Aug. 26. Chambon joined the group, forming a quartet. Cutunilli and Chambon sing lead and harmony vocals, with Walter singing bass back-up vocals and taking the lead on several numbers, including off-beat tunes like Commander Cody's "Hot Rod Lincoln."

Their repertoire includes bluegrass standards like Bill Monroe's "Walls of Time," as well as tunes from the popular movie "Oh Brother, Where art Thou?" On the heels of the camp classic, "The Ballad of Jed Clampett," (a.k.a., "The Beverly Hillbillies") they are likely to break out with a Led Zeppelin tune, or "All Along the Watchtower," written by Dylan and popularized by Jimi Hendrix. Grateful Dead or Johnny Cash might follow, with Bob Marley's reggae beat close behind.

For more information on this Friday's performance, call Nelson's at 782-8287.