Concerts on the Pier featuring The Hatleys – CANCELED due to the weather… will be rescheduled for FALL 2023!!

The Concerts on the Pier returns in Summer 2023 as a concert series.  The second concert of the series is Saturday, July 15th at 7:30 pm on Lake Tillery, near Goat Island (the last cove before the southern dam on the Stanly County side of the lake) and will feature The Hatleys.  People can listen to the free concert from their boats, from shore, or by watching the live stream on the Stanly County Arts Council’s Facebook page. If interested in shore seating, please email the Stanly County Arts Council at stanlycountyartscouncil1974@gmail.com or text Renee VanHorn @ 704.984.8357.

The Hatley Family of Stanfield represents five generations of music. The bluegrass/gospel group consists of a father, his four children, and one daughter-in-law.

Patriarch, 86-year-old Ervin Hatley, has been playing the fiddle for over half a century and continues to perform when able. His three sons, Gary, Ronnie, and Donnie, play guitar, banjo, and mandolin/fiddle respectively, while daughter, Teresa, joins in on bass and Gary’s wife, Sandy (from Seagrove), adds dobro on some numbers.

Growing up singing a cappella in church, the group is known for their tight four-part harmony. The group specializes in bluegrass gospel, but also offers toe tapping instrumentals and familiar bluegrass standards.

The family began playing when the two oldest boys were teenagers. Competing in area fiddlers’ conventions and band contests, they were frequent winners. As their popularity spread and the younger siblings joined in, they started performing for festivals, concert halls, and churches. They have appeared across the southeast from West Virginia to Mississippi.

Brother, Ronnie, owns Ron’s Pickin’ Parlor, where he and sister, Teresa, teach instrumental and vocal lessons full-time. The business also offers the finest selection of professional bluegrass instruments in the region, with stocking dealerships for brands including Collings, Martin, Sullivan, Deering, Blueridge, Shen, Eastman, and Beard.

This year, the Hatleys celebrate 43 years performing together as a family band. They have recorded four CDs, two bluegrass gospel, one a cappella gospel and one Bluegrass Christmas project.

Concert on the Pier is the brainchild of Austin Coats. When the Covid pandemic hit, Coats returned to Stanly County from New York City. In Fall 2020, Coats determined that performing from a pier for boats or for an audience socially distanced on shore would meet the needs to hear live music while being performed in a safe environment.  The first Concert on the Pier occurred on a chilly night in October 2020 with Coats performing and raising much-needed funds for the local arts community by having donations benefit the Stanly County Arts Council. He followed that concert with another concert in May 2021, with much better weather and once again the funds raised benefited the Stanly County Arts Council.  Even though restrictions no longer exist, the Concert on the Pier is still a great way to enjoy live music.  In Summer 2022, it expanded to a three-concert series, offering other local talents to grace the pier.

The Concert Series for Summer 2023, will also include:

• August 12th with Jack Burns
• September 9th with Joy Almond

Each musician has their own style, so it’ll be fun to attend all four concerts.  Donations will be accepted again on behalf of the Stanly County Arts Council, a 501 (c) (3) non-profit whose mission is to encourage and promote broad-based cultural and educational activities in the arts throughout Stanly County.