Opry Night has grown into a winter tradition at the Pocahontas County Opera House — a night when the building feels less like a venue and more like a front porch for regional roots music.
On Saturday, February 28, 2026, Opry Night returns with music starting at 7:00 p.m., featuring a double bill of Emily Miller & Val Mindel alongside Becky Hill & Rachel Eddy — four artists who embody the living tradition of Appalachian music.
Come Early — Dance Before the Downbeat
The evening begins even before the first song.
From 6:00–6:30 p.m., Becky Hill will lead an all-levels clogging and flatfooting workshop. No experience necessary. From scratch.
If you’ve ever been curious about flatfooting but felt too shy, too rusty, or too “not a dancer,” this is your moment. Hill’s teaching is welcoming, rhythmic, and genuinely fun — focused on participation, not perfection. Come a little early. Bring yourself. We’ll make some noise before the music even starts.
The Artists
Emily Miller is widely known in West Virginia traditional music circles as Artistic Director of the Augusta Heritage Center and string band director of the Appalachian Ensemble at Davis & Elkins College. A singer and fiddle player rooted in classic country and old-time music, she has toured and recorded with Jesse Milnes and serves as a lead singer and twin fiddler in The Sweetback Sisters.
With her mother and longtime collaborator Val Mindel, Miller has released two duet albums, In the Valley and Close to Home, honoring the close harmony tradition of early country duos like the Louvin Brothers and the Stanley Brothers. Their partnership is more than musical — it’s intergenerational, offering a clear picture of how songs travel through families as well as through time.
If Miller and Mindel carry the vocal heart of old-time music, Becky Hill and Rachel Eddy bring its physical energy to life.
Hill is a percussive dancer, square dance caller, choreographer, and educator whose work highlights the rhythmic engine inside traditional tunes. Her feet serve as both drum kit and storyteller, connecting dance directly to working string bands on festival and concert stages alike.
West Virginian multi-instrumentalist Rachel Eddy is steeped in the state’s fiddle, banjo, and dance traditions. Known for both powerful performance and thoughtful teaching, Eddy moves easily from lonesome ballads to driving dance tunes, bridging older source players and newer generations entering the tradition today.
Together, these four artists create the mix Opry Night has become known for: tight harmony singing, powerful instrumental work, percussive dance, and a stage presence that makes even unfamiliar songs feel close at hand. The result is less like a packaged concert and more like an evening inside a living tradition.
Beyond the Stage
Opry Night also extends into the community. The artists will participate in school programs throughout the weekend, giving local students a chance to hear the music up close, ask questions, and see how traditional arts can fit into a modern life.
This outreach reflects the Opera House’s mission to serve as a cultural heart for the region — creating meaningful artistic experiences for all ages and ensuring the next generation has its own doorway into Appalachian music.
Tickets
Tickets are available for a $10 donation, with free admission for youth 17 and under.
Purchase tickets through the Opera House website, at the 4th Avenue Gallery in Marlinton, or at the door on the evening of the performance.
The Opera House Performance Series is supported by the West Virginia Division of Culture and History and the West Virginia Commission on the Arts, with additional support from Pocahontas County Dramas, Fairs and Festivals and the Pocahontas County Convention and Visitors Bureau.
