Natural Disasters to open concert

BATESVILLE — The Natural Disasters will kick off the 11th annual Friends in Great Places Concert at 7 p.m. March 2 in Independence Hall at the University of Arkansas Community College at Batesville. Dancer and singer Alex Prince will also be featured.

The Natural Disasters are a multigenre duo from north-central Arkansas composed of John T. Parks and Sarah Jo Sample. Parks, of Batesville, and Sample, of Melbourne, began their musical adventure together in 1996, when Sample hired Parks as the bass player in her band Double Shot.

The two joined forces again in 2013 to form the Natural Disasters. They both are also members of The Lockhouse Orchestra, a local cover band featuring Danny Dozier, Pam Setser, Tim Crouch, Gary Rounds, Brad Apple, Kenny Loggains, Samuel Cobb and Irl Hess.

The Friends in Great Places concert will offer two hours of entertainment. Setser will provide vocals, mountain dulcimer and spoons, and Crouch will play fiddle, guitar and mandolin. Rounds will be featured on vocals and guitar; Dozier on vocals and guitar; Apple on vocals, guitar and mandolin; Loggains on percussion; Cobb on the mandolin; and Hess on vocals and bass.

Tickets are $10 and can be purchased at the door or in advance at First Community Bank and UACCB.

The Friends in Great Places concert is a fundraiser for Kids’ College, a summer educational program held annually at UACCB for students in first through sixth grades. Partial scholarships are provided to students who qualify for the free and reduced-price lunch program.

The concert is sponsored by First Community Bank as part of the 20182019 Performing Arts Series.