The Rooster's Wife presents a house concert Saturday, Jan. 27, at 8 p.m., at the corner of High and Blue streets in downtown Aberdeen.

Donations of $10 are requested.

Featured performers are Jonathan Byrd and Karen Mal.

A native North Carolinian, Jonathan Byrd grew up singing in a Southern Baptist church, where his father preached and his mother played piano. After four years in the Navy, he returned home to play in rock bands.

It was at an old-time fiddle festival in the mountains of southwest Virginia where his writing began to change. Assimilating the sounds of Southern traditional music, Byrd wrote new songs in an old-time style.

One of those first songs was "Velma," a murder ballad based on the true story of Velma Barfield, the last woman to be executed in North Carolina, and the murderer of Jonathan's own grandfather.

The folk music label Waterbug Records has released his three albums: "Wildflowers," "The Waitress," and in 2005, "The Sea and the Sky," a collaboration with critically-acclaimed world music duo, Dromedary.

In the middle of his prolific five-year recording career, he was named a Kerrville New Folk winner, the most prestigious award in the singer-songwriter world. Previous Kerrville competitors include Nanci Griffith, Lyle Lovett and Steve Earle.

In three short years, Karen Mal has gone from a virtual unknown on the Austin, Texas, acoustic music scene to one of the most sought-after performers around, both as a solo artist and as a sideman for others on mandolin, guitar, and harmony vocals.

Mal has opened for and/or appeared on stage with performers such as Tom Paxton, Slaid Cleaves, Tom Prasada-Rao, Gail Davies, Buddy Mondlock, and Tom Kimmel.

Originally from New England, more recently from Wisconsin, Mal worked in regional theater for several years as an actor and musical director/composer before settling in Austin, Texas, to play music full time. She has lived and worked in places from Manhattan to Memphis, from Wisconsin to California, and toured in 40 states.

For ticket information, e-mail theroosterswife@yahoo.com or call 910-944-7502.

The concert is presented by The Rooster's Wife, an organization dedicated to bringing live entertainment to the community of Aberdeen and surrounding areas.