The critically-acclaimed music duo known as Larry & Joe—Larry Bellorin and Joe Troop—will bring their talents to Vanderbilt Blair School of Music September 22-24, 2025, for a special live concert event and three-day Music Unbound Artist Residency. Fusing Venezuelan and Appalachian folk traditions, dubbed “Latingrass,” Larry & Joe have gained growing national recognition through their dazzling live shows and cross-cultural appeal.
Featuring multi-instrumentalists Larry Bellorín (Monagas, Venezuela) and Grammy-nominated bluegrass and old-time star Joe Troop (Winston-Salem, NC), Larry & Joe prove that music has no borders as they showcase their skills on the harp, banjo, cuatro, fiddle, upright bass, guitar, and maracas—all in one unforgettable performance. Their engaging bilingual program includes storytelling, humor, singalongs, and dancing.
Blair School of Music will present the Larry & Joe live concert experience to the public on Monday, September 22, 7:30 p.m., in Turner Recital. The event is free to attend, with tickets required for admission. Free parking is available in the Vanderbilt West Garage on Children’s Way, directly across from Blair School of Music.
Residency activities September 23-24 will include class visits and workshops with collegiate students at Blair, and performances and interactive sessions at Antioch High School and W.O. Smith Community School.
“We are thrilled to welcome Larry & Joe to Vanderbilt,” said Isidora Miranda, musicology faculty and co-host of the artist residency. “The great value of this project is how it allows us at Blair to build an audience for a wide range of music and be the space for the kind of music-making that connects communities.”
The Larry & Joe appearance is supported by a generous grant from the Tennessee Arts Commission, providing opportunities for the Blair Music Unbound program to showcase musicians whose work encourages intercultural dialogue and collaboration.
Among the upcoming Blair Music Unbound programs is a February 2026 Lunar New Year celebration featuring Wu Fei, a master of the guzheng, an ancient zither instrument with twenty-one strings.
Raves for Larry & Joe:
“They fuse Appalachian folk and traditional Venezuelan music in dizzying ways.”
– San Francisco Chronicle
“…one of the most charismatic and culture-crossing acts to come out of roots music in the past decade.”
– WMOT / The String – Murfreesboro, Tenn.
“Their virtuosity is jaw-dropping live…they both take great, transcendent joy in making this music together and that kind of joy is contagious.”
– Folk Alley