Special to the Eagle Among the entertainers to perform at Music on the Mounds will be the duo of Frank Cunningham and renowned violinist, Suzanne Lansford. Proceeds from this new event will benefit Randell Research Center and area high school music programs.

Bluegrass, jazz, Dixieland and pop music will be on tap later this month as Randell Research Center in Pineland hosts the inaugural Music at the Mounds. This fund-raising event will take place at the Calusa Heritage Trail in Pineland on Saturday, Jan. 30. The event will feature performances from eight local and national acts that will last throughout the day beginning at 10 a.m. until 5:30 p.m.

Among the local musicians to perform at this event will be the Fort Myers High School “Greenwave” Jazz Band. This award-winning group of teens has performed at many area functions, fund raisers and festivals as well as in local and state competitions and in numerous parades. A portion of the funds raised during this event will benefit Greenwave to help defray travel expenses and other costs associated with the band.

Bluegrass enthusiasts will want to pull up a lawn chair to enjoy the toe-tapping stylings of the group Tomorrow’s News. Headed up by Keith and Darlene Bass, from 2000 to 2007, the pair operated the popular Florida Bluegrass Express which showcased many great bluegrass musicians including fiddle player, Jason Baker and Ladron Rogers of the Generations Bluegrass band who had played to audiences at the Elks Lodge and the VFW on Pine Island in recent years. Other members of the Florida Bluegrass Express included Victor Hill, Gene Labrie, Lamont Goff and Suzanne Lansford. Following a successful run, Hill then decided it was time to bring another group of musicians together and formed Tomorrow’s News featuring Victor Hill, Keith Bass, Kayln and Bryce Hall. In 2007 the group produced its first CD “Peace in The Time of Trouble” which was a tribute to the heavens for the peace they finally achieved after Kayln and Bryce lost their home in Hurricane Frances in 2004.

Taking to the mounds also will be the duo of Frank Cunningham and Suzanne Lansford. An accomplished violinist, Lansford began her musical career playing classical violin and later began playing jazz in local nightclubs. She also was a member of Chicago’s The 3rd Coast String Quartet which performed classical, jazz and Latin music. She also is credited with winning the 2003 YeeHaw Junction Bluegrass Fiddle championship. Frank Cunningham, leads the group the Cunning-Hams and often invites his wife, Suzanne Lansford, to sit in with the group. On occasion, she also will sit in with Lonnie Pierce and his group “Country Traditions.”

Special performances also will take the stage with Palm City Dixieland Band and Pine Island’s own Deb and the Dynamics.

The gates will open at 9 a.m. and all attending are encouraged to bring a lawn chair. In addition, coolers will be permitted but any food consumption is restricted to designated areas. No acholic beverages will be permitted however. Those who would rather not lug a cooler, food and beverage vendors will be on hand throughout the day. The cost for the full day of entertainment will be $20 per person. Once admission is paid attendees will receive a wrist band the will enable them to come and go as they please.

All proceeds from the event will benefit the continued work at Randell Research Center and the music departments of participating high schools.

Advance tickets are available at Matlacha Menagerie and Cafe, Bonnie’s and Christina’s Art Gallery, Southwest Capital Bank, Beacon of HOPE, Pine Island Feed, LIttle Lilly’s Island Deli, Randell Research Gift Shop, Koucky Gallery and Gardens, and the Pine Island Chamber of Commerce.

For more information, visit flmnh.ufl.edu/RRC/EventsDetails.