Stanly Co. man to "fiddle" around on The David Letterman Show | Arts & Culture

ALBEMARLE - An Albemarle man gets to perform with actor, comedian and banjo player Steve Martin on national television Friday night.

Mike Hartgrove, fiddle player for the Lonesome River Band, will take the stage with his bandmates and Martin on The Late Show with David Letterman in New York City on November 11.

The performance is in honor of Sammy Shelor, banjo player for the band, who recently received the Steve Martin Prize for Excellence in Banjo and Bluegrass award.

Shelor, 49, is a North Carolina native from Danbury, in Stokes County and has been playing the banjo since the age of five.

In an interview the the New York Times, Martin said, “Sammy Shelor represents more of a traditional, Earl Scruggs-type influenced player, who’s very hard-core bluegrass. But Sammy Shelor influenced a lot of players. In fact, accidentally, I found out that our last winner was heavily influenced by Sammy Shelor. He was the No. 1 influence in his youth.”

Martin's own bluegrass band, Steve Martin and The Steep Canyon Rangers, beat out the Lonesome River Band to win Entertainer of the Year from the International Bluegrass Music Hall of Fame.

In Stanly County, The Lonesome River Band is set to headline the Big Lick Bluegrass Festival on April 14, 2012. For more information about the festival, visit www.biglickbluegrass.com.

You can see Mike and the rest of the Lonesome River Bank play right here on WBTV at 11:35 p.m.