First Friday Wine + Cheese Mixer

Featuring a FREE wine tasting with Empire Distributors and live music by the Tony Black Trio!

Tony Black is a bassist, multi-instrumentalist, composer, and producer residing in Waynesville, North Carolina. He was most recently on tour as a member of The Marshall Tucker Band. Tony started playing bass while in junior high school, when several friends got together to form a punk rock band. He later joined up with Southern California hardcore punk heroes, Stalag 13 and Dr. Know, for regional and national touring. After experimenting with several post punk groups, Tony found himself in San Francisco, playing bass for avant-garde shred guitarist Buckethead and his band, who toured under the wing of several well-known bands such as Primus, Mr. Bungle, and System of a Down.

In order to gain the skills necessary for session work, to become a better sight reader, and explore different styles of music, Tony enrolled in The Los Angeles College of Music. It was during this time in Southern California when Tony was able to perform alongside legendary jazz artists Flora Purim and Airto Moriera.

Tony has been blessed to play with creative musicians of all styles, direct a youth rock band program, teach private bass instruction, and perform with legendary southern rock and soul artists such as the incredible Jimmy Hall (Wet Willie), Chris Hicks (Marshall Tucker), Robert Nix (Atlanta Rhythm Section), Bob Burns, and Artimus Pyle (Lynyrd Skynyrd). In 2018, Tony performed 130 concerts with The Marshall Tucker Band, including supporting Lynyrd Skynyrd on their Last of the Street Survivors Farewell Tour.