Our Story
Our Roots2Rock on the road series is just as it sounds. Our crew packs the gear in the wagon and hits the road to bring you live music streamed on our Facebook page. These live streams come from taprooms, smaller listening rooms and even recording studios. Like us on Facebook and follow us on twitter to find out when we will be streaming.
How it started
One Saturday evening our executive producer, Denise Allen Membreño, was watching Austin City Limits. It was a particularly good show and she thought to herself, “That would be a fun show to work, but I wouldn’t want to live in Texas.” At the time Gary Jackson (now with the Harvester Performance Center) was booking a listening room called The Kirk Avenue Music Hall. Jackson was bringing in music acts such as Yarn, Lucy Kaplansky, Bill Kirchen, the Farewell Drifters and many others. Cyrus Pace and Dylan Locke (now at The Floyd Country Store), were doing the same thing at Jefferson Center. Tedeschi Trucks Band, Roseanne Cash, Esperanza Spalding and Jane Monheit were gracing the Shaftman Performance Hall stage. Denise knew on that foundation a music show could be built. Over the past six years the number of quality of performers coming to the Virginia Blue Ridge Region has steadily increased.
Our Crew
Our crew has worked together for years. We love living and working in this region and have developed Roots2Rock to share some of what’s great about where we live with you. We hope you enjoy the music and meeting the characters that help bring that music to the area.
Denise Allen Membreño–Executive Producer | Director
Deni
se grew up playing piano, taking dance lessons and singing in choir. Being active has always been a part of her life as well. Growing up in Arlington, Virginia, you would find her on the soccer field or basketball court playing with the boys. That love of sports led to a career as a television sports reporter and morning show anchor. She has run three marathons and has a goal to run her fourth, “America’s toughest road marathon,” the Blue Ridge Marathon. She left television to start New Moon Creative Media, LLC, and has won awards for her historical documentaries. You may also hear her anchoring NBC News Radio.
Rodney Billingsley–Videographer | Director | Editor
Rodney has worked in Boston and Hollywood before moving back to Roanoke. In Hollywood, he worked on major productions such as Mad About You and The Nanny. He then brought his expertise back home to Roanoke, to start Free Style Digital Media, where he has produced, directed and edited for such clients as Discovery Channel, CNN, Inside Edition, SimulTv, Comcast, Kroger, Cox Communications, and many more.
Rodney’s areas of expertise include being able to creatively capture inspiring images to film. By creating a positive environment for production, he ensures a winning outcome for everyone involved.
Jason E. Lisk–Videographer | Director | Editor
As an accomplished producer, director and editor, and occasional DSLR photographer, Jason has been visualizing the
world through a camera lens for over 25 years. His favorite works consist of long-form productions for Cox Communications highlighting Roanoke history, outdoor activities, arts and culture. His long form productions have garnered several Telly Awards.
He’s not one to run away from a challenge either; he has been called “Magic Man”, due to his knack for creating something from nothing, more than a few times and extraordinary editing abilities.
When he’s not peering through a lens or shuffling video clips around during an edit, you can find him hiking one of the many trails in the Roanoke area with his two Labradors or sitting in a darkened theater taking in an edge of your seat action thriller.
Tom Ohmsen–Audio Engineer | Music Manager
Tom is more than an audio engineer. He is also an extraordinary musician, 
songwriter, a published author and a business owner. Tom wrote Music Theory for Modern Mandolin and Music Theory for Modern Guitar. The mandolin book is in the library at Harvard. In 1992 he recorded many of the songs on the Dave Mathews album, “Remember Two Things,” which was released independently. It ended up going gold and platinum. Since then musicians have been stepping up to the mic at his Flat Five Press and Recording Studio in Salem, Virginia.