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Down the Road on the Blue Ridge Music Trails

Down the Road on the Blue Ridge Music Trails

  • Photo courtesy of Bud Smith
    Western North Carolina musical icon Betty Smith passed away on December 1, 2023. Betty was a performer of ballads and traditional songs for decades, but to say only this would be falling short of her large and living legacy. Throughout the course of her life, Betty also took on roles as an educator, an activist, an author, a playwright, and honorary doctorate recipient, and more. This episode looks back on a life of impact on and dedication to the people and life and WNC.
  • Madison County is home to a centuries old ballad singing tradition which has attracted interest for over a century. In 1916, Englishman, Cecil Sharp traveled to Western North Carolina to hear the old ballads that were no longer being freely sung in England. A new album revives this Transatlantic connection. We sat down with Thomm Jutz, singer-songwriter and co-producer of Nothing But Green Willow: The Songs of Mary Sands and Jane Gentry, to learn more about the album and the ballad singing tradition.
  • Music inhabits its purest form when people get together to make music with one another. In this spirit, the fiddlers’ convention is an essential element of the traditional music ecosystem in Western North Carolina. This episode is adapted from an article by music writer Derek Halsey revisiting a newspaper article from the Watauga Democrat published on June 14, 1928 covering a fiddlers convention in the town of Blowing Rock.
  • The Cherokee Language Repertory Choir started in the spring of 2023. This choir uses the Christian Harmony shaped note tradition, but instead of singing it traditionally, in English, this choir sings in the Cherokee language. This effort revives a documented tradition of shaped note singing in the Cherokee community while helping to keep the Cherokee language a part of cultural practice in Western North Carolina. We spoke with organizers and a member of the choir to learn more.
  • The Peacock Performing Arts Center in Hayesville presents a wide range of programming. It’s Songwriters Series is a highlight of the lineup. Hosted by local songwriter Rob Tiger, the series brings some of the top songwriters in the field to Clay County. The Showcase functions as a songwriters round, giving some audience members a new way to experience uniquely crafted songs.
  • Kelley Breiding is a musician who wears a lot of hats, at least one of which is often a cowboy hat and complements a vibrant, handcrafted outfit. Kelley is part of multiple bands and projects including her Blue Ridge Opry and the Blue Ridge Music Trails’ Fine Tuned project. This episode features a conversation with Kelley in which you can learn more about her journey and the music she makes and loves.
  • Did you know that Black Mountain had an integrated juke joint and that Bessie Smith performed there? On this episode we feature an oral history with Katherine Debrow, courtesy of the Swannanoa Valley Museum & History Center, that discusses her grandfather, Horace Chambers Rutherford; his juke joint, Roseland Gardens; and the culture and history of Black Mountain.
  • Darren Nicholson has been a fixture in the WNC and national music scenes for almost two decades. The year 2023 marks a series of new endeavors for Darren. In this episode, he talks about learning from Steve Sutton, the inaugural Steve Sutton Festival, WNC's unique style of bluegrass, and his own path as a solo musician.
  • The Blue Ridge Music Trails covers 29 counties throughout the mountains and foothills of Western North Carolina. The Blue Ridge Parkways runs directly through this territory and is never far from authentic traditional music. In this episode, we outline more of the stops you can take on the Blue Ridge Music Trails while you travel the Blue Ridge Parkway.
  • The Blue Ridge Music Trails covers 29 counties throughout the mountains and foothills of Western North Carolina. The Blue Ridge Parkways runs directly through this territory and is never far from authentic traditional music. In this episode, we outline some of the stops you can take on the Blue Ridge Music Trails while you travel the Blue Ridge Parkway.
  • Fine Tuned is a mentorship and collaboration-based project aimed at professional development for emerging artists playing traditional music in Western North Carolina. This episode focuses on Josh Jones’ work with his mentor Sav Sankaran. Josh studies classical voice at the UNC School for the Arts. Sav also studied classical voice, and today sings and plays bass for the nationally touring bluegrass band Unspoken Tradition. Josh and Sav share details about their mentorship experience, their thoughts on music in Western North Carolina, and the tracks they chose to record for the Fine Tuned album.
  • Fine Tuned is a mentorship and collaboration-based project aimed at professional development for emerging artists playing traditional music in Western North Carolina. In this episode, David LaMotte and Benjamin Barker talk about why they play music, music in North Carolina, what they have gained from working on the Fine Tuned project, and more.