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”One Wish” is an old folk tale from Ireland. What would you do with one wish? From “Hairyman Meets Tailybone”. Four-time Grammy Award winner David Holt is a musician, storyteller, historian, television host, and entertainer, dedicated to performing and preserving traditional American music and stories. Holt plays ten acoustic instruments and has released numerous award-winning recordings of traditional mountain music and southern folktales.

An iconic musician touches on everything from his time with Bill Monroe to music theory and Buddhist philosophy.

Donna Ray Norton, is an eight-generation ballad singer from Asheville, North Carolina, is a true embodiment of the rich Appalachian musical tradition. Her latest offering, Forevermore I will Sing, produced by acclaimed folk musician Josh Goforth, has further cemented her status as a celebrated exponent of the Appalachian balladry tradition.

In 2018 Betty Ann Polaha was named, Outstanding Storyteller Performer at ETSU and in 2019 she was named, Artist in Residence, as a bedside teller for Ballad Health. She is a member of the prestigious Jonesborough Storytelling Guild, performing regularly at story slams, schools, and community events. Listening to her stories will bring a smile to your face, maybe a tear in your eye-- or you might just say, “That was interesting!”

The Blue Ridge Music Trails’ Fine Tuned project is a mentorship and collaboration-based project aimed at professional development for emerging artists playing traditional music in Western North Carolina. For this episode, we spent time with Bayla Davis and her mentor, Cary Fridley, to learn more about their work together. These two women have worked together to blend their voices, to explore strategies to enhance their personal expression, and to refine their musical goals for the future.

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.

Fine Tuned is a mentorship and collaboration-based project aimed at professional development for emerging artists playing traditional music in Western North Carolina. Jarrett Wildcat and Keaw'e Bone are are both deeply connected with traditional music in Cherokee, NC, but for their work on the Fine Tuned project, Jarrett and Keaw’e decided to do something a little different, create their own original music.

The Blue Ridge Music Trails’ Fine Tuned project is a mentorship and collaboration-based project aimed at professional development for emerging artists playing traditional music in Western North Carolina. For this episode, we sat down with the Allen Boys, DaSahwn Hickman, and Kelley Breiding to discuss their collaboration and the inspiring collision of their musical traditions.

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.

"The Turtle and the Birds" is a popular ancient tale from the indigenous people of the American Southwest.