The Venue

The Dan Tyminski band performing in 2022 Photo by Tom Beck

Piedmont Council Of Traditional Music

“Never doubt that a group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world. Indeed, it is the only thing that ever has.”  – Margaret Mead From September 27 through October 1, Raleigh, North Carolina, hosted the International Bluegrass Music Association’s World of Bluegrass for the 10th consecutive year. Some 200,000 musicians and fans will visit…

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One of the many tribute band configurations performing at the Keith Whitley tribute (left to right): Andrew Rigsby, Don Rigsby, Ralph Stanley II, Dwight Whitley, and Randall Hibbit. Photo by Angela Marx

With a Tribute to His Hall of Fame Career

In May of 2022 it was announced that Keith Whitley was to be inducted as the newest member of the Country Music Hall of Fame, with thousands of his fans and followers celebrating the news. But back in eastern Kentucky, plans for a musical celebration and a tribute had already been in the works for…

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The Band Kelly performing (pre-pandemic) in the John C. Campbell Folk School’s Festival Barn. Photo Courtesy of John C. Campbell Folk School.

John C. Campbell Folk School

SCENIC NORTH CAROLINA CAMPUS STRIVES TO KEEP APPALACHIAN MUSIC, DANCE AND CULTURE ALIVE IN BRASSTOWN, NORTH CAROLINA The traditional Morningsong music program is offered several days a week at 7:45 a.m., and Friday performances are streamed live on the Folk School’s Facebook page. A socially distanced and masked crowd filled the historic Keith House Community…

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Photo by Bonnie Trogdon Dreamcatcher Photography

Little NC Towns Hosting Big Stars

For Dewey and Leslie Brown, seven is a lucky number. They wed in 2007. After seven years of marriage, the former Clinch Mountain Boy fiddler and his wife started their own business, Brown Entertainment, and opened their first musical venue, the Liberty Showcase, in Liberty, North Carolina, in 2014. Then, seven years later, they opened…

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Way Down Upon the Suwannee River

The Suwannee Spring Reunion Photos by Frank Serio In March 2022, I went to the Suwannee Spring Reunion to write about the event and interview a few musicians.  I had no idea what to expect. I’m a little embarrassed to say that I had never been to a music festival. Although I went to cover…

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New Kid on the Block of Traditional Music Programs

Warren Wilson College While it has only been around for a short time, Warren Wilson College’s Traditional Music program is well on its way to being a go-to destination for Appalachian culture immersion.  Now offering a major (BA) and a minor in music with a concentration in Traditional Music, the program features “a unique concentration…

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