The Venue

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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Milan Music Fest

Expands to 5 Days As it Celebrates 25th Anniversary in Southeastern Michigan While a lot of bluegrass music was performed live around the country from the second half of 2021 on, lingering aspects of the COVID pandemic still left artists and music fans on edge as this new year plays out. The good news is…

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Appalachian Music Program

West Virginia University For bluegrass music fans, West Virginia represents the heartland of the deep and rich musical traditions of Appalachia.  The old rural mountain lifestyle that first generation bluegrass singers remember fondly in their songs about the old log cabin and the homeplace have been passed down in the bluegrass music tradition in such…

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