MetaFilter posts tagged with dulcimer

Mountain Bluegrass

netbros — Sun, 08 Mar 2009 08:51:57 -0800

Music in the Digital Library of Appalachia provides an unprecedented resource for study of repertoire, technique, lore, and the musical interchanges among the region's traditional musicians. Once you know what you like, it's easy to find the music live with Blue Ridge Music Trails. Meet musicians who have grown up with that music, visit settings in which Blue Ridge folk music thrives, see traditional dancing, and in many cases, take part in the festivities. The Crooked Road, Virginia’s Heritage Music Trail, winds through the mountains of Southwest Virginia. Along the trail, the Bluegrass, Old Time, and Traditional Country music is as beautiful and rugged as the landscape itself. [previous 1, 2]

The Sling Shot Man and Other Non-famous Carolinians

Kattullus — Thu, 15 Jan 2009 20:57:24 -0800

The Sling Shot Man is Rufus Hussey, a man who's awesome with a beanshooter. This is a segment from 1985 of Down Home with the Carolina Camera which is a long-running part of Charlotte's WBTV's Top o' the Day variety show. There are a total of 22 videos on the YouTube channel which all feature interesting but non-famous Carolinians. Here are some other stories I liked: The Dulcimer School, Alligator Catchers, The Checker Players, The Gourdman of Angier and Backwards Man.

Jean Ritchie, "Mother of Folk Music"

ethel — Sun, 02 Mar 2008 02:57:20 -0800

Jean Ritchie, Mother of folk music. Abigail and Balis Ritchie of Viper, Perry County, Kentucky had 14 children, and Jean was the youngest... In the summer of 1946, she [more old timey from the Florida Memory Project] moved to work in the Henry Street Settlement in New York. There she met Alan Lomax,* Oscar Brand, Leadbelly, and Pete Seeger and started singing her family songs again. In 1948 she shared the stage with The Weavers, Woody Guthrie and Betty Sanders at the Spring Fever Hootenanny. By 1952, she was traveling on a Fulbright Fellowship to trace and document the roots of her heritage in the British Isles. In 1955, her first book, Singing Family of the Cumberlands, was hailed as an American classic. Her many recordings and appearances at major folk festivals, including the early Newport Folk Festivals, cultivated a revival of interest in Appalachian music and culture. She also became known as an insightful [realplayer required] songwriter, penning such classics as Blue Diamond Mines, Black Waters, and The L & N Don't Stop Here Anymore, about life in eastern Kentucky coal country. Her itinerary page hasn't been updated in a while, but she is an active, performing musician, playing 10-15 shows per year. *there are several other songs before Ritchie's under this link, and the player makes it so you have to listen through to get to track 4, her beautiful version of "The Cuckoo." also of note: at least a few of the YouTube links come from her filmmaker husband George Pickow's YouTube account