Ranked #1
Young Presley Barker Dazzles on the Flatpicked Guitar
Young Presley Barker Dazzles on the Flatpicked Guitar
The Blue Ridge Mountains of northwestern North Carolina and southwestern Virginia have produced legendary bluegrass and ... Read more
18 Dec 2019
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3mins
Ranked #2
Appalachian dulcimer makes sweet mountain music
Appalachian dulcimer makes sweet mountain music
Think of traditional mountain music and many fans will hear the sweet sounds of the Appalachian or lap dulcimer, which w... Read more
4 Feb 2019
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3mins
Ranked #3
Settlers Brought Ancient Ballads to Mountains
Settlers Brought Ancient Ballads to Mountains
When English, Irish and Scottish settlers moved into Appalachia, they brought an ancient form of music with them – the b... Read more
5 Sep 2017
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3mins
Ranked #4
David Holt Shares Blue Ridge Mountain Music with the World
David Holt Shares Blue Ridge Mountain Music with the World
It all began when David Holt was a college student at UC Santa Barbara. At a campus concert, he heard Ralph Stanley play... Read more
7 Nov 2019
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3mins
Ranked #5
What is Bluegrass?
What is Bluegrass?
It started in Kentucky but quickly caught on across the BlueRidge Mountains. Back in the ‘40s and '50s, musicians starte... Read more
3 Jul 2017
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3mins
Ranked #6
African Roots of the Banjo
African Roots of the Banjo
The roots of the banjo trace directly to West Africa. White Southerners learned to play early gourd banjos, probably bui... Read more
31 Jul 2017
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3mins
Ranked #7
Marsha Todd Makes Her Mark in Mountain Music
Marsha Todd Makes Her Mark in Mountain Music
Many of today’s outstanding old-time and bluegrass musicians carry on longstanding family traditions. One such artist i... Read more
5 Jun 2018
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3mins
Ranked #8
African-American Gospel Music in Appalachia
African-American Gospel Music in Appalachia
North Carolina’s Blue Ridge Mountains are home to a rich heritage of African-American gospel music in local churches, pe... Read more
9 Nov 2017
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3mins
Ranked #9
Charlie Poole Pioneered Piedmont Banjo Style
Charlie Poole Pioneered Piedmont Banjo Style
One of the pioneers of country music, Charlie Poole was born in 1892 in Franklinville, a small town in Randolph County, ... Read more
7 Mar 2018
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3mins
Ranked #10
What are the Blue Ridge Music Trails?
What are the Blue Ridge Music Trails?
Throughout this series, we’ve invited you to journey down the road with us on the highwaysand byways that make up the Bl... Read more
8 Dec 2017
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3mins
Ranked #11
Picking the Blue Ridge Blues
Picking the Blue Ridge Blues
When most people think of mountain music, banjos, ballads or bluegrass usually come to mind, but the Blue Ridge is home ... Read more
19 Jun 2017
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3mins
Ranked #12
How Doc Watson Found Success in '60s
How Doc Watson Found Success in '60s
Doc Watson spent much of the 1950s playing electric guitar in a country and western dance band. In 1960 he switched to a... Read more
16 Apr 2018
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3mins
Ranked #13
Doc Watson Defined Mountain Music
Doc Watson Defined Mountain Music
Doc Watson’s signature baritone voice and unique lead bluegrass guitar licks became synonymous with traditional and blue... Read more
14 Sep 2017
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3mins
Ranked #14
Mountain music has deep roots in British Isles
Mountain music has deep roots in British Isles
The music of the Southern Appalachians is a melting pot of diverse styles and people. Settlers from the British Isles an... Read more
12 Feb 2019
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3mins
Ranked #15
Doc Watson Recalls Mountain Childhood
Doc Watson Recalls Mountain Childhood
Arthel Lane Watson, better known as "Doc," grew up on Osborne Mountain in Watauga County, NC. Doc lost his sight to an e... Read more
3 Apr 2018
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3mins
Ranked #16
Blues Guitarist Lesley Riddle Shaped Country Music
Blues Guitarist Lesley Riddle Shaped Country Music
Country music came into the American mainstream with the Carter Family, but A.P. Carter relied heavily on African-Americ... Read more
26 Jun 2017
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3mins
Ranked #17
Raymond Fairchild Creates His Own Style of Playing the Banjo
Raymond Fairchild Creates His Own Style of Playing the Banjo
Bluegrass banjo player Raymond Fairchild of Haywood County, North Carolina, embodies the spirit of originality found in ... Read more
1 Apr 2019
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3mins
Ranked #18
Cane Mill Road Carries on Deep Gap Legacy
Cane Mill Road Carries on Deep Gap Legacy
Deep Gap, NC, is known around the world as the home of the legendary Doc and Merle Watsons. Now the rising bluegrass ban... Read more
10 Dec 2018
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3mins