Been All Around This World

New CD From Gerald Anderson & Spencer Strickland

Gerald Anderson and Spencer Strickland, master instrument-makers and players from Southwest Virginia, team up on guitar and mandolin to deliver some searing licks and soulful vocal harmonies. Apprentice to guitar wizard Wayne Henderson, Gerald won the prestigious Guitar Contest at the 2003 Galax Fiddler’s Convention, and Spencer took home the “Best All-Around Performer” title the following year.      

• Buy Now in the VFH Store
• More About Gerald Anderson and Spencer Strickland
• Watch Video - Gerald Anderson and Spencer Strickland Perform Live From the Crooked Road

Featured Video

James Leva and Cheick Hamala Diabate

In April 2008 Cheick Hamala Diabate and James Leva came to VFH as part of VFH Fellow Cecelia Conway's Roots Program and Media Lecture. Here they perform Cumberland Gap.

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• More Video From The Field

Frank Newsome
On NPR's Weekend Edition

Sunday April 6, 2008

When Elder Frank Newsome, a coal miner's son and veteran of the mines himself, leads his congregation in singing the hymn, "Sweet Beulah Land," he is often overcome with emotion. Newsome is the moderator of the Little David Church in Haysi, Virginia. In this edition of What's in a Song, airing this Sunday, April 6, 2008 on NPR's Weekend Edition, Newsome explains how for him, singing and redemption walk hand-in-hand. Frank and his congregation of Old Regular Baptists are among the last practitioners of a spirited 400-year-old song tradition called lined-out hymnody.

• Watch Frank Sing Sweet Beulah Land
• Learn More About Frank Newsome
• Buy a CD of Frank Newsome - Gone Away With A Friend
• More on What's in a Song from the Western Folklife Center