Sights & SoundsFiddlin’ with the Flow: Old Time Music from the Rivers and Streams of SW Virginia
American rivers often serve as major repositories for local music. There may be no better example than America’s oldest river, the New, that from its tiniest gurgle in the mountains of North Carolina to the loud, raging gorge it has dug in West Virginia, has transported home grown, Appalachian music throughout the South.
Sights & SoundsAlice Gerrard & Sophie Moeckel
This past year, through our Virginia Folklife Apprenticeship Program, Sophie has learned directly from Alice — not just melodies and lyrics, but how to listen, how to breathe a story into a song, and how to carry a musical lineage with care and respect.
Sights & SoundsEllen Elmes, Renée Wienecke & Jenna Taylor
If you’ve driven through the network of small coalfield communities in far Southwest Virginia, chances are you’ve seen a mural painted by Ellen Elmes.
Sights & SoundsJohn Alexander & Erin Simons
Through our 2024–2025 Folklife Apprenticeship Program, John Alexander has spent the last year teaching Erin Simons the craft of broom making.
EventMural & Mountain Traditions Festival
Join us in celebrating the newly restored Echoes mural on the side of the Jettie Baker Center! Enjoy a day of craft, song, and storytelling traditions of Southwest Virginia.
NewsAnnouncing Bristol Roots Project: $52,000 for Individuals and Organizations
Accepting Applications Now Through June 30 The Bristol Roots Project, formally known as the Greater Bristol Folk Arts & Culture Team, announces two funding opportunities totaling $52,000 for folk and …
Sights & SoundsAppalachia to Nova Scotia
Toni Doman-Vandyke received a 2023–2024 Fulbright Award to study the relationship between technology and the Cape Breton traditional music scene.
Sights & SoundsCorey Harris & Lamont Jack Pearley
Through our 2023–2024 Folklife Apprenticeship Program, self-taught guitarist Lamont Jack Pearley has spent the last year apprenticing the fundamentals of Piedmont-style blues with Corey Harris of Charlottesville.
EventTara Mills Band at Humpback Rocks
Inspired by the Blue Ridge Mountains and the rich musical traditions tied to them, Tara Mills’s music is a blend of folk, bluegrass, and Americana.
EventThe McKenzies at Peaks of Otter
Woody and Marcia McKenzie have been making music together since they were married in 1983.
Sights & SoundsAll in the Family: Legends of Grayson Old-Time Weekend
The third Legends of Grayson Old-Time Weekend filled Independence, Virginia’s historic 1908 courthouse with music and memories this past weekend.
