Sights & SoundsPhyllis Gaskins and Blue O’Connell
Phyllis Gaskins of Elkton, Virginia, is a master of the Galax dulcimer, an instrument distinguished from the regular mountain dulcimer in numerous ways, with four equidistant strings of the same …
Sights & SoundsRandal Eller and Drew Plowman
Southwest Virginia boasts some of the finest makers of stringed instruments in the United States. Much of this is a result of the wide-reaching influence and mentoring of the late …
Sights & SoundsBill Savage and Bob Savage
While many associate the Eastern Shore with the work of watermen, it is in fact a predominantly agricultural region. Bill Savage grew up on his family’s farm near Painter, Virginia, …
Sights & SoundsNader Majd and Ali Reza Analouei
Dr. Nader Majd, of Arlington, Virginia, was born in Sari, Iran, and began studying and playing the santur, or Persian hammered dulcimer, and violin at the age of six. He …
Sights & SoundsSteve Kilby and Leah Hall
The guitar was primarily used as a rhythm instrument in the United States from the 1800s through the 1930s. As more and more players began to play lead breaks on …
Sights & SoundsJason Rutledge and Melanie Carrier and Adam B. Greene
Born to a sharecropper’s daughter on tobacco row in Southside Virginia, Jason Rutledge was educated in the traditional skills of Suffolk horse drawn logging by his grandfather, a man skilled …
Sights & SoundsMaggie Ingram and the Ingramettes
Richmond, Virginia, has been recognized for generations as a “Gospel town,” with a vibrant tradition of African American gospel groups and choirs, and one of its most legendary figures is …
Sights & SoundsJay Eagle and Tyler Eagle
Stunningly beautiful Highland County, Virginia, is the southernmost site in the United States for the production of maple syrup, where “Sugar Camps” have traditionally been small-scale, family-run operations. The syrup-making …
Sights & SoundsAli Reza Analouei and Behnaz Bibizadeh
Dr. Ali Reza Analouei, born in Esfahan, Iran, has made his life’s work to apply the mystical traditions of Sufism and Irfan to the music he plays and teaches. He …
Sights & SoundsBill and Chuck Shelton and Rob Shelton
Thomas Jefferson experimented with eighteen or more varieties of apples at Monticello, only a few miles from the orchard faithfully tended by the Shelton family in North Garden, Virginia. The …
Sights & SoundsOlin Bare and Bruce Watts
There is a long history of traditional hunting in Rockbridge County and throughout Virginia. Olin Bare’s family traditions including hunting methods have been faithfully handed down ever since his family …
Sights & SoundsMac Traynham and Robert Browder
While the first European and African settlers of Southern Appalachia carried with them a strong stringed-instrument music tradition, instruments were often difficult to acquire, leading players to be resourceful in …
