Singer, guitarist, banjo player, mentor to many younger musicians Born into a musical family on March 3, 1923, in Deep Gap, North Carolina, Doc Watson was blinded in early childhood, due to an infection. He refers to his blindness only as a hindrance, not as a disability. Interviews with Doc reveal he was just as…
Rolling Stone wrote that “her honey-coated, slightly adenoidal cry was one of the most affecting voices of the civil rights movement,”
Nina Simone’s journey to stardom began in the small town of Tryon, North Carolina, where she was born Eunice Waymon in 1933.
Welcome to the Blue Ridge Music Trails The Blue Ridge Music Trails celebrate Western North Carolina’s gift to the world. Here, banjos sing of history and hardship, fiddles whisper of heritage, and voices carry light through the mountains. Music Woven into Mountain Life Come rest your feet a spell and lend an ear – that…
Mavis Staples & Band @ Merlefest 2021 Every spring, the Blue Ridge Mountains come alive with the sounds of homecoming. Musicians and fans flock to the small town of Wilkesboro, North Carolina for MerleFest – a celebration of roots music founded in honor of legendary guitarist Doc Watson’s late son Eddy Merle. The festival was…
Deep in the ancient mountains of North Carolina, the first strains of classic country music echoed through the hollows.
Appalachian Hand Weaving in our Working Museum Crossnore Weavers Studio Step back in time at Crossnore’s Weaving Room, where a century-old tradition of Appalachian craftsmanship lives on. In this cozy stone cottage, now a National Historic Site, local women once spun yarn that wound up in the White House and homes across the country. Today,…
