Down the Road on the Blue Ridge Music Trails of North Carolina Blue Ridge Music Trails

Rare Bird Farm in the mountains of Madison County is an agricultural arts center that hosts performing arts, classes, workshops, and community events, all centered around the ideas of creativity, connection, and collaboration. While not a commercial farm, Rare Bird also raises animals, medicinal plants, and food. We spent some time with Mitchell Davis and Farrah Hoffmire or Rare Bird to learn more.

An intersection of the natural and musical heritage of WNC can be found in the high mountains. Red Spruce (picea rubens) is prominent at altitudes above 5,000 feet in the Southern Appalachians. It’s also one of the primary tonewoods used in traditional construction of mandolins and guitars. For this episode, we spent time with conservationist Marquette Crockett and luthier James Condino to learn more.

Traditional music in WNC is a cultural practice that expands into many ways to make a living. We most often think of performers, but for every live music event that takes place, there are folks behind the scenes crossing “I’s” and dotting “T’s” to make sure everything goes off without a hitch. One of the leaders in the event promotion industry is Claire Armbruster who owns and operates Planning Stages. We sat down recently with Claire to learn more about her, her experience, and the particulars of producing live music events.

Rhonda Gouge has done a lot. She’s been a fixture in the Mitchell County music scene since the 1970s, she can play at least a dozen instruments, she’s recorded multiple albums under her own name as well as with others, she’s performed with legendary musicians such as Red Wilson, she’s taught traditional music to more than 1,000 students, and in 2023 she was awarded the North Carolina Heritage Award. We sat down recently with Rhonda in her home teaching studio in the Ledger Community to talk about her musical journey and to do a little bit of pickin’!

In Season One of Down the Road on the Blue Ridge Music Trails of NC, we introduced you to banjo stylist Charlie Poole. In Season 5, we're excited to bring you a reading of Louise Wright Price's children's book, Charlie & His Banjo: The Story of Charlie Pool. 

What do you get when an MD and Professor Emeritus of Pathology and Surgery takes up the banjo? An expertly conducted survey of 32 WNC banjo players! Dr. William Allsbrook, Jr. turned his skills and attention to such a project when he noticed just how many great banjo players lived in Haywood County. His study resulted in a book, Making Music: The Banjo in a Southern Appalachian County. In this episode, we dig into some of what Allbrook's book has to offer.