Betty Smith, a ballad singer first, a musician and teacher, and then a playwright and author, discusses ballads, the many people who have collected and sung them, at Blue Ridge Community College as part of the Keeping the Fires Burning series.
Mountain Music Traditions
David Holt – Ballad Musicians
David Holt, a master of Appalachian music and storytelling, talks about the history and tradition of ballads, his love of the music, and people who sang and still sing the ballads.
Marc Pruett
Marc Pruett, an American bluegrass banjo player, talks about his family, growing up with music, and his passion for music.
Joe Penland – History of Madison County
Joe Penland, a storyteller and singer, sings and shares the history of Madison County with the Blue Ridge Center for Lifelong Learning.
Ted Olson
Ted Olson, a professor of Appalachian Studies at East Tennessee State University in Johnson City, Tennessee, talks about old-time music, and what fascinated him enough to spend his life focusing on it.
Sheila Kay Adams
Sheila Kay Adams, an American storyteller, author, and musician from the Sodom Laurel community in Madison County, NC, talks about family and friends who have been part of her life.
Sam Gleaves
Sam Gleaves, a ballad singer and multi-instrumentalist, shares his passion for Old Time music.
Rhiannon Giddens
Rhiannon Giddens, musician, singer, banjo player, educator, and founding member of The Carolina Chocolate Drops talks about African-American music and its place in the tapestry of folk music.
Phil Jamison
Phil Jamison, a traditional musician, player of old-time music, the fiddle, banjo, and guitar, and a dancer, discusses the history of the music and what it meant to him.
Justin Robinson
Justin Robinson, who grew up in a musical family, discusses what led him to explore the African American string band traditions.
Joe Penland
Joe Penland, a ballad singer, storyteller, father, builder, and a general man about town talks about the history of ballads and ballad singers.
Doug Orr
Doug Orr, co-author, educator, and past president of Warren Wilson College, talks about his great passion, for traditional music, and the origins of American folk music.