Mountain music has deep roots in British Isles

02/12/19 • 2 min

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

The music of the Southern Appalachians is a melting pot of diverse styles and people. Settlers from the British Isles and Germany came here in the 18th century with their string music and balladry, shaping the sounds.

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Appalachian dulcimer makes sweet mountain music

Think of traditional mountain music and many fans will hear the sweet sounds of the Appalachian or lap dulcimer, which was developed in the Southern Highlands. Fans love it since one lesson can let you strum out simple melodies.

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Railroad Tunnel to Asheville Ends in Triumph and Tragedy

In 1941, the famed folklorist and field recorder Alan Lomax, along with two colleagues, recorded a banjo player from the Blue Ridge Mountains named Bascom Lamar Lunsford. One of the songs he recorded in 1941, “Swannanoa Tunnel,” tells a very local story about a universal theme – the human cost of progress.