Introduction Appalachia has been known for the larger part of history as a primarily white Anglo-saxon population. The truth of the matter is that Appalachian culture and heritage happens to be as rich as the soil that sprouts its tobacco and as diverse as its mountainous terrain. That being said, bluegrass is largely claimed as … Continue reading Mixtape – Bluegrass: Transcending Genre & Race, Uniting in Place
Category: #bluegrassclassVT15
Track Three: How Shared Space Makes Great Music Possible
The following is the third of nine tracks on an annotated mix-tape exploring the Bluegrass Scene of my home, San Diego County. Click the link and read along. “Shady Grove” -The Scottsville Squirrel Barkers (1963) Of the many talented and successful San Diego bluegrass musicians to arise, Chris Hillman stands as one of the … Continue reading Track Three: How Shared Space Makes Great Music Possible →
Track Two: Radio and Migration
The following is the second of nine tracks on an annotated mix-tape exploring the Bluegrass Scene of my home, San Diego County. Click the link and read along. “Just When I Needed You” -Maddox Brothers and Rose (Late 1940’s) This recording, made just across the border at XERB radio station in Rosarito Beach, Baja, marks an … Continue reading Track Two: Radio and Migration →
Event: Amber Collins and Branch House Pavilion
On Saturday, April 25, 2015, bluegrass trio Amber Collins and Branch House Pavilion performed at the Floyd Country Store, one of the major venues on the Crooked Road. I was familiar with the group because the guitarist, Scott Patrick, spoke to our class the month before, but had never been to the famous venue. […]
Event: Rising Appalachia
On Thursday, April 23, 2015, sister-duo Rising Appalachia performed at Radford University. I purposefully didn’t listen to their music before the show, so I would be surprised by whatever I heard when the concert started. Oddly enough, the music was the least surprising part of the whole experience. Chloe and Leah Smith performed songs […]
Event: T-Pain vs. Old Crow Medicine Show
On Wednesday, April 22, 2015, Florida hip-hop artist and rapper T-Pain came to Burruss Hall to perform seventy-minutes of his greatest hits. The event almost filled the 3,000-seat Burruss, which spoke to T-Pain’s relevance despite his not releasing an album since 2011. He was the fifth rapper to come to Virginia Tech this school […]
YouTube Playlist for Annotated Mixtape
The Grasscutters
Cecil Creasey Sr. and Mary Creasey, January 1958
First vinyl album cover, “Mowin’ on Down the Line”
Band members:
Cecil Creasey (fiddle and vocals)
Bill Parrish (guitar and vocals)
Mel Hughes (mandolin and vocals)
Warren Rodgers (bass and vocals)
Eugene Roberts (banjo and vocals)
[CLIPS]
“I’m […]
Gender as Articulated by Bluegrass Music
“In writing it, Ledford did a rare thing for her time: she made the free-wheeling, globe-trotting, banjo-playing protagonist a woman. If her man thinks he can persuade her to give it up and stick close to home, he might as well save his breath” – Jewly Hight It would be difficult to discuss gender in Bluegrass without … Continue reading Gender as Articulated by Bluegrass Music
Examination of Bluegrass Identities Through Theories of Identity
Performance Theory & Articulation Theory “When one starts to think carefully about how discourse might be said to produce a subject, it’s clear that one’s already talking about a certain figure or trope of production. It is at this point it’s useful to turn to the notion of performativity…So what I’m trying to do is … Continue reading Examination of Bluegrass Identities Through Theories of Identity