Currently the music industry seems to be in an intermediate state. The transition from vinyl to CD to streaming services has transformed just within the last half century. Today, musicians are faced with new challenges such as: not being properly compensated or for a new musician establishing roots in a musical community. Earlier this week … Continue reading What is that blue avi on Twitter? →
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Some Thoughts on Other Genres in Appalachia
*** WARNING: The videos in this post may contain explicit content; NSFW; Viewer discretion is advised. *** This week’s class discussion featured some topics that one might not think would ever come up in a class covering Bluegrass music. One of those topics was the rap/hip-hop scenes and artists from the Appalachian region and “Dirty … Continue reading Some Thoughts on Other Genres in Appalachia
Thinking on Floyd Fest 2013
The summer before last I had made up my mind to go to a Festival for the full length of time. I had gotten one day passes to bonaroo in the years before, but i decided to follow that instinct … Continue reading →
Appalachian Music
Bluegrass is commonly considered the music of Appalachia. Of course, bluegrass has a very wide reach, with bluegrass bands coming from all over. And while bluegrass is expanding beyond Appalachia, Appalachian music is expanding beyond bluegrass. This week’s classes focused on music that is native to Appalachia but that doesn’t completely fit the genre of […]
What does “Genre” even mean?
In class we discussed “genres” briefly today. It kind of struck me a little differently than I expected. It brought back an old memory of mine I had long since forgotten. It reminded me of when I was a kid and I asked my father and grandfather what made country music country music. I remember … Continue reading What does “Genre” even mean?
Mybluegrass 2015-03-28 04:06:22
Looking at a time line, bluegrass started out of Kentucky in the 1930’s and 40’s with Bill Monroe and, the Stanley Brothers, and Lester Flatt and Earl Scruggs, and was found to be quite popular radio entertainment. At that point in time, there wasn’t many other outlets for the music to be presented or promoted … Continue reading
Communities and Values
In “The Portable Community: Mobility and Modernization in Bluegrass Festival Life,” Robert Gardner quotes Richard Florida, who says, “Where old social structures were once nurturing, they are now restricting. Communities that once attracted people now repel them. Our evolving communities and emerging society are marked by a greater diversity of friendships, more individualistic pursuits, and … Continue reading Communities and Values
Bluegrass Festivals: All Kinds of Kinds
After reading Robert Owen Gardner’s The Portable Community: Mobility and Modernization in Bluegrass Festival Life I have learned a lot about how Bluegrass festivals display a sense of community formed of an unlikely mix. In his article, Gardner discussed the meaning of community and how that is reflected in the Bluegrass festival scene. Community is … Continue reading Bluegrass Festivals: All Kinds of Kinds
Bluegrass Festivals and Community
In my Bluegrass class this week we focused on Bluegrass festivals and the communities that form among members of the festival audience. On Monday we watched a documentary called Bluegrass Country Soul that showcased Carlton Haney’s 7th annual Labor Day … Continue reading →
Festivals are Families
Recently I read, “The Portable Communities” by Owens Gardener. The “portable communities” he referred to were the communities found at the smaller bluegrass festivals. It describes the way people interact at festivals, and how festivals tend to bring people together. I enjoyed the writing because it perfectly describes what I define as Bluegrass music. To … Continue reading Festivals are Families