Cecil Sharp
In 1915 Cecil Sharp, an important collector of traditional English ballads, was informed that many Appalachian singers were singing old English songs …
Shape Notes
Shape note singing at Mountain Heritage Day Shape notes were invented in the late 18th century to simplify teaching people to sight-read unaccompanied sacred musical scores. They were called shape notes because, instead of drawing all of the music scale’s seven notes...Linn Cove Viaduct
Photo by Hugh Morton, Courtesy Grandfather Mountain Stewardship Foundation The last section of the Blue Ridge Parkway to be constructed was the Linn Cove Viaduct that crosses Grandfather Mountain near Blowing Rock, North Carolina. While the rest of the Parkway was...German Settlers in the Appalachians
People of German descent are one of the largest ethnic groups in the United States. They came to be known by the misnomer “Dutch” because Germans refer to themselves as Deutsch. Germans’ persistent and hardworking nature allowed them to thrive in backcountry...
Dinner on the Ground
Dinner on the Ground in the Upland South from Appalachia to the Ozarks, is an outdoor picnic held at Decoration Day events. The term originally referred to eating in a churchyard or cemetery with a picnic blanket spread on the ground. Nowadays, long tables and...
Tonya Carroll (B.A., 2007 M.A., 2009) with Bruce Frazier (Carol Grotnes Belk Endowed Professor in Commercial & Electronic Music) in the recording studio.