Monday, September 16, 2019

Bluegrass Banjo

Raymond Fairchild

A favorite of WPVM listeners is its play of old and new regional music—especially featuring the distinctive music of the banjo!

Here are three great local banjo stories to enjoy:

Dom Flemons

An entertaining 5-minute listen from Blue Ridge Public Radio (BPR) writer Cory Vaillancourt featuring Haywood County’s “elder statesman of mountain music” Raymond Fairchild and Grammy Award-winning American songster Dom Flemons.






Billy Scribbles and Mikey 
Merrill on Asheville streets
Billy Scribbles—travel writer, folklorist and busker (including playing banjo and spoons on the streets of Asheville)—shares a Facebook post about playing with Raymond Fairchild. A delightful read!

Photo on left of Billy with Mikey Merrill of Madison County. “The Reverend,” as Billy calls him, is the real deal!

(Here’s a short picturesque video of Billy playing banjo during his current adventures on the road out west.)


Roscoe Holcomb
The Discovery of Roscoe Holcomb and the High Lonesome Sound

A 2015 article from The New Yorker magazine by Amanda Petrusich on Roscoe Holcomb; Bob Dylan described Holcomb's work as exhibiting a certain untamed sense of control. 



WPVM presents "Land of the Sky" radio show on Sundays at 7:00-9:00 pm which features 78 rpm recordings of regional music—with lots of banjo! Plus the station’s weekday afternoon programs highlight current musicians influenced by traditional regional sounds such as Steep Canyon Rangers, Carolina Chocolate Drops, and many other artists with local roots; along with vintage recordings by Bascom Lamar Lunsford and Jimmie Rodgers.  Enjoy!

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