Carolina Calling: the Wilmington Effect

From Blue Velvet to One Tree Hill, scores of movies & TV shows have been filmed in & around Wilmington, North Carolina. Perhaps the best-known is Dawson’s Creek, the popular late-’90s coming-of-age drama series. While the show tried to tackle progressive storylines, its stark lack of diversity made Dawson’s Creek frequently cited as the whitest show ever. Nearly two decades after it went off the air, tourists still come to Wilmington in search of the show’s landmarks.

But Wilmington has a more difficult, less visible side to its history, politically as well as culturally, going back to the 1700s. Long before North Carolina became one of America’s original 13 colonies, there were thriving Indigenous communities throughout the region. There was also a time when Wilmington’s most famous musician was a man of color, Frank Johnson: fiddler, composer, and bandleader – and one of the biggest stars in American music in the years before the Civil War.

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During Reconstruction, Wilmington was an unusually progressive, forward-thinking town. In contrast to the state of things elsewhere in the South, Wilmington elected a racially diverse local government, led by both whites and freed Black people.

That came to an abrupt end in 1898 with a white-supremacist coup, a bloody rampage that left numerous people of color dead and Black-owned businesses destroyed. Those the mob didn’t kill, they chased out of town. That left Wilmington with a mostly white population, an all-white local government – and a whitewashed version of the city’s history in which Black people’s contributions were erased from the official story.

This might seem like ancient history, but it’s not. Wilmington’s most famous native-born musician is probably Charlie Daniels, the country-music star who died in the summer of 2020. Daniels was born in 1936 – less than four decades after that 1898 uprising. The real story of the 1898 coup is finally coming to light in recent years, thanks to works like the 2020 Pulitzer-winning book Wilmington’s Lie. But it’s still not widely known.

In this episode of Carolina Calling, we explore Wilmington – a town that keeps its secrets even as they’re hidden in plain sight – through the life and career of Frank Johnson, whose his story and stardom were all but lost to time – or rather, to the erasing effects of the 1898 massacre on Wilmington’s history.

This episode features John Jeremiah Sullivan, a writer and historian who lives in Wilmington and has written extensively about the city’s music and history for The New Yorker and New York Times magazine, as well as Grammy winner Rhiannon Giddens, and musicians Charly Lowry and Lakota John.

Subscribe to Carolina Calling on any and all podcast platforms to follow along as we journey across the Old North State, visiting towns like Durham, Asheville, Shelby, Greensboro, and more.


Music featured in this episode:

Paula Cole – “I Don’t Want To Wait”
“Saraz Handpan C# Minor”
Charlie Daniels – “Long Haired Country Boy”
Traditional – “The Lumbee Song”
Lakota John – “She Caught The Katy”
Ranky Tanky – “Knee Bone”
Lauchlin Shaw, Glenn Glass & Fred Olson – “Twinkle Little Star”
Marvin Gaster, Rich Hartness, Beth Hartness & Harry Gaster – “Rye Straw”
Evelyn Shaw, Lauchlin Shaw, A.C. Overton & Wayne Martin – “Money, Marbles and Chalk”
Marvin Gaster, Rich Hartness, Beth Hartness & Harry Gaster – “Chickens Growing at Midnight”
Rhiannon Giddens w/ Franceso Turrisi – “Avalon”
Rhiannon Giddens w/ Franceso Turrisi – “There Is No Other”
Joe Thompson & Odell Thompson – “Donna Got a Rambling Mind”
The Showmen – “39-23-46”


BGS is proud to produce Carolina Calling in partnership with Come Hear NC, a campaign from the North Carolina Department of Natural & Cultural Resources designed to celebrate North Carolinians’ contribution to the canon of American music.

Portrait of Frank Johnson via the National Portrait Gallery

Carolina Calling, Asheville: A Retreat for the Creative Spirit

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Asheville, North Carolina’s history as a music center goes back to the 1920s and string-band troubadours like Lesley Riddle and Bascom Lamar Lunsford, and country-music pioneer Jimmie Rodgers. But there’s always been a lot more to this town than acoustic music and scenic mountain views. From the experimental Black Mountain College that drew a range of minds as diverse as German artist Josef Albers, composer John Cage, and Albert Einstein, Asheville was also the spiritual home for electronic-music pioneer Bob Moog, who invented the Moog synthesizer first popularized by experimental bands like Kraftwerk to giant disco hits like Donna Summer’s “I Feel Love.”

It’s also a town where busking culture ensures that music flows from every street corner, and it’s the adopted hometown of many modern musicians in a multitude of genres, including Pokey LaFarge, who spent his early career busking in Asheville, and Moses Sumney, a musician who’s sonic palette is so broad, it’s all but unclassifiable.

In this premiere episode of Carolina Calling, we wonder and explore what elements of this place of creative retreat have drawn individualist artists for over a century? Perhaps it’s the fact that whatever your style, Asheville is a place that allows creativity to grow and thrive.

Subscribe to Carolina Calling on any and all podcast platforms to follow along as we journey across the Old North State, visiting towns like Shelby, Greensboro, Durham, Wilmington, and more.


Music featured in this episode:

Bascom Lamar Lunsford – “Dry Bones”

Jimmie Rodgers – “My Carolina Sunshine Girl”

Kraftwerk – “Autobahn”

Donna Summer – “I Feel Love”

Pokey LaFarge – “End Of My Rope”

Moses Sumney – “Virile”

Andrew Marlin – “Erie Fiddler (Carolina Calling Theme)”

Moses Sumney – “Me In 20 Years”

Steep Canyon Rangers – “Honey on My Tongue”

Béla Bartók – “Romanian Folk Dances”

New Order – “Blue Monday”

Quindar – “Twin-Pole Sunshade for Rusty Schweickart”

Pokey LaFarge – “Fine To Me”

Bobby Hicks Feat. Del McCoury – “We’re Steppin’ Out”

Squirrel Nut Zippers – “Put A Lid On It”

Jimmie Rodgers – “Daddy and Home”

Lesley Riddle – “John Henry”

Steep Canyon Rangers – “Graveyard Fields”


BGS is proud to produce Carolina Calling in partnership with Come Hear NC, a campaign from the North Carolina Department of Natural & Cultural Resources designed to celebrate North Carolinians’ contribution to the canon of American music.

BGS & Come Hear NC Explore the Musical History of North Carolina in New Podcast ‘Carolina Calling’

The Bluegrass Situation is excited to announce a partnership with Come Hear North Carolina, and the latest addition to the BGS Podcast Network, in Carolina Calling: a podcast exploring the history of North Carolina through its music and the musicians who made it. The state’s rich musical history has influenced the musical styles of the U.S. and beyond, and Carolina Calling aims to connect the roots of these progressions and uncover the spark in these artistic communities. From Asheville to Wilmington, we’ll be diving into the cities and regions that have cultivated decades of talent as diverse as Blind Boy Fuller to the Steep Canyon Rangers, from Robert Moog to James Taylor and Rhiannon Giddens.

The series’ first episode, focusing on the creative spirit of retreat in Asheville, premieres Monday, January 31 and features the likes of Pokey LaFarge, Woody Platt of the Steep Canyon Rangers, Gar Ragland of Citizen Vinyl, and more. Subscribe to the show wherever you listen to podcasts, and be on the lookout for brand new episodes coming soon.

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Steep Canyon Rangers Salute Their State on ‘North Carolina Songbook’

Steep Canyon Rangers have been musical ambassadors of North Carolina for nearly 20 years, and during this year’s set at MerleFest, they presented a wide-ranging performance drawing on their home state’s diverse contributions to American music. That feel-good Sunday afternoon show is now available as an eight-song live album, North Carolina Songbook.

The collection covers inspirations from jazz musician Thelonious Monk, folk/blues hero Elizabeth Cotten, and enduring acoustic legends such as Doc Watson and Flatt & Scruggs. Replying by email, mandolin player Mike Guggino answered these first five questions, with singer/guitarist Woody Platt rounding up the remainder.

BGS: The music of North Carolina can be an overwhelming subject. What was the audition process, so to speak, when it came time to deciding which songs you wanted to include in your set?

Guggino: We all tried to come to the table with songs that we thought might work for the set. We knew we needed not only good songs, but also songs that worked well together to make the set flow. We needed the set to have some diversity, some highs and lows dynamically. We also wanted to feature different members of the band throughout the show.

These songs are familiar, of course, but how much did you rehearse the set list before singing at MerleFest?

We starting working on the tunes a few months before the show. We tried to incorporate many of the tunes into our shows leading up to MerleFest to get an idea of how they worked within the set.

Naturally it’s important to have Doc Watson and Rosa Lee Watson represented. How often did you cross paths with them, and what do you remember most about them?

We all started going to Merlefest in our college years and Doc would perform every year. Seeing him play live was always a highlight of the festival for us. His was some of the first bluegrass/Americana music many of us in the band were ever exposed to. We starting learning many of Doc’s tunes for our shows early on as a band. Many years later, Doc played our festival (Mountain Song Festival) in Brevard. He was one of the nicest musicians I have ever met. It was an honor to meet him and none of us will ever forget that experience!

“Don’t Let Your Deal Go Down” is a bluegrass staple. Do you remember how you all first heard that song?

That was one of the first Flatt & Scruggs tunes we ever heard or tried to learn. I’ve always loved the ragtime-like chord changes in that tune. Also, Earl played it open and the tune is in F major. It definitely gives it a unique sound on the banjo. I think Graham played the heck out of that one on the record!

What were the conversations like as you were deciding what kind of arrangement you wanted to give “Stand by Me”

We all agreed we wanted to feature that beautiful string solo section in the middle. This required a few extra fiddlers to make it happen and it came off so nicely. Woody really sings it with a lot of passion and that is really what makes the song work, in my opinion. We didn’t end up straying too far from the original arrangement in the end. It’s a simple song and we didn’t want to overthink it.

True to its name, “I’ve Endured” has been around a while. What pulled you toward this song?

Platt: This song was a natural fit — not only was Ola Belle Reed a clawhammer banjo player from Grassy Creek in Ashe County, North Carolina, but this song and several of her others have been pulled into the bluegrass genre. We have heard several versions of “I’ve Endured” and we are proud to now have our own.

This album is coming out on vinyl on Record Store Day. Who is the biggest vinyl collector among you?

Everyone in the band has an interest in vinyl and has a nice collection. Without doing an exact count I’d have to say Graham [Sharp, on banjo] is the biggest collector.

“Sweet Baby James” is a highlight of this album. Who is the biggest fan of James Taylor in the band?

James is from Chapel Hill, North Carolina, where the band was originally formed. All of us have connections to his music in some way or another. I’d guess Barrett [Smith, on bass] is the biggest fan. He did a great job channeling James’s vibe and delivery on this version.

North Carolina Songbook provides a chance for you to share part of your state’s musical heritage with the world. What do you hope fans will take away from the experience of listening to this album?

The takeaway is North Carolina’s incredibly rich and diverse musical history! Also, we have recorded nearly 100% of our own original music throughout our career — so it’s fun to show a different side of the band and how we can interpret other songs and deliver them in the SCR style.

What lies ahead for the Steep Canyon Rangers in 2020?

We have a few new projects coming up in 2020. A collaboration with the Asheville Symphony will be released in early 2020. Later in the year we will be releasing a new project of all original SCR material. Other than that we plan to continue to tour and play theaters, clubs, and festivals all over the country and abroad. There will also be some touring with our banjo buddy Steve Martin.


Photo Credit: David Simchock