Tag: Kenny Roby

BGS & #ComeHearNC Celebrate the Cultural Legacy of North Carolina during #NCMusicMonth

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On the national music scene, North Carolina sets itself apart by blending the heritage of traditional roots music with the innovation of modern indie and Americana sounds. The bluegrass canon of North Carolina encompasses pioneers like Charlie Poole and Earl Scruggs, as well as groundbreaking musicians like Elizabeth Cotten, Alice Gerrard, and Doc Watson. Today’s spectrum of talent spans from modern favorites such as Darin & Brooke Aldridge, Balsam Range, and Steep Canyon Rangers, and the progressive perspective of the Avett Brothers, Rhiannon Giddens, Mandolin Orange, Hiss Golden Messenger, Mipso, and many more.

One example of how the state is merging past with present is the recent opening of North Carolina’s only vinyl pressing plant — Citizen Vinyl in Asheville.

 

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Built over 15 months in 1938-1939, The Asheville Citizen Times Building (@citizentimes) was designed by architect Anthony Lord as the grand center for the city’s two newspapers and radio station WWNC. Located at 14 O’Henry Avenue, the massive three-story building of reinforced concrete, granite and limestone, utilizing 20,000 glass bricks, is considered Asheville’s finest example of Art Moderne design. In 2019, Citizen Vinyl claimed the first floor & mezzanine of this iconic landmark as the future home of a vinyl record pressing plant, as well as a café, bar and record store – and is reviving the historic third floor radio station as a modern recording and post-production facility.

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According to press materials, the building’s third floor played host to Asheville’s historic WWNC (“Wonderful Western North Carolina”) which was once considered the most popular radio station in the United States. In 1927, the station hosted live performances by Jimmie Rodgers and made his first recordings shortly before he went to Bristol, Tennessee.  In 1939, the station featured  the first ever live performance by Bill Monroe and the Bluegrass Boys during its Mountain Music Time segment.  Citizen Vinyl expects to keep the live music tradition alive in this former newspaper building, too.

Here at BGS, we’ve been committed to North Carolina music from our launch, notably with our Merlefest Late Night Jams, which are always worth staying up for. And how much do we love the IBMA World of Bluegrass week in Raleigh? Looking back on our archive, we gathered these songs from the artists we’ve covered over the years — and looking ahead, you’ll see all-new interviews with the Avett Brothers and Mipso, examine the classic country stars with roots in North Carolina, and spotlight some rising talent with video performances at the state’s most scenic destinations.

In the meantime, you can discover more about the North Carolina music scene through their website and on Instagram at @comehearnc

Editor’s note: This content brought to you in part by our partners at Crossroads Label Group.

LISTEN: Kenny Roby, “Silver Moon (For Neal)”

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Artist: Kenny Roby
Hometown: Raleigh, North Carolina
Song: “Silver Moon (For Neal)”
Album: The Reservoir
Release Date: August 7, 2020
Label: Royal Potato Family

In Their Words: “I had the idea for this song the night after the memorial show for my friend Neal Casal at The Capitol Theatre in Port Chester, New York, in September of last year. Dave Schools, who was taking the helm as producer for The Reservoir in Neal’s place, and I were standing outside the venue with other friends and performers, and he said, ‘Look at that moon!’ It was a giant bright silver crescent. We all just stood there and gawked at it. A beautiful sight at the end of a beautiful but heartbreaking night. Late the next night in the hotel I thought of the idea for the chorus. And the following morning as Dave and I stood waiting for a taxi to take us back to the city, I had the idea for the first verse. It was about the gathering in tribute to our friend and us singing the old gospel song ‘Farther Along’ together for the encore.

“Six days later I came back from South Carolina to New York to sort of pick up the pieces and start recording the new record. Before heading up to Woodstock, I was walking around New York City alone early one morning and thinking about Neal and other friends when the idea for the second verse came to me. I went back to our friend Gary’s apartment where Neal’s 1952 Gibson SJ-45 was. I quickly scribbled the new lyrics down and grabbed Neal’s guitar and made a demo of the song to send to Dave and Gary. Oddly enough I also finished the verses to ‘I’m Gonna Love Again’ that morning, which I had started the day before, and demoed it on Neal’s guitar. So the only two songs that I wrote after Neal’s death were written in the same week, finished on the same morning, and demoed on his guitar.” — Kenny Roby

Photo credit: Gary Waldman