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Roots Culture Redefined

A Place in the Band: Alice Gerrard

Editor’s note: Register for the Blue Ridge Music Center’s FREE virtual A Place in the Band conference held Friday, February 26, 2021 here.

BGS is proud to partner with the Blue Ridge Music Center on their online series, A Place in the Band: Women in Bluegrass & American Roots Music. The 10-part series explores the triumphs and struggles of prominent women with careers in the music industry.

Musicians Alice Gerrard, Laurie Lewis, Amythyst Kiah, and artist manager Traci Thomas are featured in this week’s episodes, which are available with the full series on the Blue Ridge Music Center’s YouTube channel, at their website, BlueRidgeMusicCenter.org, and here on BGS. Along with an online conference hosted by BRMC in late February, the series is part of a project that began in 2020 to honor the 100th anniversary of the 19th Amendment granting women in the United States the right to vote.

In this edition of A Place in the Band, North Carolina singer-songwriter and social justice activist Laurelyn Dossett interviews Bluegrass Hall of Famer Alice Gerrard. Gerrard started her musical career singing with Hazel Dickens as the duo Hazel and Alice. She’s gone on to have a long, varied career as a multi-instrumentalist, singer, and songwriter, recording as a solo artist, playing in several bands, and collaborating with many other musicians. In the video above she talks about her mentors and her path to making a living through music, diversity and gender issues in the industry and their impact on her career, and she gives advice to young musicians entering the field.

Rounding out the 10 interviews will be three final episodes featuring Kristin Scott Benson, Ruth Ungar Merenda, and Haley Miller Coots debuting on Tuesday, January 26.

Explore more from A Place in the Band, sign up for the conference, and learn more about the Blue Ridge Music Center here.

Video credit: Joe Dejarnette, Studio 808A
Graphic credit: Jacob LeBlanc, Blue Ridge Parkway Foundation

A Place in the Band: Amy Grossmann

Editor’s note: Register for the Blue Ridge Music Center’s FREE virtual A Place in the Band conference held Friday, February 26, 2021 here.

BGS is proud to announce our partnership with the Blue Ridge Music Center to debut their online series, A Place in the Band: Women in Bluegrass & American Roots Music. The 10-part series explores the triumphs and struggles of prominent women with careers in the music industry.

Over the course of three weeks the episodes – promoting the BRMC’s online conference in late February – will be made available on the Blue Ridge Music Center’s YouTube channel, on BlueRidgeMusicCenter.org, and here on BGS as part of a project that began in 2020 to honor the 100th anniversary of the 19th Amendment granting women in the United States the right to vote.

North Carolina singer-songwriter and social justice activist Laurelyn Dossett acts as host, speaking with musicians and additional music industry leaders. Her subjects share behind the scenes stories, reveal their role models and mentors, discuss issues they’ve encountered specific to women in the industry, and highlight changes they’ve seen over the years. The individual stories show the collective strength and possibilities for women in bluegrass and American roots music.

The first three interviews feature North Carolina’s Rhiannon Giddens, Missy Raines (eight time-IBMA bass player of the year and member of the First Ladies of Bluegrass), and Amy Grossmann (Executive Director of the North Carolina Folk Festival). Additional interviews will be released on Tuesday, January 19, and Tuesday, January 26.

This installment’s interviewee is Amy Grossman, the President, CEO, and Director of The North Carolina Folk Festival. She was appointed to that role when the festival transitioned from The National Folk Festival to the North Carolina Folk Festival in 2018. In her role Grossmann oversees all administrative, logistical, production, and financial elements of the festival, and plays a leadership role in managing local operations — from vendor relationships to volunteer needs. She dives into the roles of women “behind the scenes” in the music industry. (Watch the full interview at the top of the page, watch a preview above.)

A Place in the Band: Women in Bluegrass and American Roots Music is sponsored and supported by the Blue Ridge Parkway Foundation, the Blue Ridge Parkway/National Park Service, National Endowment for the Arts, National Park Foundation, and The Bluegrass Situation.

Explore more from A Place in the Band, sign up for the conference, and learn more about the Blue Ridge Music Center here.

Video credit: Joe Dejarnette, Studio 808A
Graphic credit: Jacob LeBlanc, Blue Ridge Parkway Foundation

A Place in the Band: Missy Raines

Editor’s note: Register for the Blue Ridge Music Center’s FREE virtual A Place in the Band conference held Friday, February 26, 2021 here.

BGS is proud to announce our partnership with the Blue Ridge Music Center to debut their online series, A Place in the Band: Women in Bluegrass & American Roots Music. The 10-part series explores the triumphs and struggles of prominent women with careers in the music industry.

Over the course of three weeks the episodes – promoting the BRMC’s online conference in late February – will be made available on the Blue Ridge Music Center’s YouTube channel, on BlueRidgeMusicCenter.org, and here on BGS as part of a project that began in 2020 to honor the 100th anniversary of the 19th Amendment granting women in the United States the right to vote.

North Carolina singer-songwriter and social justice activist Laurelyn Dossett acts as host, speaking with musicians and additional music industry leaders. Her subjects share behind the scenes stories, reveal their role models and mentors, discuss issues they’ve encountered specific to women in the industry, and highlight changes they’ve seen over the years. The individual stories show the collective strength and possibilities for women in bluegrass and American roots music.

The first three interviews feature North Carolina’s Rhiannon Giddens, Missy Raines (eight time-IBMA bass player of the year and member of the First Ladies of Bluegrass), and Amy Grossmann (Executive Director of the North Carolina Folk Festival). Additional interviews will be released on Tuesday, January 19, and Tuesday, January 26.

This installment features singer, songwriter, and bass player, Missy Raines, the first woman to win IBMA’s Bass Player of the Year award in 1998 – she has gone on to win this honor eight times. (Watch the full interview at the top of the page, watch a preview above.) Starting her career playing for bluegrass legend Eddie Adcock, Raines has gone on to play with The Brother Boys, Ed Snodderly, and Claire Lynch and The Front Porch String Band, until “going solo” in 2009. With her latest album, the Grammy-nominated Royal Traveller, Raines has stepped into the spotlight as a songwriter.

A Place in the Band: Women in Bluegrass and American Roots Music is sponsored and supported by the Blue Ridge Parkway Foundation, the Blue Ridge Parkway/National Park Service, National Endowment for the Arts, National Park Foundation, and The Bluegrass Situation.

Explore more from A Place in the Band, sign up for the conference, and learn more about the Blue Ridge Music Center here.

Video credit: Joe Dejarnette, Studio 808A
Graphic credit: Jacob LeBlanc, Blue Ridge Parkway Foundation

A Place in the Band: Rhiannon Giddens

Editor’s note: Register for the Blue Ridge Music Center’s FREE virtual A Place in the Band conference held Friday, February 26, 2021 here.

BGS is proud to announce our partnership with the Blue Ridge Music Center to debut their online series, A Place in the Band: Women in Bluegrass & American Roots Music. The 10-part series explores the triumphs and struggles of prominent women with careers in the music industry.

Over the course of three weeks the episodes – promoting the BRMC’s online conference in late February – will be made available on the Blue Ridge Music Center’s YouTube channel, on BlueRidgeMusicCenter.org, and here on BGS as part of a project that began in 2020 to honor the 100th anniversary of the 19th Amendment granting women in the United States the right to vote.

North Carolina singer-songwriter and social justice activist Laurelyn Dossett acts as host, speaking with musicians and additional music industry leaders. Her subjects share behind the scenes stories, reveal their role models and mentors, discuss issues they’ve encountered specific to women in the industry, and highlight changes they’ve seen over the years. The individual stories show the collective strength and possibilities for women in bluegrass and American roots music.

The first three interviews feature North Carolina’s Rhiannon Giddens, Missy Raines (eight time-IBMA bass player of the year and member of the First Ladies of Bluegrass), and Amy Grossmann (Executive Director of the North Carolina Folk Festival). Additional interviews will be released on Tuesday, January 19, and Tuesday, January 26.

The first installment features Rhiannon Giddens. (Watch the full interview at the top of the page, watch a preview above.) A Greensboro, NC native, Grammy winner (and six-time nominee), and MacArthur Fellow, Giddens excavates the past to reveal truths about our present. A founding member of the Carolina Chocolate Drops and Our Native Daughters, she also tours with Francesco Turrisi and as a solo artist. She is also known for her work onscreen, appearing in two seasons of the hit television series Nashville and in Ken Burns’s Country Music.

A Place in the Band: Women in Bluegrass and American Roots Music is sponsored and supported by the Blue Ridge Parkway Foundation, the Blue Ridge Parkway/National Park Service, National Endowment for the Arts, National Park Foundation, and The Bluegrass Situation.

Explore more from A Place in the Band, sign up for the conference, and learn more about the Blue Ridge Music Center here.

Video credit: Joe Dejarnette, Studio 808A
Graphic credit: Jacob LeBlanc, Blue Ridge Parkway Foundation

WATCH: Singing on the Land Featuring Arnold Richardson and Netye Lynch

Singing on the Land is a virtual music project that celebrates stories and historic sites across North Carolina through the voices of North Carolina musicians. In this installment, Arnold Richardson plays a hand-carved red cedar American Indian flute alongside Netye Lynch on a hand drum. The performance is filmed at Magazine Spring in Historic Halifax. Watch an interview after the song, as Richardson talks about the spiritual feeling from the property, the courtship ritual of music, and the remnants of his Native American ancestors. He is a member of the Haliwa-Saponi tribe of eastern North Carolina.

Developed by North Carolina State Historic Sites and Properties in partnership with the North Carolina Arts Council and Come Hear NC, each installment of the series will highlight one of North Carolina’s 27 state designated historic sites. Each episode of Singing on the Land will feature a single-song acoustic performance by a North Carolina musician(s) paired with short interviews and environmental footage of the site’s landscape and landmarks. (Find out more.)

 

WATCH: Singing on the Land Featuring Jimmy Vipperman at Horne Creek Farm

Singing on the Land is a virtual music project that celebrates stories and historic sites across North Carolina through the voices of North Carolina musicians. In this installment, renowned fiddler Jimmy Vipperman performs the traditional tune “Soldier’s Joy” at Horne Creek Farm. Watch an interview with “Vip” after the performance, as he explains his family’s connection to this song, the genesis of the TAPS program for young musicians, and why he learned the fiddle by ear.

Developed by North Carolina State Historic Sites and Properties in partnership with the North Carolina Arts Council and Come Hear NC, each installment of the series will highlight one of North Carolina’s 27 state designated historic sites. Each episode of Singing on the Land will feature a single-song acoustic performance by a North Carolina musician(s) paired with short interviews and environmental footage of the site’s landscape and landmarks. (Find out more.)

WATCH: Aoife O’Donovan, “Red & White & Blue & Gold”

Aoife O’Donovan has us dreaming of summer in this stunning performance from Episode 3 of Whiskey Sour Happy Hour, our 21st-century online variety show benefitting MusiCares’ COVID-19 Relief Fund and Direct Relief, presented by BGS and Ed Helms in early May. O’Donovan was joined by Eric Jacobsen on cello and Colin Jacobsen on violin.

We hope you’ll enjoy this Whiskey Sour Happy Hour rerun of “Red & White & Blue & Gold.”

Editor’s Note: Aoife O’Donovan will be live at the Troubadour in Los Angeles on Thursday April 14, 2022. Grab your tickets here.

 

WATCH: Singing on the Land Featuring Lakota John at Town Creek Indian Mound

Singing on the Land is a virtual music project that celebrates stories and historic sites across North Carolina through the voices of North Carolina musicians. In this installment, blues singer and guitarist Lakota John performs “Together at Home” at Town Creek Indian Mound. Don’t miss an interview with Lakota John after the performance, as he explains the significance of performing this original song at such a sacred place.

Developed by North Carolina State Historic Sites and Properties in partnership with the North Carolina Arts Council and Come Hear NC, each installment of the series will highlight one of North Carolina’s 27 state designated historic sites. Each episode of Singing on the Land will feature a single-song acoustic performance by a North Carolina musician(s) paired with short interviews and environmental footage of the site’s landscape and landmarks. (Find out more.)

WATCH: Singing on the Land Featuring Rissi Palmer at Bentonville Battlefield

Singing on the Land is a virtual music project that celebrates the stories of historic sites across North Carolina through the voices of North Carolina musicians. In this installment, country soul vocalist Rissi Palmer and guitarist James Gilmore perform “Barley,” written by Allison Russell, at Bentonville Battlefield. Don’t miss an interview with Palmer after the performance, where she speaks about her ancestors, and what this song and her surroundings mean to her today.

Developed by North Carolina State Historic Sites and Properties in partnership with the North Carolina Arts Council and Come Hear NC, each installment of the series will highlight one of North Carolina’s 27 state designated historic sites. Each episode of Singing on the Land will feature a single-song acoustic performance by a North Carolina musician(s) paired with short interviews and environmental footage of the site’s landscape and landmarks. (Find out more.)

 

WATCH: Shout & Shine Featuring Julian Taylor

BGS is proud to announce Shout & Shine Episode 3! Indigenous, Canadian singer-songwriter Julian Taylor is our guest for this livestream iteration of Shout & Shine, which comprises short-form, intimate video performances by underrepresented and marginalized artists in Americana, folk, and bluegrass.

Please support Julian Taylor directly, via PayPal: https://paypal.me/juliandeantaylor and visit Taylor’s website for more information and music.

 Shout & Shine is presented by Preston Thompson Guitars and will be streamed live right here on November 11 at 4pm PT / 7pm ET.

Photo of Julian Taylor: Lisa MacIntosh