What is Bluegrass? The History & Evolution of Appalachian Music.

[ShahdagMountains]

Before the arrival of Europeans, the region was home to numerous indigenous tribes, including the Cherokee, Iroquois, Powhatan, and Shawnee. It was home to Native Americans as far back as 16,000 years ago.

The mountain ridges acted as a boundary (or at least a notable impediment) to colonial expansion until Daniel Boone found a route through via the Cumberland Gap. Bitter battles ensued as pioneers “discovered” new territories.

The Blue Ridge Mountains were largely settled by poor Scots-Irish, who brought with them a vibrant culture centered on family and rebellion. They also carried a rich tradition of storytelling and making music, particularly on the fiddle.

Affluent Germans also built settlements, often using enslaved Africans. These African Americans brought in what became classic foods for Appalachian farmers, such as sweet potatoes, black-eyed peas, watermelons, and peanuts.

What is Bluegrass? The Evolution of Appalachian Music

What is Bluegrass? The History and Evolution of Appalachian Music, including traditional bluegrass instruments and the best bluegrass bands today.

blueridgemountainstravelguide.com

 

[Harry Dresden]

blue grass has a name......its Bill Monroe....

 

[gtopa1]

blue grass has a name......its Bill Monroe....

Greg

 

[gtopa1]

Dancing is pretty cool too.



Greg

 

[gtopa1]

Greg

 

[gtopa1]

Thank God I'm a country boy??? lol....



Greg

 

[CremeBrulee]

Early "country" music. Everything developed from this...add a little big band here, electric guitar there, orchestra, some hip-hop, R&B, etc.
[

 

[ShahdagMountains]

Early "country" music. Everything developed from this...add a little big band here, electric guitar there, orchestra, some hip-hop, R&B, etc.
[

Did it all have its origins in the “old world”?

 

[CremeBrulee]

Did it all have its origins in the “old world”?

It's "origins"? sure. If you want to get back to the creation of the banjo or violin and what you consider the "old world."

 

[ShahdagMountains]

Didn’t know this:

Few musical instruments are more deeply connected to the American experience than the banjo. The banjo was created by enslaved Africans and their descendants in the Caribbean and colonial North America. Here, they maintained and perpetuated the tradition within a complex system of slave-labor camps, plantations, and in a variety of rural and urban settings. From the earliest references in the 17th century, and through the 1830s, the banjo was exclusively known as an African-American tradition with a West African heritage. What further distinguishes the banjo is that it did not come from Africa “as-is” as an unaltered tradition. Rather, the banjo’s creation was the result of a blending between West African and European forms. Sharing some similarities with the guitar, the best-documented form of the early banjo includes a drum-like body made out of a gourd (or sometimes a calabash) and a neck that could accommodate 4 strings—three long strings that run the full length of the instrument and one short thumb string that stops about halfway up the side of the neck. The drum-like gourd body and strings of different lengths are uniquely African, while the flat fingerboard and tuning pegs are more commonly associated with European traditions.​

​

Banjos | Smithsonian Institution

Few musical instruments are more deeply connected to the American experience than the banjo.... Learn more

www.si.edu

​

 

[Ringo]

 

[Weatherman2020]

Before the arrival of Europeans, the region was home to numerous indigenous tribes, including the Cherokee, Iroquois, Powhatan, and Shawnee. It was home to Native Americans as far back as 16,000 years ago.

The mountain ridges acted as a boundary (or at least a notable impediment) to colonial expansion until Daniel Boone found a route through via the Cumberland Gap. Bitter battles ensued as pioneers “discovered” new territories.

The Blue Ridge Mountains were largely settled by poor Scots-Irish, who brought with them a vibrant culture centered on family and rebellion. They also carried a rich tradition of storytelling and making music, particularly on the fiddle.

Affluent Germans also built settlements, often using enslaved Africans. These African Americans brought in what became classic foods for Appalachian farmers, such as sweet potatoes, black-eyed peas, watermelons, and peanuts.

What is Bluegrass? The Evolution of Appalachian Music

What is Bluegrass? The History and Evolution of Appalachian Music, including traditional bluegrass instruments and the best bluegrass bands today.

blueridgemountainstravelguide.com

Thanks. Good post.

 

[JOSweetHeart]

To me, no one can top Alison Krauss.

God bless you and the angel always!!!

Holly (a fan of her for 30 years now)

 

[ShahdagMountains]

 

[Ringo]

To me, no one can top Alison Krauss.

Patsy Cline?

 

[JOSweetHeart]

^^^ Has Patsy ever once been considered a bluegrass singer like Alison is?

God bless you and Alison always!!!

Holly (a fan of her since 1994)

 

[Weatherman2020]

Patsy Cline?

Visited her resting place last year.

 

[Ringo]

^^^ Has Patsy ever once been considered a bluegrass singer like Alison is?

Was there a distinction between bluegrass and the rest of country music in her day?

 

[JOSweetHeart]

^^^ I honestly couldn't say because I wasn't around back then.

God bless you always!!!

Holly

 

[Weatherman2020]

Before the arrival of Europeans, the region was home to numerous indigenous tribes, including the Cherokee, Iroquois, Powhatan, and Shawnee. It was home to Native Americans as far back as 16,000 years ago.

The mountain ridges acted as a boundary (or at least a notable impediment) to colonial expansion until Daniel Boone found a route through via the Cumberland Gap. Bitter battles ensued as pioneers “discovered” new territories.

The Blue Ridge Mountains were largely settled by poor Scots-Irish, who brought with them a vibrant culture centered on family and rebellion. They also carried a rich tradition of storytelling and making music, particularly on the fiddle.

Affluent Germans also built settlements, often using enslaved Africans. These African Americans brought in what became classic foods for Appalachian farmers, such as sweet potatoes, black-eyed peas, watermelons, and peanuts.

What is Bluegrass? The Evolution of Appalachian Music

What is Bluegrass? The History and Evolution of Appalachian Music, including traditional bluegrass instruments and the best bluegrass bands today.

blueridgemountainstravelguide.com

At the Old Fiddlers Convention in the Blue Ridge right now.