Tamarack To Host Appalachian Music Festival

Mountain music - it is, you might say, as old as the hills and just as much a part of who we are as the mountains here in Appalachia.

It's an art form as varied as the people who inhabit this region, and every bit as colorful and expressive. Just as sure as mountaineers are always free, mountain music defies definition, refusing to be pent up or confined by expectations, but rather, finding its expression to be as individual as the folks who practice it, both reaching back and reaching forward, constantly developing,
reshaping, and growing.

The music identified with these parts has its very roots in diversity. Back in the day, in the absence of television and radio, folks found ways to entertain themselves and their neighbors, and music played a big role in the life of these hard-working mountain folk. Often toward the close of the day, after the work was done, families and friends would gather and share in the pure joy of making music. Immigrants who made these mountains their home were an assorted lot, and each brought along their own cultural influences. Hence, you will find in mountain music a unique sound in which can be heard a blend of Irish, Scottish, and African lyrics, instruments, harmonies, and rhythms. The
music continues to evolve even today.

Though times have changed and those days are now stories told by our grandparents or in college textbooks, music continues to play an important role in the lives of Appalachian people. In honor of this rich heritage, Tamarack will host its first ever Appalachian Music Festival this spring.

The festival will be presenting some of the area's best musicians. Scheduled to take place May 17, the festival will last all day, from 11 a.m. until 9 p.m. True to Tamarack's goal of presenting "the best of West Virginia," Tamarack Events Director Chris McLaughlin has put together a lineup of award-winning musicians from throughout the state. And, just as with those ancestors of old, the musicians who will be on hand will
be bringing a wide variety of musical styles to share.

Continued In West Virginia South...