The 28th Annual Celebration of Traditional Music takes place on October 25-27 at the Phelps Stokes Chapel in Berea, KY. The renaissance of old-time music, including the recent Grammy-winning soundtrack to "O Brother, Where Art Thou?" has raised the profile of this exciting traditional form. The Festival has remained true to its underlying ideal, defined by founder Loyal Jones, to "feature strictly old-time traditional music."
Lori Briscoe, coordinator of the Celebration, said that "The artists and performers bring back the purity of roots music...the music that was passed down in families, learned in rural communities, that expressed the complexity of rural living, and was as pure and uncommercial as mountain spring water once was. Today, the tradition continues with a new energy, new blood, and a renewed passion for the rich music of the mountains."
This year's Celebration highlights this diverse history and demonstrates its ongoing vitality as a cultural force. Art Stamper, a true-tradition bearer of old-time Kentucky mountain fiddling will play to celebrate his comeback from a struggle with cancer. Art will be joined by the TriCity Messengers, a group of retired coal miners who perform in the a capella African-American gospel tradition. Other performers include the Last Old Man Band, Bruce Molsky, and Rhonda and Sparky Rucker. Admission is $8 adult/ $4 youth (10 to 17) for evening performances, and otherwise free. The Celebration will include jam sessions and other performances throughout the weekend.
Designated as the folk arts and crafts capital of Kentucky by the state's legislature, Berea is also the home of Berea College, which since 1855 has been committed to seeking out promising low-income people in the mountains of Central and Southern Appalachia to provide them a tuition-free education. The College developed a work program so that its students could take advantage of a private liberal arts education otherwise unaffordable to them. For more information about Berea, please visit www.berea.edu.
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