The 6th Annual Music of the Mountains Festival
The sixth annual “Music of the Mountains” festival, hosted by the Great Smoky Mountains National Park, will be held on Saturday, April 10.
“We’re very pleased to again partner with the City of Gatlinburg and the Great Smoky Mountains Association to offer the public a variety of musical styles for this year’s ‘Music of the Mountains festival,” said Dale Ditmanson, park superintendent. “Our staff has lined up a wide spectrum of old-time, traditional, and bluegrass music performers. With the change to an all day festival we hope to allow more of our visitors to experience the rich traditions of mountain music.”
This year’s festival features a series of free performances at the park’s Sugarlands Visitor Center by various artists followed by a special evening performance headlined by local performer Jimbo Whaley and his band Greenbrier at the W. L. Mills Conference Center.
“Music of the Mountains” is a celebration of musical traditions of the southern Appalachian Mountains, showcasing the evolution of mountain music over time,” said Kent Cave, North District supervisory park ranger. “The festival is one of several special events the park has developed to tell the story of the people who lived here prior to the park’s establishment in 1934.
“Musical expression was often, and still is, a part of daily life in the southern mountains, and mountain music is tied to Smokies history like no other part of our culture.”
The event begins at 10 a.m. at the Sugarlands Visitor Center Theater. There, visitors can watch an array of traditional musical performances. Seating at Sugarlands (865-436-1291) is limited to 160 persons per concert, and available for free on a “first come, first serve” basis.
This year’s concert performances will include the old-time banjo and fiddle tunes of Tony Thomas, the old-time fiddle and claw hammer banjo styles of Brian Vollmer and Matt Morelock, and perennial favorites Boogertown Gap and the Lost Mill String Band, as well as Smokies Park Ranger Lisa Free, who will play the Appalachian dulcimer and discuss the myths and realities surrounding that instrument.
The lineup at Sugarlands follows:
10-11 a.m. – Lost Mill String Band
11 a.m.-noon – Lisa Free
12-1 p.m. – Boogertown Gap
1-2 p.m. – Tony Thomas
2-4 p.m. – Brian Volmer and Matt Morelock(two 45-minute sets).
4-5 p.m. – Mountain Strings.
Following the Sugarlands Visitor Center concerts, the festival will be capped off by the “Jimbo Whaley and Friends” concert at the W. L. Mills Conference Center in Gatlinburg starting at 7 p.m.
A well-known bluegrass and gospel musician and singer from Sevier County, Whaley traces his ancestry back to some of the early residents of what later became Great Smoky Mountains National Park.
Whaley has played in many music events around the nation, and is back with his band, “Greenbrier,” which will perform at the event. Greenbrier also includes talented musicians and singer-songwriters Scott Carris, Roger Helton and Roscoe Morgan.
Renowned pianist Dr. Eric Littleton will also take part in the festivities. Other entertainers include Jim Whaley and Andrew Whaley presenting the song, “Tree and Three Nails”; Ray Ball and local guitarist Trey Hensley.
Tickets for Whaley’s concert in the historic Mills Auditorium can be purchased at jimbowhaley.com for $20, or at the door the evening of the event for $25 (doors open at 6 p.m.).
Ticket holders will receive a free CD of the new album which Greenbrier is recording in early March.
Individual artist’s booths will also be available for fans to purchase numerous other albums.
Music of the Mountains will kick off with a concert featuring the Celtic music of the Good Thymes Ceilidh Band on Friday, April 9 at 7 p.m. at the Great Smoky Mountains Heritage Center in Townsend.
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