Articles/Blogs


Instrument Interview: The Creole Bania, the Oldest Existing Banjo

“Instrument Interview” posts are a chance to sit down with the instruments of traditional, country, bluegrass, and roots music – from different types of instruments to specific…


Photo Essay - The Banjo and African American Musical Culture

The banjo and African Americans have traveled from Senegambian roots to Caribbean birth, to North America, and then to the world. Don Vappie (b. 30 January 1956), the New…


The African musical influence in the world of bluegrass music

African music has always influenced other musical genres.  When slaves came to the Appalachian Mountain region from Africa, they brought over a lot of their traditions.  Most…


Op-Ed: It’s Time for Country Music to Elevate Its Overlooked Black Voices

Imagine a world where, in the wake of the Black Lives Matter movement's recent resurgence, country music's headlines were not dominated by chatter regarding Lady A and the…


Black-and-White Duo Allerton & Alton Occupy Special Place In Country Music History

Portland, Maine, 1947. Two teenagers, one white, one black, rummaged through the record bins at Knight’s Used Furniture store. The two didn’t know each other, but they…


CHRONICLING “AMERICA’S AFRICAN INSTRUMENT”: LAURENT DUBOIS ON THE CULTURAL HISTORY OF THE BANJO

In The Banjo: America’s African Instrument (Harvard Univ. Press, 2016), Laurent Dubois weaves a narrative of how this instrument was created by enslaved Africans in the midst…


My Banjo Journey (Oteil Burbridge)

My wife Jess started playing banjo before I did. When she was away working in Africa for a year, I started messing around with it. I’ve loved bluegrass music since I met Col.…


Why These Four Banjo-Playing Women Resurrected the Songs of the Enslaved

Music producer and composer Dirk Powell pointed to the back of the control room. I was filming him at Cypress House, his studio in Louisiana. “Rhiannon was sitting right there…


Joe Thompson

Joseph Aquiler "Joe" Thompson (December 9, 1918 – February 20, 2012) was an American old-time fiddle player, and one of the last musicians to carry on the black string band…

Generations
Kaia Kater

A Montreal-born Grenadian-Canadian, Kaia Kater grew up between two worlds: her family’s deep ties to folk music and the years she spent soaking up Appalachian music in West…

Generations
Africa, Appalachia, and Acculturation: The History of Bluegrass Music

On the surface, bluegrass music is a style of country music heavily influenced by Appalachian folk music. As with almost all Appalachian folk music, the typical ensemble is a…

Generations
OHR Offstage: Featuring Dom Flemons, Don Edwards & Jerron Paxton

Ozark Highlands Radio is a weekly radio program that features live music and interviews recorded at Ozark Folk Center State Park’s beautiful 1,000-seat auditorium in Mountain…