Episode 1

Synopsis

In a programme recorded on location in the USA, broadcaster, writer and musician Banning Eyre discovers and records the uniquely American folk music that was born in the southern Appalachian mountains through the 18th and 19th centuries.

He visits the small town of Mount Airy, in Surry County, North Carolina, home to the Mount Airy Fiddlers Convention, where he meets the extraordinary players and singers that are keeping this music alive, and finds out how old-time music is the direct precursor of what we now call country and bluegrass.

In an interview with musician and field recordist Mike Seeger, recorded just a few months before he died, Banning discovers the roots of the music in the parallel histories of the European settlers and African slaves, and how post-Emancipation, a distinctly American music was forged from the interplay of the African banjo and the European fiddle.

Banning also visits local radio station WPAQ and tries the festival delicacy that is deep-fried oreos.

World Routes: An Appalachian Roadtrip
Presenter: Banning Eyre
Producer: Peter Meanwell
Sound Engineer: Martin Appleby

Saturday 17th October 2009

Cumberland Gap
Banjo player C.B. Wohlford (Maric, VA)
Recorded by Maud Karpeles in 1950

Soldier’s Joy played on the mountain dulcimer
BBC recording from the Mt Airy Fiddler’s Convention, Mt Airy, North Carolina, USA: 5th June 2009

The Boatsman
Haywire Family (Nashville, TN)
BBC recording from the Mt Airy Fiddler’s Convention, Mt Airy, North Carolina, USA: 5th June 2009

Interview with musician and folklorist Mike Seeger

Woah Mule
Benton Flippen and the Smokey Valley Boys (Mt Airy, NC)
BBC recording from the Mt Airy Fiddler’s Convention, Mt Airy, North Carolina, USA: 5th June 2009

June Apple
The Midriffs (Durham, NC)
BBC recording from the Mt Airy Fiddler’s Convention, Mt Airy, North Carolina, USA: 5th June 2009

Interview with, Kelly Epperson, General Manager WPAQ 740AM, featuring music from the WPAQ archive. www.wpaq740.com/

Hop Old Rabbit
Singer Elizabeth LaPrelle (Rural Retreat, VA)
BBC recording from the Mt Airy Fiddler’s Convention, Mt Airy, North Carolina, USA: 6th June 2009

Kiss me sweet
Fiddle player Mark Campbell (Richmond, VA)
BBC recording from the Mt Airy Fiddler’s Convention, Mt Airy, North Carolina, USA: 6th June 2009

Interview with musician and broadcaster Paul Brown

Undone in sorrow
Singer Karly Dawn Higgins (Morehead, KY)
BBC recording from the Mt Airy Fiddler’s Convention, Mt Airy, North Carolina, USA: 6th June 2009

Sugar Hill
Slate Mountain Ramblers (Ararat, VA)
BBC recording from the Mt Airy Fiddler’s Convention, Mt Airy, North Carolina, USA: 5th June 2009

Chilly Winds
Banjo player John Hermann (Asheville, NC)
BBC recording from the Mt Airy Fiddler’s Convention, Mt Airy, North Carolina, USA: 6th June 2009

Interview with dance caller, musician, and flatfoot dancer Phil Jamison

Cotton Eye Joe
Snow Creek Old Time Band (Sandy Ridge, NC)
BBC recording from the Mt Airy Fiddler’s Convention, Mt Airy, North Carolina, USA: 5th June 2009

Cluck Old Hen
Cool Springs Ramblers (Statesville, NC)
BBC recording from the Mt Airy Fiddler’s Convention, Mt Airy, North Carolina, USA: 5th June 2009

Broadcast

1. Sat 17 Oct 2009
   15:00
   BBC Radio 3