Bluegrass is uniquely American roots music. North Carolina’s musicians made important contributions to the development of the sound of today’s bluegrass music. This course will explore how the ballads and fiddle tunes of the British Isles merged with the banjo rhythms of Africa to form the music of the working classes. With the invention of the phonograph record and the radio, new styles of “hillbilly music” were created. One of the most important innovators of one of those styles was Earl Scruggs when he joined Bill Monroe’s Bluegrass Boys. Later, Doc Watson, Tony Rice and other North Carolinians would add to the evolution of the bluegrass sound we know today.

Required Listening: Attendees should listen to bluegrass recordings such as Nitty Gritty Dirt Band's album Will the Circle Be Unbroken

Recommended Reading (Optional): Bluegrass: A History by Neil Rosenberg Foggy Mountain Troubadour, Penny Parsons

Registration Deadline: Mar. 11