MUSICAL HERITAGE

Applewood Manor guests will find that music is an inseparable part of Asheville life. You find it everywhere, especially in its many festivals. As the saying goes, people in Western North Carolina can always find a reason to have a festival, and you cannot have a festival without music. While its cultural diversity promotes every musical genre, there is an unmistakable foot-stomping Appalachian Mountain sound—folks just call it “Mountain Music”!

Asheville is home to two musical events that celebrate and preserve that traditional Mountain Music of the Southern Appalachian Mountains: Shindig on the Green and the Mountain Dance and Folk Festival.

Saturday nights in July and August are The Shindig on the Green Nights. That is when people dig out their musical instruments or dancing shoes and, around 7:00 pm, head for Pack Square Park in front of Asheville’s County Building. Come experience traditional music and dance of Southern Appalachia. Some go just to listen and watch as volunteer professionals and amateurs perform on stage. Others will join one of the many ad hoc jamming sessions that spontaneously pop up in the park in the hour preceding stage performances.

Some attendees enjoy a picnic dinner, while those without a picnic basket can choose from plenty of food vendors and nearby eateries. Mainly, everyone is there to enjoy the beautiful music and dance traditions of Southern Appalachia on a summer evening in the mountains. The Shindig is a free event organized by the Folk Heritage Committee, who select performers and bands from those offering to perform or from jamming sessions. Performers are limited to two songs, dances, or storytelling acts, ensuring variety.

If you enjoy The Shindig on the Green, you will love its sister event, The Mountain Dance and Folk Festival. Started in 1928, this annual three-day event is the oldest gathering of its kind in the nation, providing a platform for the talented traditions of Southern Appalachia high country. The festival is held on the first Thursday, Friday, and Saturday of August with a different line-up of authentic bluegrass music and dance each night.

Performances are in Lipinsky Hall on the University of North Carolina-Asheville campus, 300 Library Lane, from 6:30–9:30 PM each evening. What will an evening at The Mountain Dance and Folk Festival be like? It will be an evening filled with the hand-clapping, foot-stomping rhythms of bluegrass, the high energy of clogging, plus Mountain Smooth Dancing and colorful storytelling. The songs and dances shared at this event stretch across time from the Scottish, English, Irish, Cherokee, and African heritage found in the valleys and coves of the Blue Ridge Mountains.

You can find more about the Folk Heritage Committee at https://folkheritage.org.