Back Porch Music Sunday

Doc Watson Remembered Fondly As MerleFest Continues Without Him

Laura Candler — Thu, 25 Apr 2013 10:00:00 +0000

If you’re searching for the who’s who among bluegrass, Americana, folk, and traditional country musicians, MerleFest is a good place to start. The annual four-day festival kicks off today in Wilkesboro, just as it has every April for the past 25 years. Headlining artists include The Avett Brothers, The Nitty Gritty Dirt Band, Rhonda Vincent & The Rage, Jerry Douglas, Steep Canyon Rangers, Matraca Berg, and others. But this year for the first time, the festival will lack a performance from its founder, Doc Watson, who died May 29, 2012.

Four Concerts Scheduled In Expanded, Larger Back Porch Music Series In Durham

Keith Weston, David Brower and Freddy Jenkins — Fri, 19 Apr 2013 17:41:38 +0000

The Celtic powerhouse band Solas will kick off the 2013 Back Porch Music concert series in Durham. Bluegrass, local blues, and much more will be a part of the four Back Porch concerts scheduled between May and October.

Johnny Cash's Columbia Catalog Out Now — As A 64-Disc Box Set

Ed Ward — Wed, 10 Apr 2013 15:07:00 +0000

In 1955, John R. Cash was a sometime auto mechanic, sometime appliance salesman who liked to play the guitar and sing, mostly gospel songs. The "R" in his name didn't stand for anything — and, in fact, he'd been named J.R. at birth and had to come up with "John" when he joined the Air Force. He'd spend the rest of his life reinventing himself.

At first, though, what he wanted to do was make a record. So John and his two-piece band went to Memphis to record for Sun Records.

Emmylou Harris And Rodney Crowell: Harmonizing To That 'Old Yellow Moon'

editor — Thu, 28 Mar 2013 14:21:00 +0000

Emmylou Harris' first solo album, "Pieces of the Sky," was released in 1975 after the death of her singing partner, Gram Parsons. The opening track on the album is a song called "Bluebird Wine," by a then-unknown songwriter named Rodney Crowell. She recorded two more of his songs on her next album, got him to join her band in the mid-'70s and now, after an almost 40-year friendship, the two musicians have recorded an album together called Old Yellow Moon. The two talk with Terry Gross about their long, enduring careers, their friendship, their influences and singing harmony.

6 Tunes: Some Personal Faves I'd Like To Share With You

Keith Weston — Mon, 25 Mar 2013 17:25:31 +0000

Every weekend it's my pleasure on Back Porch Music to share with you scores of selections from WUNC's wide-ranging folk music library. It's always a musical adventure that I often find surprising and inspiring myself - and I hope you do, too. From fiddle tunes to singer-songwriters, the term "folk" applies to such a large range of sounds and textures.

Martin Hayes & Dennis Cahill: Tiny Desk Concert

Bob Boilen — Mon, 11 Mar 2013 18:03:00 +0000

You're about to watch one of the best fiddlers on the planet and a subtle guitar master work their magic. For too many of us, Irish music is something that merely gets trotted out around this time of year, associated with St. Patrick's Day and the coming of spring — and made a cliche by commercialism and whatever other shallow notions make cliches what they are.

But for a moment, stop, put aside your notion of jigs and reels, and just listen.

Appalachian Music With Old Fashioned Stage Effects

Laura Candler — Fri, 01 Mar 2013 20:30:00 +0000

While many popular musicians today seek out the newest digital technology to enhance their performances, there’s a young musical duo from rural Virginia who are moving in the opposite direction. Anna Roberts-Gevalt and Elizabeth LaPrelle call themselves simply “Anna and Elizabeth.” Both accomplished traditional Appalachian musicians on a variety of instruments, together they have resurrected a storytelling tradition called the “crankie,” whose technology outdates their combined age (which is 50).

Two Ticket Give-aways On Sunday's Back Porch

Keith Weston — Sun, 24 Feb 2013 21:45:45 +0000

In addition to a pile of good music on Sunday night's Back Porch Music, you'll have the opportunity for two ticket give-aways. Those are:

Karal Bonoff at the Carrboro ArtsCenter:

http://youtu.be/V7RWW2fElsY

and The Gibson Brothers Brothers at the Fletcher Opera Theater in Raleigh:

http://youtu.be/0orc4eF3i40

"Tune in" for Back Porch Music, just after the 8 p.m. NPR news on WUNC. Oh, the phone number for the give-aways: 1.888.966.9150. Listen for your chance to win tickets.

Celebrating The Man Who Recorded The World

Nicole Campbell and Isaac-Davy Aronson — Wed, 20 Feb 2013 17:11:34 +0000

Alan Lomax dedicated seven decades of his life to recording and distributing the sound of as much of the globe as he could reach. Beginning as a 17-year-old from Austin, Texas, Alan traveled with his father, John Lomax, to plantations, farms and prisons in the deep South.

Video: Doc Watson & David Holt Share Stories And Songs

Keith Weston — Tue, 19 Feb 2013 19:56:44 +0000

http://youtu.be/1XXPAD3rXp4