Program History

In 1982 when Jack Tottle initiated the ETSU, Bluegrass, Old Time, and Country Music no four year university had ever attempted anything like it.   As the program grew ETSU students began performing at a variety of prestigious venues.  They played for the academically respected Sonneck Society in Nashville, and subsequently at the Moscow (Russia) Folk Arts Festival, the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Washington D.C., the Smithsonian Institution’s National Folklife Festival (also in Washington), the IBMA award show in  Louisville, Kentucky (with Ricky Skaggs), NATO Headquarters in Brussels, Belgium, and a variety of venues in Japan, including the U.S. Embassy in Tokyo.

These activities, of course, promote awareness regarding our music’s value outside of our home region.  However, just as significantly, newspaper and magazine feature articles-as well as radio and television coverage of these, and other related activities-have resonated powerfully within the Tri-Cities region.  A music once regarded exclusively as old-fashioned blue collar entertainment by many came to be seen as a true living art form.  The prestige and respect with which the music was regarded far from its original birthplace helped many residents of the region look on bluegrass and country music in a new and more positive light.

As anyone familiar with the music scene in East Tennessee and Southwest Virginia can attest, opportunities to experience the region’s music first hand—whether at scheduled jam sessions, informal living room get-togethers, churches, or formal concerts-have grown almost unbelievably since the early 1980s.  Whereas in the past, it was a challenge for a single concert to attract a sizeable audience, in recent times as many as four events scheduled on the same night within reasonable driving distance have all been well attended. 
           

The ETSU Bluegrass, Old Time, and Country Music Program has clearly played a major role in this renewed excitement about our region’s music.  It regularly attracts students from ETSU’s traditional East Tennessee service area, but also from the entire United States (Texas to New England, Florida to Alaska) and from foreign countries like Japan, Scotland, and Canada.  Its alumni have won Grammy Awards and honors from the IBMA, the Academy of Country Music, and the Country Music Association (CMA).