News
Spring 2012 Band Auditions
Band auditions for Spring semester 2012 will be held on January 9th from 10am-12pm in Sam Wilson Hall room 149. For any questions call 423-439-7072.
The Johnson City Sessions
Department of Appalachian Studies professor Dr. Ted Olson was recently interviewed by the Johnson City Press about his work compiling the music, photos, and stories for the Johnson City sessions box set that will be released through Bear Family records. The Johnson City sessions took place between 1928-29 and are less widely known about then the Bristol sessions of a year earlier. Dr. Olson worked with Bear Family records on releasing the Grammy nominated Bristol sessions box set and is now working on releasing the Johnson City sessions in a box set sometime, hopefully, in 2013. Click here to read the full article.
ETSU graduates first person to receive degree in Bluegrass, Old Time and Country music studies.
Congratulations go to Brent Burke for being the first person in world history to receive a Bachelor of Arts in Bluegrass, Old Time and Country music studies. Please Click Here for more information.
John Carter Cash visits ETSU
|
|
John Carter Cash, the son of Johnny and June Carter Cash, was on the East Tennessee State University campus on Tuesday, November 22, 2011, 7:00 p.m., in Gilbreath Hall’s Bud Frank Theatre, to speak and sign copies of his book, House of Cash: The Legacies of My Father, Johnny Cash. The 160 page hardcover book is an intimate look at the life of his father, the famed “Man in Black.” Gathering previously unpublished photographs, lyrics, art, notes, and recollections, House of Cash provides a unique portrait of a deeply spiritual, creative, and passionate American icon and his family. The ETSU Bluegrass Pride Band kicked off the evening’s festivities.
Born in Kingsland, Arkansas in 1932, John R. Cash was the fourth of seven children. He grew up loving music. After his four-years of service in the U.S. Air Force, he tried his hand as a salesman before giving in to his first love—music. He hounded Sam Phillips, the legendary owner of Sun Records in Memphis, until Sam agreed to hear him. The rest is history.
The relationship between Johnny Cash and June Carter, immortalized in the 2005 movie, Walk the Line, is legendary in its own right. In 1956, June met Johnny backstage at the Grand Ole Opry. Twelve years later, fittingly onstage during a live performance in London, Ontario, Johnny asked June to marry him. They married a week later. John Carter Cash, their only child from that marriage, was born a few years later in 1970.
ETSU Bluegrass Pride Band on The Bluegrass Blog
Check out the recent article, August 29, 2011, on The Bluegrass Blog about this year's Bluegrass Pride Band. Included in the article is a video of the bands performance at Bluegrass on Broad in Kingsport, TN. Click here to read the full article.
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette Blog Explores Kenny Chesney's ETSU Roots
A recent blog entry, June 30,2011, on the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette's website talks about Kenny Chesney's roots at ETSU and about the current Bluegrass, Old Time and Country music program. Click here to read the full article.
ETSU Celtic Band Releases New Album
We are proud to announce that the ETSU Celtic Band has just released a new CD. A Carrying Stream features the talents of students Mary Hayes, Marcianne O'Day, Lindsay Amore, and Jane MacMorran, director of the ETSU Appalachian, Scottish, and Irish Studies Program. The album was produced by Will MacMorran and engineered by recording lab manager Ben Bateson. This is the first album to be recorded and mixed entirely within the ETSU Recording Laboratory. A Carrying Stream is now available for online purchase through the ETSU store.
Old Time Pride Band goes to the Czech Republic
|
|
The ETSU Old Time Pride Band is traveling to the Czech Republic this summer (6/21/2011-7/5/2011) as part of a study abroad course led by professors Roy Andrade and Lee Bidgood. This trip will introduce ETSU students to the vibrant Czech bluegrass and country music community, introduce Czechs to older Appalachian string-band sounds, and give the students valuable experience in carrying out an international performance tour.
The current Old Time Pride Band features Trae Mcmaken on banjo, Noah Wall on fiddle, Amythyst Phillips and Quentin Acres on guitar, Justin Watkins on banjo-ukulele and hammered dulcimer, Stephanie Jeter on autoharp, and Alex Moore on bass. The students will perform at the White Stork Bluegrass Festival in the town of Luka nad Jihlavou; give a concert in Bojkovice in collaboration with local folkloric groups; and perform at the largest Czech folk festival in the country, the Zahrada or Garden festival, held yearly in the town of Naměst na Hané. The faculty and students will also conduct a three-day workshop giving Czech musicians the chance to learn the techniques and ideas behind the sounds.
Click here to read an article by the European Bluegrass Music Association about Old Time Pride Band's upcoming trip to the Czech Republic.