JOHNSON CITY, Tenn. (April 4, 2022) – The String Band Summit conference, held at East Tennessee State University from April 8-10, allows participants to experience and consider music from a broader perspective. The conference, hosted by ETSU’s Bluegrass, Old-Time, and Roots Music Studies and the Department of Appalachian Studies, was inspired by a number of related events, such as the International Country Music Conference and the Banjo Gathering, as well as informal meetings between students of string band music, organizers said.
“My colleague Roy Andrade organized meetings with other students studying string band
music at nearby institutions,” Lee Bidgood, associate professor at ETSU and one of
the primary organizers of the Summit, said.
Throughout this event, organizers seek to support professional, intellectual and artistic
development, as well as deepen connections between institutions of higher education
where string band music is taught and studied. The Summit seeks to offer new opportunities
to students who may register for free, organizers said.
In addition to presentations of research by scholars from around the United States
and the world, the Summit includes workshops, student events and discussion forums.
While the conference itself requires registration, there will be a free concert at
7 p.m. on Friday, April 8, in the Martin Center Recital Hall. The concert will feature
“Bill and the Belles” and the “Tray Wellington Band,” groups which include ETSU alumni.
The lineup also features Tejano conjunto fiddler Belen Escobedo and the duo of Venezuelan
harpist Larry Bellorín and Joe Troop, a fiddler for the Grammy-nominated group Che
Appalache.
The event will also be accessible to people outside the region through Zoom sessions.
Remote access and other aspects of the Summit are supported in part through funding by
the ETSU Martin School of the Arts and the International Bluegrass Music Association
Foundation."
String band music has long been a focus at ETSU. Research and organizing work in the
1970s and 1980s by professors like Tom Burton, Ambrose Manning and Richard Blaustein
cleared the way for the teaching that Jack Tottle began in 1982. The newly renamed
curriculum in Bluegrass, Old-Time, and Roots Music Studies celebrates four decades
of research, teaching and community building in and through string band music.
The Summit is partnering with the ETSU Language and Culture Resource Center to present
events at the Corazón Latino festival on Saturday, April 9, including a son jarocho
workshop with Alfredo Castro and a concert by the “Mexilachian” group “Lua Project.”
Find program and registration information here: etsu.edu/cas/das/string-band-summit.php. If you are interested in volunteering at the Summit, contact Krystiane Evans at
evanskc@etsu.edu.