Great Smoky Mountains National Park hosts its sixth annual “Music of the Mountains” festival on Saturday, April 10.
“We’re very pleased to again partner with the City of Gatlinburg and Great Smoky Mountains Association to offer the public a variety of musical styles for this year’s ‘Music of the Mountains festival,” said Park Superintendent Dale Ditmanson. “Our staff has lined up a wide spectrum of old-time, traditional, and bluegrass music performers. With the change to an all day festival we hope to allow more of our visitors to experience the rich traditions of mountain music.”
This year’s festival features a series of free performances by various artists during the day at the Park’s Sugarlands Visitor Center followed by a special evening performance headlined by local performer Jimbo Whaley and his band Greenbrier at W. L. Mills Conference Center.
“Music of the Mountains” is a celebration of musical traditions of the southern Appalachian Mountains, showcasing the evolution of mountain music over time. The festival is one of several special events the Park has developed to tell the story of the people who lived here prior to the Park’s establishment in 1934.
“Musical expression was often, and still is, a part of daily life in the southern mountains, and mountain music is tied to Smokies history like no other part of our culture,” said Kent Cave, North District Supervisory Park Ranger.
The event starts at 10 a.m. with an array of traditional musical performances at Sugarlands Visitor Center Theater. Seating in the theater at Sugarlands (865-436-1291) is limited to 160 persons per concert, and available for free on a “first come, first served” basis.
This year's concert performances will include the old-time fiddle and banjo tunes of Tony Thomas, the claw hammer banjo and old-time fiddle styles of Matt Morelock and Brian Vollmer, and perennial favorites Boogertown Gap and the Lost Mill String Band, as well as Smokies Park Ranger Lisa Free, who will play the Appalachian dulcimer and discuss the myths and realities surrounding that instrument.
The lineup at Sugarlands follows:
10-11 a.m. – Lost Mill String Band
11 a.m.-noon – Lisa Free
12-1 p.m. – Boogertown Gap
1-2 p.m. – Tony Thomas
2-4 p.m. – Matt Morelock and Brian Volmer (two 45-minute sets).
4-5 p.m. – Mountain Strings.
Following the Sugarlands Visitor Center concerts, the festival will be capped off by the “Jimbo Whaley and Friends” concert at W. L. Mills Conference Center in Gatlinburg starting at 7 p.m. Purchase Tickets Now!
Whaley is a well-known bluegrass and gospel musician and singer from Sevier County, Tenn., and traces his ancestry back to residents of what later became Great Smoky Mountains National Park.
Whaley has played in many music events around the nation, and is back with his band, “Greenbrier,” which will perform at the event. Greenbrier also includes talented musicians and singer-songwriters Scott Carris, Roger Helton and Roscoe Morgan.
Renowned pianist Dr. Eric Littleton will tickle the ivories as part of the festivities. Other entertainers include Jim Whaley and Andrew Whaley presenting the song, "Tree and Three Nails"; Ray Ball and another favorite, guitarist Trey Hensley.
Tickets for Whaley’s concert in the historic Mills Auditorium can be purchased here for $20 each, or at the door the evening of the event for $25 (doors open at 6 p.m.).
Ticket holders will receive a free CD of the new album which Greenbrier is recording in early March.
Individual artist's booths will also be available for fans to purchase numerous other albums.
Music of the Mountains will kick off with a concert featuring the Celtic music of the Good Thymes Ceilidh Band on Friday, April 9 at 7 p.m. at the Great Smoky Mountains Heritage Center in Townsend.