Published: October 13, 2008 08:08 am      

Appalachian celebration

BEREA — The 35th annual Celebration of Traditional Music will be conducted Thursday through next Sunday on the campus of Berea College.

The event includes concerts, workshops, jam sessions, dancing and more showcasing homemade music passed on from person to person in the Appalachian region and the musicians who play it. Old-time string band music, blues, traditional gospel singing, ballads and acoustic instruments are all featured in a family-friendly atmosphere.

Headlining this year’s line-up of musicians is David Holt with his string band The Lightning Bolts (Laura Boosinger, Josh Goforth, David Cohen, and Zeb Holt), from western North Carolina. Joining him will be singers and instrumentalists Gloria Belle and Mike Long, from Nashville; old-time fiddler Paul David Smith from Hardy, Ky.; the Greater Mount Sinai Volunteers, a capella gospel singers from Lynch; Virgil Bowlin and Peerless Mountain, a family band from Williamsburg; and dance caller, clogger and flatfoot dancer Lou Maiuri, from West Virginia. Activities also include Cecelia Conway, from Appalachian State University, who will present a symposium about “African Roots of the Mountain Banjo and Fiddle.”

The weekend kicks off on Thursday, Oct. 16, with a free concert by David Holt and the Lightning Bolts beginning at 8 p.m. in Phelps Stokes Auditorium. Activities Friday, Oct. 17, include concerts, the afternoon symposium and jam sessions.

Saturday, Oct. 18, begins with instrument, singing and dancing workshops; mini-concerts; an afternoon old-fashioned square dance; and a big concert on Saturday night with all the festival musicians. Sunday morning’s hymn singing will be conducted at Union Church. All locations are handicap accessible.

Thursday’s convocation concert and Sunday morning hymn singing are free and open to all. Children younger than 10 will be admitted to all events free. Friday Children’s Concert: $5 per adult. Saturday all day without concert: $7 adult/$5 youth (10-17); all day Saturday plus concert: $15 adult/$7 youth; Saturday night concert only $10/$5.

For more than three decades, David Holt’s passion for traditional music and culture has fueled a successful performing and recording career. He has earned four Grammy Awards and performed and recorded with many of his mentors, including Doc Watson, Grandpa Jones, Bill Monroe, Earl Scruggs, Roy Acuff and Chet Atkins. Today Holt tours the country performing solo, with Doc Watson and with his band, The Lightning Bolts.

Since 1974, the Celebration of Traditional Music has been sponsored by the Berea College Appalachian Center, with support from the Kentucky Arts Council.

For a complete schedule and information on musicians, go to www.berea.edu/ac/ctm. For more information about the festival or to register for a workshop, call 1-859-985-3257, or write us at Deborah_Thompson@berea.edu.