Bryson City community jam

A community jam will be held from 6-7:30 p.m. Thursday, April 4, at the Marianna Black Library in Bryson City. 

Labor of lust: A talk with Grammy winner, banjo phenom Kyle Tuttle

When it comes to bluegrass banjo, you’d be hard-pressed to find as vivacious and voracious a picker-n-grinner than Kyle Tuttle. 

Fingers like lightning: A Haywood County banjo retrospective

Editor’s Note: Since first rolling into Haywood County in August 2012 to start work as the arts and entertainment editor for The Smoky Mountain News, Garret K. Woodward has been extensively documenting banjo players around our backyard.

Five strings of fury: New book spotlights Haywood banjo legends

In the mid-1960s, when Bill Allsbrook was a med school student at the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill, he decided to pick up the banjo. 

Bryson City community jam

A community jam will be held from 6-7:30 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 5, at the Marianna Black Library in Bryson City. 

Word from the Smokies: Blue Ridge artist Tray Wellington builds bridges with bluegrass

Late last month, I was lucky enough to catch a special musical performance in Great Smoky Mountains National Park.

Bryson City community jam

A community jam will be held from 6-7:30 p.m. Thursday, Sept. 7, at the Marianna Black Library in Bryson City.

You can’t stop me from dreaming: Bluegrass banjo legend Marc Pruett releases memoir

It’s just after lunchtime at the Haywood County Health Department on a recent chilly afternoon in Clyde. And standing in the front window of the lobby awaiting his appointment for a sit-down interview is Marc Pruett. 

Formerly the county’s erosion control officer for the better part of a quarter-century, Pruett retired some three years ago, only to be asked to come back part-time as the much-needed development services technician (now that the erosion and planning offices have combined). His skill set and personable approach to his position have made him invaluable to those who not only work alongside Pruett, but also cross paths with him — personally and professionally.

Ode to Raymond Fairchild, ode to mountain music

First and foremost, Raymond Fairchild was one of the finest banjo players who ever walked the face of the earth. He had a storied reputation for incredibly strong and powerful pickin’ on the five-string instrument — a sentiment also said about his moonshine from behind closed doors. 

Last Sunday afternoon, Fairchild passed away unexpectedly at the age of 80. Though his music and influence will live on for generations, the bluegrass industry and Western North Carolina have lost a true original, one of the last of his kind in rural Southern Appalachia. 

Fingers like lightning: Remembering Raymond Fairchild (1939-2019)

Raymond Fairchild — a bluegrass legend in Western North Carolina — passed away unexpectedly Sunday afternoon at the age of 80, but his music and influence will live on for generations.

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