Bluegrass is a music steeped in tradition. Bluegrass musicians routinely honor their forefathers by continuing to feature their songs and retelling their origins and stories. Along with the sense of history there is a sense of community in bluegrass that supports a healthy festival circuit. Fans of bluegrass music travel to their favorite festival, and sometimes several festivals, annually to support the music and their favorite artists.
One such festival is “Music in the Mountains,†an annual festival held in Summersville, West Virginia. Edgar and Eunice Kitchen started the festival in 1981 on some vacant farmland near their home. The Kitchens ran the festival for 26 years and then sold the festival and property to a Nazarene organization that owned adjacent property. The festival started small but has now grown to one of the largest festivals in the country with nearly all of the large names in bluegrass playing the stage at one point in its history.
In 2007, author B.L. Dotson-Lewis visited the festival with the purpose of compiling a series of interviews that would serve as an oral history of the festival. The Sunny Side of Appalachia is the book that came from those interviews and contains the recollections of several involved in the festival, from performers to volunteers to fans.
The Sunny Side of Appalachia is the third book by Dotson-Lewis that examines a part of the Appalachian culture and seeks to both preserve is for future generations of Appalachian descendents and serve as a look at the culture for those outside.
Dotson-Lewis speaks to a couple of fans and volunteers on what bluegrass and the festival means to them. Performers she spoke to include musicians in regional acts like Jason Bragg (of Laurel Creek) and Danny Stanley (of Carolina Sonshine) and musicians in nation touring, but not as well known bands such as Anita Fisher (of The Anita Fisher Band) , Larry Gillis (of Larry Gillis Band) and Ben Greene (of Carolina Road Band). She also spoke with Jaime Dailey as he was preparing to transition from his lead vocal spot in Doyle Lawson and Quicksilver to Dailey & Vincent.
The line of questioning in each of these impromptu interviews follows the same pattern, inquiring how the artist came to bluegrass, what part it plays in their life and how they view the music today. Each interview is presented, as most oral histories are, in a question-and-answer format with minimal editing to preserve the speech patterns and dialects of the interviewee.
The jewels in this book’s crown are the interviews with the legends of the genre. Dotson-Lewis was able to speak at length with Bobby Osborne, Melvin Goins, Everett Lilly and Jesse McReynolds about the beginnings of their long and fruitful careers. Each artist is receptive and gives an entertaining interview.
The Sunny Side of Appalachia is an entertaining read for fans of the specific artists interviewed and bluegrass in general. The stories of these artists, from the legends to the seldom heard about regional groups, bring a context to the music and allow fans to get a deeper look into what brought these artist to the music and what these artists bring to the music.
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