Historic Musicians of the New River Region

Multi-instrumentalist & flatfoot dancer. Multi-instrumentalist and flatfoot dancer from Whitetop carrying old-time music to international stages.

Ballad singer. A loom fixer at the Washington Mill in Fries who recorded ~37 songs for Victor and OKeh without ever playing an instrument.

Banjo player & singer. Appalachian banjo master from the Wise County coalfields who blended mountain ballads with African American blues.

Old-time fiddler. National Heritage Fellow fiddler from Fries who leads the New Ballards Branch Bogtrotters.

Recording pioneer. Pioneering recording artist whose 1924 "Sinking of the Titanic" sold a million copies and helped launch commercial country music.

Bluegrass legend. The haunting mountain voice and clawhammer banjo of bluegrass, preserved for over 70 years.

Flatpicking guitarist. The flatpicking guitar legend who transformed the acoustic guitar into a lead voice in bluegrass and folk.

Father of Country Music. The "Father of Country Music" whose first recordings at the 1927 Bristol Sessions launched the commercial country industry.

First Family of Country Music. The "First Family of Country Music" discovered at the 1927 Bristol Sessions.

Folk musician & songwriter. A blind fiddler and songwriter born in Floyd County who recorded at the 1927 Bristol Sessions and wrote "How Can a Poor Man Stand Such Times and Live?"

Clawhammer banjo master. A clawhammer banjo master born in Bristol whose recordings of "The Coo Coo Bird" and "The House of the Rising Sun" shaped old-time music and the folk revival.