Great Smoky Mountains National
Park will hold its eleventh annual “Music of the Mountains” celebration Friday,
April 17 through Sunday, April 19. The event tells the story of music in the
Southern Appalachians through its diverse history by letting visitors
experience a variety of music that was played in the region or represents Old-Time
music’s roots. With performances held in surrounding communities and in the park,
the event tells the story of how mountain music grew out of traditional Celtic
and religious roots, to become something that would be played on front porches
all over the Smokies.
The three-day event begins with
a concert of Celtic music by Four Leaf Peat on Friday at 7:00 p.m. at the Great
Smoky Mountain Heritage Center in Townsend, Tennessee. General admission is $5.00. “Music of the Mountains” continues on
Saturday, kicking off National Park Week in style, with a series of free
performances of old-time mountain music, dulcimer and early bluegrass during
the day at the park’s Sugarlands Visitor Center. Music will be ongoing from
10:00 a.m. through 3:00 p.m. (see schedule below).
 |
| A variety of music will be featured at the Music of the Mountains celebration April 17-19 in Townsend, Gatlinburg and Cosby. (NPS photo) |
Two new acts will be part of
the festival this year. Tim Simek is a two-time national champion on dulcimer
winning the national championship for hammered dulcimer in 2011 and for
mountain dulcimer in 1997. Out of North Carolina, The Freight Hoppers are a
four-piece string band who has been playing Old Time music for 20 years that is
high energy and fun to dance to.
Also new this year will be a
Youth Picking Contest hosted by the Gatlinburg Convention and Visitors
Bureau. Youth ages 8 – 17 are invited to
compete on either fiddle or guitar starting at 4:00 p.m. on the plaza outside
of the Ripleys Aquarium of the Smokies. Registration
for the contest begins at 2:30 p.m. at the same location and spots will be
limited. Spectators are encouraged and the contest is free for the public to
watch.
The Sunday program at the Smoky
Mountain Visitor Center in Cosby, Tennessee, will feature traditional
Appalachian religious music with an old fashioned community sing along from
2:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m. This event is free to the public .
“The music in these mountains
tells such a wonderful story,” said park ranger Caitlin Worth. “This festival provides the opportunity to
find the type of traditional music that you love and learn how the stories that
the music tells connect it to this place and its people.”
The
schedule of events:
April
17
- Great Smoky Mountain Heritage Center, Townsend
Admission: $ 5.00
7:00
p.m. – Celtic Music by Four Leaf Peat
April
18
- Sugarlands Visitor Center, Great Smoky Mountains National Park
Admission is Free
10:00
a.m.
Boogertown Gap Band
11:00
a.m.
Lost Mill String Band
12:00
p.m. and 1:00 p.m. The Freight Hoppers
2:00
p.m.
Tim Simek on Dulcimer
April
18-
Plaza at Ripley’s Aquarium of the Smokies, Gatlinburg
Admission is Free
4:00
p.m. – Youth Pickin’ Contest for ages 8 - 17
April
27th
- Smoky Mountain Visitor Center, Cosby
Admission is Free
2:00 p.m.-4:00 p.m. –“Heritage,
Harps and Hymns”– traditional offerings from Cocke County
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