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Old time music featured at Blue Ridge Parkway

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Uncle Henry’s Favorites will play at the Picnic with Friends  event at Milepost 5.8 on the Blue Ridge Parkway August 20.
Uncle Henry’s Favorites will play at the Picnic with Friends event at Milepost 5.8 on the Blue Ridge Parkway August 20.

Old time music will be one of the highlights of the Picnic with Friends event sponsored by the Humpback Rocks Chapter of the Friends of the Blue Ridge Parkway Saturday, August 20.

Picnic with Friends is a celebration of the 100th anniversary of the National Park Service. It will be held on the Blue Ridge Parkway at Milepost 5.8, the Humpback Rocks farm and visitor center, from 11:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m.

One band slated to play is The Mutton Busters Old Time String Band. The band plays the music of the Appalachian mountains and the Blue Ridge.

“Old time music gives voice to the people who steadfastly hold to and build on the traditions of their ancestors,” says Pat Harrison, a member of the Mutton Busters. “Players traditionally learn old time music by ear, even musicians who can read music. Men and women followed age-old patterns of folk life and customs, making their own music and dance. Certain regions maintain ties to the cultural Anglo, Germanic and African traditions.

“These elements have come together to create a body of music tied more to place and circumstance than ethnicity,” Harrison says. “Often crude instruments were crafted by the mountain folk and sometimes music was sung without an instrument. Old time music tells stories of people, places, events and times, and these old tunes have passed down from generation to generation.

“Old time fiddle music represents real emotions long held by the people and culture from which it originated. It was a way of releasing emotions of the performer as well as of the listener. We are fortunate to live in an area that spans the Appalachian. The music is still strong in these areas and being passed to new generations.

“Most people do not know that old time music preceded Bluegrass and is not to be confused with it. We love to learn about and play the tunes and the flatfoot or square dancing that came from the mountains. We are proud to carry on an almost lost tradition, and eager to share the history of our instruments and the mountain dances.”

Uncle Henry’s Favorites is another old time music band that will play at the picnic. It is a string band hailing from Albemarle County. The band formed back in 1985, and has performed its own special version of traditional old time music ever since. The music focuses on the local musical traditions of Virginia, including harmony singing and foot-stomping fiddle tunes.

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