From behind the lens … a defining moment in musical performance

I would have probably never articulated this on my own except for an occasion of heightened awareness by photographing a recent performance by David Holt, Bryan Sutton, and T. Michael Coleman.  They have started a band called "Deep River Rising" to perpetuate the musical traditions of Doc Watson, so they are still in the "getting acquainted with each other" phase of discovery to determine if they have a future together. My wife and I have known David for years but never played…

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My daughter wanted only two things for Christmas … a banjo … and a bullfrog

"We're still working on that bullfrog ...! Traditional music has been learned "knee-to-knee" and passed down from one generation to the next in the oral tradition -  one person teaching the next.  These songs do not have any authentic or original version because regional and local influences over time have self-selected those variants that become preferred. A single artist may perform the songs similarly each time that it is played, but it is often the community…

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Doc Watson makes one of his last life-time appearances ….

At the age off 88, legendary North Carolinian and seven-time Grammy Award winning guitarist, songwriter, and singer Doc Watson performed at the Aycock Auditorium at the University of North Carolina (Greensboro)  on September 17, 2011.  Joined on stage by his long-time accompanists David Holt and T. Michael Coleman, Doc and his friends played to a nearly full house. Doc Watson is  finishing nearly eight decades of a full and rich life.   His performance schedule is becoming more uncertain and…

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