Appalachian music

On this West Virginia Morning, historic flooding in southeastern Kentucky this summer took lives, destroyed property and at least temporarily cut people off from some of their traditions — like playing music in church. With the help of friends and neighbors, some of these musicians have been able to reconnect with their music.

This week on Inside Appalachia, we’re talking about traditional ballads — how they tell stories and connect us to the past. These old tunes can mean so much. They can tap into difficult emotions and give feelings space to be heard. Some songs may even be too uncomfortable to sing.

You might be familiar with a traditional instrument called the mountain or lap dulcimer. But there’s another, lesser-known dulcimer in Appalachia called the hammer dulcimer. It’s a bigger, stationary instrument that isn’t related to the lap dulcimer at all. In fact, it’s a relative of a Ukrainian instrument called the tsymbaly.

This week on Inside Appalachia, we listen to stories from 2021 that tackle everything from the challenges that came with virtual schooling to using poetry to change public perception.

On this West Virginia Morning, we learn about one of West Virginia’s legendary musical families, the Kessingers. Also, in this show, a brush fire in the New River Gorge National Park and Preserve has grown, and hospital workers in Huntington have ended their month-long strike.

This week’s episode is all about ballad singers and storytellers.

Some of the world's best steelpan drums are made in W.Va. It all began with the vision of Ellie Mannette.

The Grammy-winning singer-songwriter will take over hosting duties from Larry Groce. Groce is not leaving entirely. He will retain his other duties with the show, which he co-founded.

This week's episode of Inside Appalachia is a mix of rich storytelling and cross-cultural collaborations. What happens when a musician from Belarus gets together with Appalachian folk musicians? And we’ll talk with Affrilachian writer Crystal Wilkinson, who has just been named Kentucky’s Poet Laureate.

Belarusian musician and activist Siarhei Douhushau was in Chicago in March of 2019 on a U.S. tour presenting folk art and music from his eastern European home. Among the Madness, Someone Yelled, "Slavalachia!" That evening, the namesake was born as both an Appalachian-Slavic folk ensemble and a cross-cultural folk alliance.