Brian Fain performing at Music of the Mountains at Sugarlands Visitor Center in 2012. Image provided by Great Smoky Mountains National Park.

Great Smoky Mountains National Park will hold its 9th annual “Music of the Mountains” celebration Friday, April 19 through Sunday, April 21. What began as a one-day event in 2004 has grown to a 3-day event with performances of traditional music in the neighboring communities of Gatlinburg and Townsend, including an entire day of free music at the Sugarlands Visitor Center on April 20th.

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.

“Music of the Mountains” continues on Saturday with a series of free performances of old-time mountain music during the day at the park’s Sugarlands Visitor Center. Six programs are planned from 10:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. This year the park will welcome back Knoxville musician Matt Morelock to the stage with his friend, fiddler Ferd Moyse of the Hackensaw Boys. The duo will play two sets at 2:00 p.m. and 3:00 p.m.

Back again for the first time in several years will be a free performance on Saturday night in the city of Gatlinburg. Steve Brown and Hurricane Ridge will play their blend of old-time and modern bluegrass on the plaza outside of the Ripley’s Aquarium of the Smokies on Saturday evening from 7:00 - 8:30 p.m.

The Sunday afternoon 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 to 4:00 p.m. General admission is $4.

“We’ve been offering Music of the Mountains since 2005 to celebrate old time music and to educate our visitors about the instruments, playing styles, and history behind the tunes,” Supervisory Park Ranger, Kent Cave said. “The partnerships with our neighbors in Cosby, Gatlinburg and Townsend allow us to paint a more complete picture of the various types of music played here in the southern mountains.”

Schedule of Events:

April 19
Celtic Music by “Four Leaf Peat”
Great Smoky Mountain Heritage Center, Townsend, 7pm, $5

April 20 Sugarlands Visitor Center, Great Smoky Mountains National Park, Free
10am - Lost Mill String Band
11am – Boogertown Gap Band
12pm – Brien Fain
1pm – Tony Thomas
2pm – Matt Morelock and Ferd Moyse
3pm – Matt Morelock and Ferd Moyse
4pm – Mountain Strings

April 20
Plaza at Ripley’s Aquarium of the Smokies, Gatlinburg, Free
7-8:30pm – Steve Brown and Hurricane Ridge

April 21
Smoky Mountain Visitor Center, Cosby, $4
2pm-4pm – “Heritage, Harps and Hymns” – traditional offerings from Cocke County

Source: Great Smoky Mountains National Park

Published April 13, 2013