What's old is new again at East Tennessee State University.
Decades after campus folk festivals filled ETSU's grounds with regional music and Appalachian storytelling in the 1960s and '70s, students are bringing that tradition back to life.
This year? They're bringing Grammy-nominated alumna Amythyst Kiah with them.
About the event
Mountain Made: Appalachian Folk Festival
Date: Tuesday, April 7
Time: Noon-9 p.m.
Location: ETSU University Commons and Reece Museum
Cost: Free and open to the public
Headliners: Amythyst Kiah and Adam Booth
Activities: Live musical performances, square dancing, storytelling showcases, and demonstrations of visual art creation or crafting by local artisans.
From ETSU to the Grammy stage
Kiah graduated from ETSU's renowned Bluegrass, Old-Time and Roots Music Studies program and has since earned international acclaim for her exploration of race, identity and personal experience through music.
Her Grammy-nominated song "Black Myself" confronts the exclusion she has faced as a Black and queer performer. "I pick the banjo up, and they sneer at me," she sings.
Master storyteller brings Appalachian tales to life
Adam Booth, the 2022 West Virginia Governor's Arts Awards Folk Artist of the Year, will bring his original stories blending traditional mountain folklore, music and contemporary Appalachia to the festival.
Booth's career highlights include serving as keynote presenter at the Sydney, Australia International Storytelling Conference and four featured appearances at the U.S. National Storytelling Festival.
Celebrating Appalachian heritage
"Located in the heart of Appalachia, East Tennessee State University is surrounded by a region rich in tradition," said Shelby Koerten, ETSU Student Government Association president. "This festival aims to celebrate this unique heritage by bringing to life the sights, sounds and spirit that make our community so special."
SGA is partnering with Buctainment and the Appalachian Studies Department to produce the festival, drawing on ETSU's nationally recognized cultural institutions in Bluegrass, Old Time, and Roots Music, storytelling and the Reece Museum.
For Kiah, who once spoke about appreciating when people "tell the story in a way that is beautiful instead of harping on all the negative things," Mountain Made offers exactly that, a celebration of Appalachian culture in all its complexity and creativity.
In addition to Kiah and Booth, the organizations participating include The Overmountain Weavers Guild and the TriCities Woodturners, and there will be demos of basket weaving, spoon carving, lathe woodturning, stained glass, painting, and “sheep to shawl,” which follows raw wool through carding, spinning, and weaving.
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