As a general rule, we (Bluegrass Today) try to refrain from posting news about an individual Kickstarter-type campaign unless it concerns something of particular interest to the bluegrass community, but William Smith Monroe certainly fits the bill – no pun intended.
This past week, Ashevillian and self-proclaimed “road scholar” Dallas Taylor started a fundraiser through the popular crowdfunding website indiegogo.com to pay for the placement of a new historical marker in Asheville, North Carolina. The proposed sign will celebrate “the first time the world heard Bluegrass Music,” according to Taylor.
Taylor shares his version of bluegrass’s beginnings on his Indiegogo page:
“In 1938, Bill Monroe and Cleo Davis pulled a camper trailer from Atlanta to Asheville to take over the 15 minute radio show called ‘Mountain Music Time’ at WWNC in the Flat Iron Building in Downtown Asheville. He then named the group ‘Bill Monroe and The Blue Grass Boys’, coining the term ‘Bluegrass’ as his distinct new music style that was ready to set the world on fire!”
Taylor is attempting to raise $6000 by July 11 to help with the costs of purchasing and installing the marker, which will be located in front of the Flat Iron Building on Battery Park Avenue in Asheville.
For more information regarding the historical marker and the funding campaign, visit www.wncmusic.org or indiegogo.com.
