Most serious fans and students of Appalachian music are familiar with the phenomenon known as “The Bristol Sessions,” a series of seminal recordings that first captured artists in the Blue Ridge region. These occurred when Ralph Peer brought remote recording equipment to a hotel in Bristol, TN in 1927. Important artists like Jimmie Rodgers, Ernest Stoneman, and The Carter Family traveled to Bristol to make these recordings, which was far more convenient than traveling to New York as had been necessary previously.
But far fewer are fully aware of an earlier Ralph Peer visit to the Appalachian region in August of 1925, when he brought his Victor Talking Machine Company gear to the then brand new George Vanderbilt Hotel in downtown Asheville, NC. He recorded artists there for ten days, including Bascom Lamar Lunsford, J.D. Harris, J.D. Weaver, Ernest Helton, Wade Ward, and several others. Pop Stoneman, living in Asheville at the time, also participated.
This week Asheville is hosting events celebrating the 100th anniversary of these sessions, the first ever commercial recordings made in Appalachia and the first of any kind in North Carolina. Their line in celebrating The Asheville Sessions is, “If The Bristol Sessions was the big bang of country music, The Asheville Sessions lit the fuse.”
From November 6-9, a variety of remembrances and celebrations will be held in town, including a pair of day-long symposia and panel discussions, as well as four different concerts:
- November 7 – Ketch Secor with Nest of Singing Birds plus Jesse Smathers
- November 8 – Darin & Brooke Aldridge and Warren Wilson Bands
- November 8 – River Whyless, Tyler Ramsey, Toubab Krewe plus Floating Action
- November 9 – Songs From the Road with Zoe & Cloyd and Newfound Gap
These are hosted at different locations in the greater Asheville area. Some events are free of charge, while others are ticketed. You can see all those details online.
There is an also a remastered set of the recordings from August 1925, available on CD, vinyl, or lossless digital download. Titled Music From the Land of the Sky, it includes 28 selections, running to 84 minutes of music. The CD ships with a 128-page booklet, reduced to 24 pages with the LP.
The Asheville Sessions web site has information about accommodations and other things to do when visiting their city.
This will be a big time in Asheville, NC. The city and its people welcome all visitors to enjoy the music and history on display, and see how well they have recovered from the flooding of 2024.
