Blues—a body of traditional African American music that forms the bedrock of much of American popular music—is an important part of the cultural fabric of Appalachia, as it is in the regions of the lowland South with which it is more readily associated. North Carolina’s foothills are a stronghold of the Southeastern style of guitar playing known as Piedmont blues. In particular, the musicians of Burke, Caldwell, and Catawba counties have left their marks, and continue to define, the Piedmont blues.

Click on the picture to the left to learn more about Blue Ridge Blues.