Music of West Virginia

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Clifftop Masters - two generations of old time music masters

West Virginia's folk heritage is a part of the Appalachian folk music tradition, and includes styles of fiddling, ballad singing, and other styles that draw on Ulster-Scots music.

West Virginia consists of a mostly rural region, although its few relatively urban centers are prominent spots of musical innovation. The Capitol Music Hall, in Wheeling, is the oldest performing place of its kind in the state, and has hosted a wide variety of acts, from national tours to the local Wheeling Symphony Orchestra.

Other music institutions in West Virginia include the Mountaineer Opera House in Milton. The West Virginia Symphony Orchestra was founded in 1939, as the Charleston Civic Orchestra, before becoming the Charleston Symphony Orchestra in 1943. The first conductor was William R. Wiant, followed by the prominent conductor Antonio Modarelli, of the Wheeling Symphony Orchestra.[1]

The town of Glenville has long been home to the annual West Virginia State Folk Festival.

## Music history

[edit]

See also: Indigenous music of North America § Eastern Woodlands

West Virginia's historical contributions to musical development include WWVA Jamboree, a radio show that began in 1933 and soon became a very prominent regional show, based out of the Capitol Music Hall in Wheeling. WWVA, the radio station that has long broadcast WWVA Jamboree, hosts the Jamboree in the Hills every July in St. Clairsville, Ohio, just across the border from Wheeling.[2]

The town of Oak Hill was the site of country legend Hank Williams' death, which is commemorated by a plaque in front of the public library in Oak Hill.[3]

Daniel Johnston, born in California, grew up in New Cumberland.

## Music festivals

[edit]

* All Good Music Festival,[4] Masontown
* Appalachian String Band Festival,[5] Clifftop
* CMC's Food Truck Frenzy & Festival, Princeton
* Dvorak/Gershwin Black History Month Festival,[6] Charleston
* Gazette-Mail Kanawha County Majorette and Band Festival,[7] Charleston
* Elkhenge Music Festival,[8] East Dailey
* Festivall Charleston,[9] Charleston
* Gardner Winter Music Festival,[10] Morgantown
* Heritage Music Blues Fest,[11] Wheeling

* Mountain Stage NewSong Festival,[12] Charles Town
* PattyFest,[13] Morgantown
* Robin Kessinger Festival & WV State Flatpick Guitar Championship,[14] Gandeeville
* Stonewall Jackson Heritage Arts & Crafts Jubilee,[15] Weston
* Upper Potomac Dulcimer Fest,[16] Shepherdstown
* Vandalia Gathering,[17] Charleston
* West Virginia State Folk Festival,[18] Glenville
* West Virginia Independent Music Festival,[19] Logan

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## Notable musicians

[edit]

See also: List of people from West Virginia

* Hasil Adkins, rockabilly musician
* Elbern Alkire, Hawaiian guitar
* Cuba Austin, jazz drummer
* Leon "Chu" Berry, jazz saxophonist
* Andy Boarman, banjo and autoharp player[20]
* Byzantine, melodic death metal band
* Mark Carman, gospel, country Grammy-nominated producer, musician, songwriter
* Wilma Lee Cooper and Stoney Cooper, country
* Billy Cox, bassist for Jimi Hendrix
* George Crumb, composer
* Hazel Dickens, bluegrass singer from Mercer County
* Little Jimmy Dickens, country singer
* Ed Haley, old-timey fiddler from Logan County
* Hawkshaw Hawkins, country singer
* Blind Joe Hill, blues singer, one-man band
* Frank Hutchison, country blues and Piedmont blues musician and songwriter
* Johnnie Johnson, piano player and blues musician
* Dick Justice, blues and folk musician
* Musa Kaleem, jazz saxophonist and flautist
* Karma to Burn, progressive alternative-metal band
* The Lilly Brothers, bluegrass musicians
* The Love Coats, acoustic rock/pop
* Kathy Mattea, country singer
* Mind Garage, psychedelic rock
* Landau Eugene Murphy, Jr., jazz singer
* John & Emery McClung Brothers & old-time musicians ca. 1930
* Tex McGuire, old-time musician
* Tim O'Brien, bluegrass musician
* Mollie O'Brien, bluegrass, Americana
* Molly O'Day, pioneering country vocalist
* Brad Paisley, country singer and songwriter from Wheeling. Has had 5 #2 albums on the Billboard 200 from 2005 to 2014.
* Don Redman, jazz arranger and clarinetist
* Blind Alfred Reed, fiddler & composer
* Carl Rutherford, blues guitarist and singer from War, West Virginia[21]
* Jim Savarino, singer/songwriter
* Art Simmons, jazz pianist
* Michael W. Smith, contemporary Christian music star
* Red Sovine, country
* Johnny Staats, bluegrass mandolin
* Eleanor Steber, operatic soprano
* Steve Whiteman, lead singer of Kix
* The Williamson Brothers, folk
* Garland Wilson, jazz pianist
* Melvin Wine, recipient of a National Heritage Fellowship
* Bill Withers, R&B musician, had a #1 Billboard Hot 100 hit with "Lean on Me" in 1972.
* Frankie Yankovic, polka musician
* Zao, metalcore band

## References

[edit]

* Byron, Janet (1996). Country Music Lover's Guide to the U.S.A. (1st ed.). New York: St. Martin's Press. ISBN 0-312-14300-1.
* "The Orchestra". West Virginia Symphony Orchestra. Archived from the original on December 17, 2005. Retrieved January 9, 2006.
* West Virginia Music Hall of Fame
* Brandon E. Davis

## Notes

[edit]

1. ^ [1] Archived December 17, 2005, at the Wayback Machine
2. ^ Byron, pgs. 323 - 324
3. ^ Byron, pg. 324
4. ^ "All Good Music Festival". Allgoodfestival.com. Retrieved 2015-10-26.
5. ^ "Appalachian String Band Festival". Wvculture.org. 2015-08-02. Retrieved 2015-10-26.
6. ^ [2] Archived February 13, 2006, at the Wayback Machine
7. ^ Ray, Leann (September 23, 2016). "Looking at 70 years of the Gazette-Mail Kanawha County Majorette Festival". Charleston Gazette-Mail. Retrieved September 26, 2016.
8. ^ 永久脱毛とは、本当に一生毛が生えてこなくなるものなのか (1999-02-22). "永久脱毛とは、本当に一生毛が生えてこなくなるものなのか". Elkhenge.com. Retrieved 2015-10-26.
9. ^ "FestivALL: A City Becomes A Work of Art". Festivallcharleston.com. Retrieved 2015-10-26.
10. ^ "Gardner Winter Music Festival". Gwmf.org. 2014-04-11. Retrieved 2015-10-26.
11. ^ "Heritage Music BluesFest". Heritagemusicfest.com. Retrieved 2015-10-26.
12. ^ "NewSong Music | Where Great Artists Are Discovered". Newsongfestival.com. 2014-06-20. Retrieved 2015-10-26.
13. ^ "Pattyfest". Pattyfest.org. Retrieved 2015-10-26.
14. ^ "Robin Kessinger Festival & WorkshopsRobin Kessinger Festival & Workshops". Robinkessingerfestival.org. 2015-02-21. Retrieved 2015-10-26.
15. ^ [3] Archived September 26, 2011, at the Wayback Machine
16. ^ [4] Archived April 27, 2006, at the Wayback Machine
17. ^ "Vandalia Gathering". Wvculture.org. Retrieved 2015-10-26.
18. ^ "Welcome etc4u.com - BlueHost.com". Etc4u.com. Retrieved 2015-10-26.
19. ^ "West Virginia Independent Music Festival". Facebook.com. Retrieved 2015-10-26.
20. ^ "Andy Boarman". Wvculture.org. Retrieved 2015-10-26.
21. ^ "Carl Rutherford". Musicmaker.org. Retrieved 3 March 2019.