Like Appalachian Music? ETSU Student Wants to Know

This Saturday the Village of Stone Mountain will be alive with music — nearly 200 old-time country and bluegrass musicians and singers will be making music on sidewalks, in shops and restaurants. It’s a chance for fans and musicians to get together and let the music flow and for dancers to kick up their heels.

Kevin Lane, a senior at East Tennessee State University who is majoring in parks and recreation management and minoring in bluegrass music, will be there too — clipboard in hand, collecting data.

Taking a survey at a bluegrass festival? Yes, if you want to put your two cents in, look for the guy with the pen and paper. The information will be used as part of his senior capstone project at ETSU, the only four-year university in the world with a comprehensive bluegrass major.

“Research is scarce in the leisure field,” said Lane. “As a part of my program, I’m completing a senior honor thesis focusing on who attends Appalachian music and dance festivals and what they think about elements of the festival atmosphere. The information I collect can be useful to festival organizers.”

The unique spring timing of the Stone Mountain Village Bluegrass Festival fit what he was looking for, a combination of music, dance and art, set in Appalachia. “Blue grass and old-time country music make this region culturally rich. It not only exists, it continues to grow and thrive.”

Lane, a native of Copper Hill, Tennessee who plays the banjo and the upright bass said his love of Appalachian music began in childhood when he began singing with his family. “We used to go to festivals like the Mountaineer Folk Festival. I loved the folk music and the whole atmosphere.”

Both types of music have unique qualities, he said. “Bluegrass is dynamic. When a musician plays you can just feel the assertive notes through the instrument. Old-time country has a relaxing melody and rhythm running through it — I like playing it by myself.” 

Lane, who will have his banjo in tow, may decide to join in the fun with a group or two, but mostly he hopes to get as much work done as possible. “I’m looking forward to enjoying Stone Mountain and talking to people about what brought them to the festival.”

The 2^nd annual Stone Mountain Village Old-time Country and Bluegrass Music Festival is Saturday, March 26 in the City of Stone Mountain from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. The festival is free.