I wrote at length last week about the story behind two of the leading men of Americana releasing surprise albums reflecting their bluegrass and old time roots. In the process I learned a lot about the new Kentucky old time and folklore scene, being spurred by a new generation of leaders, including fiddlers Jesse Wells and Brett Ratliff and their institutions, the Kentucky Center for Traditional Arts at Morehead State University and WMMT, the radio station in Whitesburg, KY run by non-profit culture makers Appalshop.
“There were no fiddler's conventions in Kentucky,” Ratliff told me. “So we started one and started having competitions and workshops on a regular basis and basically, just organizing around the music and trying to turn as many people onto it as we could. There's a large gap between the older generation playing it and then our generation. So we were young and raring to go.” Jesse plays fiddle in Tyler’s band, and that’s where the songwriter’s tutelage on the fiddle got serious.
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