Appalachian Festival Bag Piping and a Fiddle

                                                                                   

The Appalachian Festival was filled with a variety of different events, musical, artistic, historical and poetry. I chose to attend two different types of musical events. The first was, Morbhana, a traditional Gibson Fireside bag piping group that performed Celtic music, Scottish and Irish songs. The name Morbhana comes from the Scottish song, “Chi mi na mor- Bheanna, which means, “ I will see Big Mountains.” They are also part of the Garrett Highlands Pipes and Drums. The group was composed of three bag pipers, Annie Bristow, Kenny Braitman, Marci McClive and a tenor Drummer, Lynn Farnsworth.  The music they performed during the festival told stories, and included fast pace and slow music. My favorite song was Amazing Grace. Their attire was a traditional bag piping Scottish outfit which was appealing along with the music. They were a group of elderly adults who just loved playing bag pipes and really wanted the audience to be a part of the performance. One audience member was very eager when asked for their input yelling, “Amazing Grace!” The audience input made the performance a more personal experience. The next event I attended was The Time Travelers, a group from Romney West Virginia. This group is especially meaningful to this area, playing songs that referred to Cumberland, singing coalmining songs. Unlike the bagpipes, this group sang Acapella, and included a stand up bass played by Chuck Sherry, a Guitar Harp and a Harmonica played by Michael Hasly, a Mandolin played by Pam Francis and a Fiddle played by Lauren Smith. All of the members sang the songs, singing about the struggles of work, religion and the missing home. The group encouraged the audience saying, “We like to see people singing along.” They played songs from Bruce Springsteen and songs the audience was familiar with so that they could join in and sing too. This group was more relaxed, and focused on playing their music rather than their attire, dressed in casual Hawaiian shirts and khakis. The fiddle player looked like she could have been in college or a recent graduate, which also appealed to the audience. With each member playing a different instrument, it made the performance more enjoyable to watch. From their superb performance, this group really loved singing and had a stronger performance than the bag pipers, including the audience more and because they sang, the audience could sing along, making it more enjoyable to listen to. One audience member said, “ I like that they are up beat.”  Their music told a story about the history of this area, one that many audience members might not have known about before the event.  The event itself was run very efficiently and timely, with each group setting up and moving off the stage for the next performance in a timely manner, making the audience not impatient for the next event to start and easy to stay for the next event. The weather was perfect for celebrating the Appalachian landscape set around the campus.