The Appalachian String Band performed a selection of bluegrass and Americana songs at its last concert of the semester on Wednesday, Dec. 6.
The Appalachian String Band only formed four semesters ago, with the first shows consisting of one band. Since then, more and more students have grown interested in joining the band and playing bluegrass music, so they have been able to form two bands.
Sean McCollough, a lecturer in musicology and the director of the Appalachian String Band, talked a little more about the ensemble.
“This is a relatively new ensemble,” McCollough said. “We started off with one band, and now we have enough students to have two bands.”
The Appalachian String Band currently plays mostly bluegrass music, but the members are open to playing other styles of music.
“I named the ensemble the Appalachian String Band because I wanted to leave it open for us to have ensemble renditions of other styles of music like old time or even more modern Americana,” McCollough said. “So far, the students we have gotten have played bluegrass, so we’ve played bluegrass.”
The Appalachian String Band and the music that it plays has a special connection to the South that other ensembles in the school of music do not.
“I think one thing that is unique about this ensemble is that it is the music that is directly tied to the region we are in,” McCollough said. “We have classical musical ensembles, jazz ensembles and a Balinese Gamelan ensemble. All of those are things that were developed and came from somewhere else. This ensemble is music that developed here.”
Both of the bands were able to choose the music they played. When a student would bring in a song, the rest of the band would work together and learn the song, primarily by ear.
“In the tradition of string band music in this region, it’s mostly learned by ear,” McCollough said. “We don’t stop anybody from looking up the music and learning it that way if they need to or want to do that, but as a group we try to learn just together by ear.”
The concert itself included two approximately 30-minute sets — one for each band — and then the entire ensemble came together for three songs, the final two being Christmas songs.
During the soundcheck before the show, everyone attempted to iron out the final bits of the performance.
Evie Andrus, a first year musicology graduate student who plays the fiddle, and Ethan Glascock, a junior majoring in geography who plays guitar, spoke about the experience with the Appalachian String Band and their hopes for the concert. Both students were new to the band but had different levels of prior experience with bluegrass.
“I actually have played bluegrass most of my life,” Andrus said. “I knew that when I was starting here that Sean had started the ensemble and was really looking forward to being a part of it and getting back into playing in an academic setting, which is a little different than playing in an actual regular band. So it’s fun to be here and get college credit to play bluegrass.”
“I wanted to get myself more involved with some of the music programs here at UT and thought, ‘Hey, here’s some folks who like to do some acoustic stuff,’” Glascock said. “So I figured I’d kinda put my foot in the water, and I actually ended up falling in face first. And I’m really, really glad that I fell in face first.”
As this was Glascock’s first concert, he did feel a bit stressed but knew he had the rest of the band there to back him up.
“This being my first concert performance with this, I am rightfully stressed,” Glascock said. “I’ve had lots of time to practice but some songs more than others. I think it’ll be okay, though, because I’ve got help and some very great people to support me. I’m supporting them as well. It’s a team effort.”
Despite Glascock’s worries, both bands played well and put on a great show for the friends, family and fellow students in the audience.
The Appalachian String Band is open to any student who wishes to play with them, as long as they have some experience with a stringed instrument.
“All levels are welcome,” Andrus said. “We’re actually looking to add a third band next semester because we’re starting to grow.”
“You do not have to be a music major to join,” McCollough said. “In fact, a majority of students are not music majors this semester. It changes a bit every semester with who is in it, but we take people who are more beginners. We take people who have years of experience. We take people who have only ever played classical music or only ever played rock and roll but want to try out bluegrass.”
The Appalachian String Band does perform outside of its semesterly concert. This year they were given the opportunity to play during a sorority tailgate on campus, and each semester some of the students play on the WDVX Blue Plate Special radio show. If you would like to keep up with those performances, you can follow them on Instagram.
