It’s all about role-models whether through a mentor or seeing working musicians from similar backgrounds to their up on the stage. Some were interviewed on stage, and all are encouraged to connect with a mentor through the Mentor Monster program which involves school-aged children reading to and mentoring younger children. The series, is defined by its mission as a “social impact and purpose-driven initiative to bring the history of Appalachian music, culture, and education to students who are directly impacted by its history.” The audience includes students who are brought in for the taping from rural and more impoverished surrounding counties and inner city students facing similar levels of poverty.įor the filming I attended, students were first gathered for a tour of the East Tennessee History Center, followed by a tour of the Tennessee Theatre. Chris Blue and the Crockett Band, Appalachia Sessions, Bijou Theatre, Knoxville, January 2023 Chris Blue and the Crockett Band, Appalachia Sessions, Bijou Theatre, Knoxville, January 2023 Behind the series is the East Tennessee Historical Society and executive producer Breezy Wynn of the Wynn Group. The series promises a range of genres, but leaned on country and bluegrass at the filming I visited. While the band and Chris are from Appalachia, not all the performers hail from here, but generally have some sort of connection. The proceedings are hosted by Knoxville’s own Chris Blue and the band features an A-list of Knoxville musicians. It’s filmed at the Bijou in a two-to-three hour session and then edited to a one-hour televised show, which is shown locally on WATE two-to-three weeks after filming. The new series, scheduled to run for ten shows, features live music performances by multiple acts backed by a house band, interspersed with interviews of the artists and others. The Appalachia Sessions might remind some of Austin City Limits, while locals with a bit of a memory might recall the iterations, first at the Bijou, then the Square Room, and later at Boyd’s Jig and Reel, of Tennessee Shines. Appalachia Sessions, Bijou Theatre, Knoxville, January 2023
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