You Too Can Be a Songcatcher—Listen to The Tasty Brew!

In some circles teasingly referred to as “O Sister Where Art Thou,” the 2000 feature movie The Songcatcher was instrumental in rekindling interest in Appalachian folk music rooted in the Scottish and Irish folk ballad traditions.  Set in 1907, a professor of musicology is denied a promotion at the university where she teaches. She impulsively visits her sister who runs a struggling rural school in Appalachia. There, she discovers a treasure trove of traditional English ballads, which have been preserved by the secluded mountain people since the colonial period of the 1600s and 1700s.  She decides to record and transcribe the songs and share them with the outside world. With the help of a musically talented orphan, the professor ventures into isolated areas of the mountains to collect the songs. She finds herself increasingly enchanted, not only by the rugged purity of the music, but also by the courage and endurance of the local people as they carve out meaningful lives against the harsh conditions. Join Diana Linn on this Tuesday’s Tasty Brew Edition of Your Morning Buzz to listen to a few selections from the movie’s soundtrack as well as great “Roots” Music from many artists that include some stellar representatives that are visiting Kansas City this week like John Fullbright, Kim Richey, Courtney Patton, Jason Eady, The Black Lillies and Kansas City area native Jeff Black.

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