“From the top of the mountain”: Traditional music and the politics of place in the Central Appalachian Coalfields

For residents of the Central Appalachian coalfields, the connection between music and the mountains is emotional, intangible and inextricable. When asked, they often struggle to locate the connection in physical things–a musical embodiment of the hard times and backbreaking work of generations of mountain residents. But the thread connecting traditional music to these hills is sensory and inexpressible. It is located on mountaintops and in family, in the change of season and in the concept of home. In the words of one Kentucky resident, to me, the music is so much more than the music. It\u27s the place. In this dissertation, I address the connection between music and place in contemporary Appalachia. I examine the performance of bluegrass and old time music in the Central Appalachian Coalfields, focusing on the multiple roles music plays in contemporary life. To some mountain residents, the performance of music is a tradition-bearing act, one that strengthens stressed communities, fosters a meaningful connection to ancestry, and brings together friends and family. To others, mountain music is political—a tool of cultural, economic and environmental reclamation in a region threatened by extensive mining, exploitation and apathy. I explore the range of meanings in these interpretations, examining the tension between the musical and the political, the dimensions of revivalism and activism, and the intimate connection between place, music, and power in the Coalfields