A Bluegrass Homecoming With Bela Fleck

When you think about the history of the banjo, its modern context seems ironic in that so many people who enjoy banjo music are unaware of its origin story and any other context than bluegrass and old time. The banjo has become closely associated with string bands especially from the American South of the mid 20th century onwards, while its early American, let alone its African and Caribbean origins tend to be ignored or forgotten.

While his spark was lit by players from the dominant narrative like Earl Scruggs, Bela Fleck was destined to take the banjo on a musical journey that is nothing short of epic. Bela played the Scruggs style; he pushed the envelope with that style in New Grass Revival; he invented his own language on the instrument with his band the Flecktones; he went on to put it square in the middle of collaborations with artists from Africa and India, among many other pioneering works.

Joe Kendrick (L) and Bela Fleck (R) at IBMA in Raleigh, NC 09-29-22

In late September 2022, I sat with Bela Fleck in downtown Raleigh, North Carolina at the convention center where the International Bluegrass Music Association was holding its annual conference and festival, an event which saw Bela win “Album of the Year”, “Instrumental Group of the Year”, “Instrumental Recording of the Year” and “Banjo Player of the Year”. My Bluegrass Heart won a Grammy award for best bluegrass album, too. They were his first awards at the event since the dissolution of his former band New Grass Revival more than thirty years ago. 

In the hours before those IBMA awards came his way, we spoke about his return to bluegrass, how the form is underestimated among many in other circles, what he thinks roots music needs most right now, which to give you a hint is not more instrumental virtuosos, his dream collaborations and much more.

Songs heard in this episode:

“Vertigo” by Bela Fleck from My Bluegrass Heart

“Wheels Up” by Bela Fleck from My Bluegrass Heart featuring Sierra Hull and Molly Tuttle, excerpt

“Slippery Eel” by Bela Fleck from My Bluegrass Heart featuring Billy Strings and Chris Thile, excerpt

“Hunky Dory” by Bela Fleck from My Bluegrass Heart, excerpt

Thanks for visiting! Would you share this episode with someone who might enjoy it also? It is super easy to follow us on your podcast platform of choice, and then it will only take a minute to give it a good rating, and on platforms with the option, a review. Great ratings and reviews will make Southern Songs and Stories and the artists it profiles more likely to be found by more people just like you.

Southern Songs and Stories is a part of the podcast lineup of Osiris Media, with all of the Osiris shows available here. You can also hear new episodes of this podcast on Bluegrass Planet Radio here. Thanks to Corrie Askew for producing the radio adaptations of this series on public radio WNCW, and to Joshua Meng, who wrote and performed our theme songs. This is Southern Songs and Stories: the music of the South and the artists who make it.   - Joe Kendrick

Green Acres Music Hall, Revisited

Back in 2018, we dove into the history of a beloved venue that was its own cultural phenomenon over a span of nearly four decades. It was a sprawling, quirky, at times surprising and almost always joyful tale; those first three episodes of our Green Acres series totaled almost three hours (they started with fifteen separate interviews totaling over five hours), and included 19 songs or portions of songs played live at the venue.  

Acoustic Syndicate performs live on WNCW in the mid 1990s as Steve Metcalf (r) looks on. Steve Metcalf, Acoustic Syndicate and Darin Aldridge, who was a member at the time of this photo, are featured in this episode.

Those episodes detailed the history of the Acres, from its inception as a spot for dancing and country music to its embrace of Bluegrass and progressive acoustic bands, to the addition of an outdoor stage and larger and larger crowds in later years. In those first three episodes you can hear about how owner Nile Cuthbertson started Green Acres, how Steve Metcalf became its front man, while the episodes include a lot of context on external forces at play in the music scene locally and nationally in the 1970s, 80s and 90s. 

Steve Metcalf (l) and Phil Johnson (r) outside the WNCW control room in the 1990s.

People are just as ready to talk about Green Acres today as they were when we made those first episodes. Additionally, many artists who played there are set to perform at the inaugural Earl Scruggs Music Festival on Labor Day weekend in 2022, and that got me thinking about revisiting the Acres by reworking all those hours of interviews and including many portions of our conversations that were left out the first time. Now, we put forward Green Acres alumni Bela Fleck, Sam Bush, Jerry Douglas, Darin Aldridge, and Acoustic Syndicate in this new context, as well as the person who made an indelible impact on the whole shebang, Steve Metcalf.

We are glad you stopped by, and hope you will follow Southern Songs on your podcast platform of choice. Once you’re there, could you take a moment and give us a top rating and, if possible, a review? Giving us a top rating is super easy, and ratings and reviews go a long way towards bumping us up in the rankings, which puts this series and the artists we profile in front of more music fans like you! Southern Songs and Stories is a part of the podcast lineup of Osiris Media, with all of the Osiris shows available here. You can also hear new episodes of this podcast on Bluegrass Planet Radio here. Thanks to Corrie Askew for producing the radio adaptations of this series heard on public radio WNCW, and to our former intern Joshua Meng, who wrote and performed our theme songs. This is Southern Songs and Stories: the music of the South and the artists who make it.   - Joe Kendrick

Green Acres Music Hall, Part Two

Do you remember the 1980s? The Cold War, Reagan, big hair, synthesizers, yuppies, AIDS, MTV? It can be easy to point and laugh at times, maybe easier than it is to remember the good things about the era. It did not make national headlines, but one of those good things was Green Acres Music Hall, which came of age in that decade. 

In our first episode, we touched on some of the history of the music scene in the region and how rough things could get in the 70s, with biker gangs taking over outdoor festivals and rock clubs, and in this episode we get to some more of the history of the live music business in the 80s and early 90s. You know, the days when you didn’t buy tickets online, but at a window after you waited in line. When being social was always in person rather than often on a network. This was the heyday of Green Acres Music Hall.

Victor Wooten, Steve Metcalf, Roy "Futureman" Wooten, Vicki Dameron and Bela Fleck in the early 1990s

This episode features conversations with artists like Bela Fleck, John Cowan, Darin Aldridge, the band Acoustic Syndicate, Sandy Carlton, Ashley Capps of AC Entertainment, Green Acres regular and frequent emcee Vicki Dameron, Carol Rifkin, former club owner Phil Dennis and Mettie, the “Little King”, Steve Metcalf. We’ll also feature more live music recorded at the Acres, as we have been able to dive into more tapes from Steve Metcalf’s collection, and live shows from archive.org.

Plus, we travel to a place in neighboring Cleveland County called Brackett Cedar Park, which also brought in artists that were fusing bluegrass and country with rock elements, and is still going.

You can subscribe to Southern Songs and Stories podcasts here via the "Blog RSS" button near the top of the right column, as well as  iTunes, Google Play, Stitcher, Soundcloud and TuneIn. Please take a moment to rate the show, and comment on the podcasts on those platforms -- it is tremendously helpful in our effort to spread awareness of Southern Songs and Stories, and the artists we spotlight. And we hope you will support the music of the artists you enjoy hearing on the show -- even though the performances we’re highlighting are from decades ago, all of these artists are still out touring and making music, and they wouldn’t be able to do it without support from people like you.

Thanks to our supporters, and to Osiris Podcasts and Bluegrass Planet Radio for carrying our series, and to Dynamite Roasting for sharing their coffee with our listeners.

Green Acres Music Hall, Part One

It all started with a cinder block building that was also an auction house, on farmland in the foothills of western North Carolina. The bathroom had a toilet but no sink. There was no phone, and it was heated by a large wood stove. The owner had a band, and brought in others that played there often as well, starting around the mid 1970s. It went on to add an outdoor stage, amenities, and thousands of fans. It became a key stop for bluegrass, "newgrass" and roots music artists of all kinds. Even the likes of Garth Brooks and Merle Haggard came calling to play there. 

Flyer for Green Acres from late summer and fall of 1995, including a handy map. Think you could navigate your way there? Our episode includes a song from the Flecktones' set with Sam Bush, listed here. Photo courtesy of Vicki Dameron.

This is part one of our series on Green Acres Music Hall, with interviews from artists like Bela Fleck, John Cowan, Carol Rifkin and the band Acoustic Syndicate, along with the man who helped take it from its humble beginnings to its peak, Steve Metcalf. Joining them are some of the folks who frequented the venue, myself included. Of course, the music itself is here too, with audio from shows by Bela Fleck and the Flecktones, the John Cowan Band and others.

We hope you enjoy the show! Please help spread awareness about this independent endeavor, subscribe, and comment on this and other episodes, especially on platforms like iTunes. Becoming a supporter is easy to do, by clicking on the "Tip Jar" button on our site's front page, or by chipping in monthly on our Patreon page, which offers a lot of great bonus material. Thanks for listening, and thanks to our supporters, our sponsor Dynamite Roasting, and to Osiris Podcasts and Bluegrass Planet Radio for carrying our series.