Donna Ray Norton
The Birthplace of Country Music Museum’s current special exhibit,“Charles Vess: The Book of Ballads,” showcases several of the songs that connect Appalachia to the Old World, and August’s museum programming further explores that music and its roots in folk traditions and storytelling.
Friday, Aug. 7, from 6-8 p.m., trivia lovers are invited to join the Birthplace of Country Music Museum at The Bristol Hotel’s LUMAC Rooftop Bar forBallads & Legends Trivia Night, filled with competitive questions themed around the art of the story — from folklore to the soul-stirring history of traditional Appalachian ballads to the most enduring legends from around the globe. Teams vie against each other to win the most points over several rounds of trivia — and win prizes — while enjoying the rooftop ambience. And here’s a special hint: Visiting the special exhibit“Charles Vess: The Book of Ballads”before the trivia night may prove helpful.
The following weekend Saturday, Aug. 15, 1-4 p.m., eighth-generation ballad singer, Donna Ray Norton, is at the museum for an immersiveBallad Singing Workshopthat will explore one of the nation’s oldest surviving non-indigenous oral traditions. Participants hear traditional ballads, learn about the singers who preserved them, experience the traditional “knee-to-knee” style of teaching and singing and have the opportunity to learn a ballad together.
Museum Director Rene Rodgers notes, “This workshop creates space for folks to learn these songs in the same person-to-person way they have traditionally been shared in the past. It is sure to be a meaningful and truly engaging experience for all of the participants.”
More than music, ballad singing has long served as a way of preserving history, memory and connection within Appalachian communities. Many of these songs were passed person-to-person and generation-to-generation long before they were ever written down. Raised in the Sodom Laurel community of Madison County, Norton learned the ballads she sings directly from family and community members, and she has carried them forward for almost 30 years.
Norton says, “I truly believe that teaching and sharing these traditions helps keep them living, not just as museum pieces, but as something that continues to connect and sustain us.” She continues, “Since Hurricane Helene, this work has felt even more urgent. Here in Western North Carolina, we watched as entire communities were devastated, including the loss of families, homes, histories and generations of memory. I often think about the songs, stories and traditions those families may have carried privately, and how some of them may now be lost forever if they were never shared or documented. This is why workshops like this matter.”
The Ballads & Legends Trivia Night Aug. 7 is free, though donations to support museum programming are encouraged. The Ballad Singing Workshop Aug. 15 is $35 + tax per person, and participation is limited to 15 people, so sign up soon. Community members are also encouraged to check out“Charles Vess: The Book of Ballads”at the museum before it closes Sept. 30. Patrons can find out more about the exhibit and these programs on the museum’s events page,birthplaceofcountrymusic.org/main-events.
