Jack Hinshelwood (photo by Dan Morrelli)
The Virginia Highlands Festival presents “Old-World Ballads and the Mountain Dulcimer,” a concert featuring four of the Appalachian region’s foremost ballad singers, Sunday July 27. Elizabeth LaPrelle of Rural Retreat, Virginia, Sarah Kate Morgan of Hindman, Kentucky, Corbin Hayslett of Floyd, Virginia, and Jack Hinshelwood of Abingdon, Virginia, perform in tribute to the remarkable legacy of Abingdon ballad singer and dulcimer player Andrew Rowan Summers.
Born in Abingdon in 1912, Summers was a Renaissance man — an attorney, law publications editor, businessman, interior furnishings designer and antiques dealer. In 1931, he attended the White Top Folk Festival which ignited a lifelong obsession with the traditional arts of ballad singing and playing the mountain dulcimer.
Summers moved to New York City in 1941 to work in law and shared his music at night clubs, festivals and on radio and TV. His singing and dulcimer playing were embraced by a public with a burgeoning interest in folk music. Performances for the nationally syndicated Major Bowes Radio Show (a pre-cursor to the Ted Mack Amateur Hour on TV) and at the 1939 New York World’s Fair exposed audiences to Summers’ talents.
Summers auditioned for Columbia Records, and by the end of the same day had completed recording “Old World Ballads of America,” his first album containing eight ballads such as “Barbara Allen” and “The Two Sisters.” From 1951 through 1961, Summers made multiple recordings for renowned record producer Moses Asch on Folkways Records.
Summers gave NBC radio performances, produced his own Sunday radio program, and appeared on numerous TV shows. He also appeared at the Berkeley Folk Music Festival performing alongside Kentucky balladeer and dulcimerist Jean Ritchie.
Through Summers’ recordings and performances, thousands of folk music lovers came to appreciate the importance and beauty of Appalachian ballads, and the graceful elegance of the dulcimer as an accompanying instrument.
The artists presenting this concert in Summers’ honor are carving out their own legacies in traditional music as well.
At 18 years old, Sarah Kate Morgan placed first at the 2012 National Mountain Dulcimer Championships in Winfield, Kansas, and has performed with artists Tyler Childers and Alice Gerrard.
Elizabeth LaPrelle is known for her ability to bring ballad stories to life. She has performed in the US and abroad and on Garrison Kiellor’s “A Prairie Home Companion” radio program.
Corbin Hayslett’s singing and banjo playing are equal parts power and skill. In 2014, Corbin’s rendition of “Darlin’ Cora” was included on “Orthophonic Joy: The 1927 Bristol Sessions Revisited,” alongside Dolly Parton, Marty Stuart and others.
Jack Hinshelwood has performed and recorded the traditional music of Appalachia for over 50 years. His most recent recording, “50 Years in the Making,” includes ballads from both Appalachia and Old-World sources.
The concert takes place from 2 to 4 p.m., Sunday, July 27, at the Sinking Springs Presbyterian Church, Abingdon, Virginia. Tickets are $10 for adults and $5 for children 12 and under. For ticket information go to www.vahighlandsfestival.com/live-music or contact the Virginia Highlands Festival Office at 276-623-5266.
