Music of West Virginia
Encyclopedia
West Virginia
's folk heritage is a part of the Appalachian folk music tradition, and includes styles of fiddling
, ballad singing, and other styles that draw on Ulster-Scots
music.
West Virginia consists of a mostly rural region, although its few relatively urban centers are prominent spots of musical innovation. The Capitol Music Hall, in Wheeling
, is the oldest performing place of its kind in the state, and has hosted a wide variety of acts, from national tours to the local Wheeling Symphony Orchestra
.
Other music institutions in West Virginia include the Mountaineer Opera House in Milton
. The West Virginia Symphony Orchestra
was founded in 1939, as the Charleston Civic Orchestra, before becoming the Charleston Symphony Orchestra in 1943. The first conductor was William R. Wiant, followed by the prominent conductor Antonio Modarelli
, of the Wheeling Symphony Orchestra.
The town of Glenville
has long been home to the annual West Virginia State Folk Festival.
, a radio show that began in 1933 and soon became a very prominent regional show, based out of the Capitol Music Hall in Wheeling. WWVA
, the radio station that has long broadcast WWVA Jamboree, hosts the Jamboree in the Hills
every July in St. Clairsville
, Ohio
, just across the border from Wheeling.
The town of Oak Hill
was the site of country legend Hank Williams' death, which is commemorated by a plaque in front of the public library in Oak Hill.
The Pink Moon Festival (Rock Camp, WV)
West Virginia
West Virginia is a state in the Appalachian and Southeastern regions of the United States, bordered by Virginia to the southeast, Kentucky to the southwest, Ohio to the northwest, Pennsylvania to the northeast and Maryland to the east...
's folk heritage is a part of the Appalachian folk music tradition, and includes styles of fiddling
Fiddle
The term fiddle may refer to any bowed string musical instrument, most often the violin. It is also a colloquial term for the instrument used by players in all genres, including classical music...
, ballad singing, and other styles that draw on Ulster-Scots
Ulster-Scots
The Ulster Scots are an ethnic group in Ireland, descended from Lowland Scots and English from the border of those two countries, many from the "Border Reivers" culture...
music.
West Virginia consists of a mostly rural region, although its few relatively urban centers are prominent spots of musical innovation. The Capitol Music Hall, in Wheeling
Wheeling, West Virginia
Wheeling is a city in Ohio and Marshall counties in the U.S. state of West Virginia; it is the county seat of Ohio County. Wheeling is the principal city of the Wheeling Metropolitan Statistical Area...
, is the oldest performing place of its kind in the state, and has hosted a wide variety of acts, from national tours to the local Wheeling Symphony Orchestra
Wheeling Symphony Orchestra
The Wheeling Symphony Orchestra is an American orchestra based in Wheeling, West Virginia. Since its founding in 1929, the orchestra has mostly performed at the Capitol Music Hall. But in May 2007, the "Capitol" closed its doors unexpectedly, forcing the Symphony to look for a new home. Temporary...
.
Other music institutions in West Virginia include the Mountaineer Opera House in Milton
Milton, West Virginia
Milton is a town in Cabell County, West Virginia, United States. The population was 2,206 at the 2000 census.Milton is a part of the Huntington-Ashland, WV-KY-OH Metropolitan Statistical Area . As of the 2000 census, the MSA had a population of 288,649...
. The West Virginia Symphony Orchestra
West Virginia Symphony Orchestra
The West Virginia Symphony Orchestra is a US orchestra that performs at the Clay Center in Charleston, West Virginia. The orchestra has played with such soloists as Itzhak Perlman, Yo-Yo Ma, Isaac Stern, Marilyn Horne, and Kathleen Battle...
was founded in 1939, as the Charleston Civic Orchestra, before becoming the Charleston Symphony Orchestra in 1943. The first conductor was William R. Wiant, followed by the prominent conductor Antonio Modarelli
Antonio Modarelli
Antonio Modarelli was an American conductor and composer.Though popular in Europe, even to the point of being the first American to be invited into the, Gesellschaft der deutschen Komponisten, Modarelli was never really appreciated at home, being asked to resignby the board of the Pittsburgh...
, of the Wheeling Symphony Orchestra.
The town of Glenville
Glenville, West Virginia
Glenville is a town in and the county seat of Gilmer County, West Virginia, United States, along the Little Kanawha River. The population was 1,544 at the 2000 census. It is the home of Glenville State College.-History:...
has long been home to the annual West Virginia State Folk Festival.
Music history
West Virginia's historical contributions to musical development include WWVA JamboreeWWVA Jamboree
WWVA Jamboree, renamed Jamboree U.S.A. in the 1960s, and the Wheeling Jamboree in 2009, is a pioneering American radio show that featured country music from 1933–2008, and again since January 2009...
, a radio show that began in 1933 and soon became a very prominent regional show, based out of the Capitol Music Hall in Wheeling. WWVA
WWVA (AM)
WWVA is an AM radio station that broadcasts on a frequency of 1170 kHz with studios in Wheeling, West Virginia, USA, and towers formerly located in St. Clairsville, Ohio, before they were destroyed in an August 2010 storm...
, the radio station that has long broadcast WWVA Jamboree, hosts the Jamboree in the Hills
Jamboree in the Hills
Jamboree in the Hills, also known as the "Super Bowl of Country Music," is an annual four-day-festival of country music in the rolling hills of Morristown, Ohio in Belmont County...
every July in St. Clairsville
St. Clairsville, Ohio
St. Clairsville is a city in Belmont County, Ohio in the United States. It is part of the Wheeling, West Virginia Metropolitan Statistical Area. The population was 5,057 at the 2000 census. This county seat of Belmont County has been nicknamed "Paradise on the Hill." St. Clairsville was named after...
, Ohio
Ohio
Ohio is a Midwestern state in the United States. The 34th largest state by area in the U.S.,it is the 7th‑most populous with over 11.5 million residents, containing several major American cities and seven metropolitan areas with populations of 500,000 or more.The state's capital is Columbus...
, just across the border from Wheeling.
The town of Oak Hill
Oak Hill, West Virginia
Oak Hill is a city in Fayette County, West Virginia, United States and is the primary city within the Oak Hill, WV Micropolitan Statistical Area. The micropolitan area is also included in the Beckley-Oak Hill, WV Combined Statistical Area. The population was 7,589 at the 2000 census...
was the site of country legend Hank Williams' death, which is commemorated by a plaque in front of the public library in Oak Hill.
Music festivals
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Charles Town, West Virginia Charles Town is a city in and the county seat of Jefferson County, West Virginia, United States. The population was 2,907 at the 2000 census. Due to its similar name, travelers have sometimes confused this city with the state's capital, Charleston.-History:... Morgantown, West Virginia Morgantown is a city in Monongalia County, West Virginia. It is the county seat of Monongalia County. Placed along the banks of the Monongahela River, Morgantown is the largest city in North-Central West Virginia, and the base of the Morgantown metropolitan area... Weston, West Virginia Weston is a city in Lewis County, West Virginia, United States. The population was 4,317 at the 2000 census. It is the county seat of Lewis County, and home to the West Virginia Museum of American Glass.-History:... Shepherdstown, West Virginia Shepherdstown is a town in Jefferson County, West Virginia, United States, located along the Potomac River. It is the oldest town in the state, having been chartered in 1762 by Colonial Virginia's General Assembly. Since 1863, Shepherdstown has been in West Virginia, and is the oldest town in... Vandalia Gathering The Vandalia Gathering is a popular festival devoted to old-time and bluegrass music, as well as related arts such as dance, quilt making, and cooking, which takes place each summer on the state capitol grounds in Charleston, West Virginia, United States. It was established in 1977. It is held on... http://www.wvculture.org/vandalia/, Charleston Charleston, West Virginia Charleston is the capital and largest city of the U.S. state of West Virginia. It is located at the confluence of the Elk and Kanawha Rivers in Kanawha County. As of the 2010 census, it has a population of 51,400, and its metropolitan area 304,214. It is the county seat of Kanawha County.Early... Glenville, West Virginia Glenville is a town in and the county seat of Gilmer County, West Virginia, United States, along the Little Kanawha River. The population was 1,544 at the 2000 census. It is the home of Glenville State College.-History:... Riverside Blues Festival, Elkins, WV Augusta |
The Pink Moon Festival (Rock Camp, WV)
Famous musicians
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Kathy Mattea Kathleen Alice "Kathy" Mattea is an American country music and bluegrass performer who often brings folk, Celtic and traditional country sounds to her music. Active since 1983 as a recording artist, she has recorded seventeen albums and has charted more than thirty singles on the Billboard Hot... , country Country music Country music is a popular American musical style that began in the rural Southern United States in the 1920s. It takes its roots from Western cowboy and folk music... singer John & Emery McClung John & Emery McClung were musicians who recorded old-time music during the 1920s. They also recorded as The West Virginia Snake Hunters and The McClung Brothers. John Edward McClung was born on August 1, 1906 in Mount Hope, West Virginia and died on February 15, 1991... Brothers & old timey musicians ca. 1930 Banjo In the 1830s Sweeney became the first white man to play the banjo on stage. His version of the instrument replaced the gourd with a drum-like sound box and included four full-length strings alongside a short fifth-string. There is no proof, however, that Sweeney invented either innovation. This new... ist Tim O'Brien (musician) Tim O'Brien is an American country and bluegrass musician. In addition to singing, he plays guitar, fiddle, mandolin, banjo, bouzouki and mandocello... , bluegrass Bluegrass music Bluegrass music is a form of American roots music, and a sub-genre of country music. It has mixed roots in Scottish, English, Welsh and Irish traditional music... musician Molly O'Day (singer) Molly O'Day was an American country music vocalist who had some degree of fame and commercial success in the late 1940s. Despite her short recording career, 5 years, she became a legend in her own lifetime... , pioneering country Country music Country music is a popular American musical style that began in the rural Southern United States in the 1920s. It takes its roots from Western cowboy and folk music... vocalist Brad Paisley Brad Douglas Paisley is an American singer-songwriter and musician. His style crosses between traditional country music and Southern rock, and his songs are frequently laced with humor and pop culture references.... , country Country music Country music is a popular American musical style that began in the rural Southern United States in the 1920s. It takes its roots from Western cowboy and folk music... singer and songwriter Psychobilly Psychobilly is a fusion genre of rock music that mixes elements of punk rock, rockabilly, and other genres. It is one of several subgenres of rockabilly which also include thrashabilly, trashabilly, punkabilly, surfabilly and gothabilly... band Don Redman Donald Matthew Redman was an American jazz musician, arranger, bandleader and composer.Redman was announced as a member of the West Virginia Music Hall of Fame on May 6, 2009.... , jazz Jazz Jazz is a musical style that originated at the beginning of the 20th century in African American communities in the Southern United States. It was born out of a mix of African and European music traditions. From its early development until the present, jazz has incorporated music from 19th and 20th... arranger Arranger In investment banking, an arranger is a provider of funds in the syndication of a debt. They are entitled to syndicate the loan or bond issue, and may be referred to as the "lead underwriter". This is because this entity bears the risk of being able to sell the underlying securities/debt or the... and clarinetist Blues Blues is the name given to both a musical form and a music genre that originated in African-American communities of primarily the "Deep South" of the United States at the end of the 19th century from spirituals, work songs, field hollers, shouts and chants, and rhymed simple narrative ballads... performer Michael W. Smith Michael Whitaker Smith is a Billboard top ten Billboard Hot 100 recording artist and Grammy Award-winning American singer-songwriter, composer, and actor. He is one of the best-selling and most influential artists in Contemporary Christian music. Smith also has achieved a considerable amount of... , contemporary Christian music Contemporary Christian music Contemporary Christian music is a genre of modern popular music which is lyrically focused on matters concerned with the Christian faith... star Kix (band) Kix is an American hard rock/heavy metal band who achieved popularity in the late 1980s and early 1990s. Band members continue to tour, recently appearing at the Rocklahoma festival in 2008 in Oklahoma and the M3 Rock Festival in May 2011 in the band's home state of Maryland.-Formation:Kix was... Melvin Wine Melvin Wine was an American old-time fiddler from the state of West Virginia. He lived in Copen, in Braxton County, West Virginia.... , recipient of a National Heritage Fellowship National Heritage Fellowship The National Heritage Fellowship is a lifetime honor presented to master folk and traditional artists by the National Endowment for the Arts. Similar to Japan's Living National Treasure award, the Fellowship is the United States' highest honor in the folk and traditional arts... Frankie Yankovic Frankie Yankovic was a Grammy Award-winning polka musician. Known as "America's Polka King," Yankovic was the premier artist to play in the Slovenian style during a long and successful career.-Background:Of Slovene descent, he was raised in South Euclid, Ohio... , polka Polka The polka is a Central European dance and also a genre of dance music familiar throughout Europe and the Americas. It originated in the middle of the 19th century in Bohemia... musician Bill Withers William Harrison "Bill" Withers, Jr. is an American singer-songwriter and musician who performed and recorded from 1970 until 1985. Some of his best-known songs are "Lean on Me", "Ain't No Sunshine", "Use Me", "Just the Two of Us", "Lovely Day", and "Grandma's Hands"... , Legendary R&B Artist Bobaflex Bobaflex is an American rock band from Point Pleasant, West Virginia. They were part of Gigantour in 2005 and Rock on the Range in 2008.-History:... , nu metal Nu metal Nu metal is a subgenre of heavy metal. It is a fusion genre which combines elements of heavy metal with other genres, including grunge and hip hop... band. |