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Carved from the very foundations of the southern textile
industry, country music was formed by the early twentieth
century genius that was Charlie Poole,
a textile mill worker and banjoist in Spray, North Carolina
(now Eden). Poole and his band, the North Carolina Ramblers
– traveled in 1925 from Spray to New York to make their
first recording for Columbia Records, a hit that went on to
revolutionize American music history. In 1995, members of
the Eden Preservation Society realized the need to recognize
this special heritage, and decided to do so in – the
form of a music festival in Poole’s honor.
The first year was marked by not one, but two, festivals,
with performances mainly by local artists (the area is still
rich with musical talent). After several years, the decision
was made to seek more well-known acts to perform in addition
to the local performers. Many of the true-greats of American
music have graced the stage of the Charlie Poole Music Festival
— Norman & Nancy Blake, Tony Rice, the Osborne Brothers,
J.D. Crowe and Mike Seeger — to name a few.
The tenth anniversary festival held in May, 2005 was honored
to host the release of a wonderful retrospective CD box set
of Poole’s music and influences You Ain’t Talkin’to
Me: Charlie Poole and the Roots of Country Music (Columbia
Legacy) produced by Hank Sapoznik brought to the festival
his popular band The Brooklyn Corn Dodgers.
As the Charlie Poole Music Festival enters its second decade,
it does so with many changes in the works. The most marked
change will be in the overall format shift from a purely-performance
festival to that of a contest, with an emphasis on Poole-style
banjo and related string band instruments. Concerts, though
more limited, will remain a vital part of the festival along
with the excitement of seeing so many wonderful musicians
vying for the title of champions. The festival will now operate
under the auspices of Piedmont Folk Legacies, a non-profit
organization dedicated to the preservation and promotion of
the rich musical tradition native to the North Carolina Piedmont.
We look forward to the future as we remember our special history!
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