By Jennifer A. Bauer | This is the first story in a series to commemorate the 250th anniversary of the founding of the United States of America. | Many years prior to the ratification of the Declaration of Independence, hunters, settlers, and folks from many walks of life were exploring what laid beyond the mountains and lands west of the British colonies. This story is about the people who established the first settlement, the Watauga Settlement, which declared its independe

By Ted Olson | A conversation with Rodney Dillard | When the members of The Dillards first left Salem, Missouri, in 1962, they did not know they were a cutting-edge roots music band charting a path for so many others. The band was helped by a fortuitous early stop at what has become the world’s favorite fictional Appalachian town, where “the Darlings” live on as permanent visitors from nearby hills.

By Becky Pendergraft Parsons | The office of Grammy-nominated songwriter, artist, and educator Thomm Jutz is unassuming. Inside Belmont University’s Mike Curb College of Entertainment and Music Business building on Nashville’s Music Row, a guitar leans against the windowsill. His Master of Arts in Appalachian Studies degree hangs behind a modest desk outfitted with a computer and two studio speakers. The room is spare, functional, and revealing: Jutz prioritizes music and con

By Ophelia Wagner | Acclaimed Appalachian poet and novelist Ron Rash visited East Tennessee State University in April as the keynote speaker for The Bert C. Bach Written Word Initiative’s 10th Annual Spring Literary Festival at ETSU on April 21-22. Hosted by ETSU’s Literature and Language department, the festival welcomed writers such as Rose McLarney, Juan Martinez, and Nickole Brown for poetry and prose readings and public conversations. 

On April 7, East Tennessee State University’s campus was buzzing with showcases of local culture and traditions. Mountain Made, an Appalachian folk festival hosted by the ETSU SGA, Department of Appalachian Studies, and Buctainment, ETSU’s student life organization. The event is a callback to the ETSU campus culture of the 1960s and ’70s, when folk festivals were held on campus every year. Students, faculty, and visitors could find activities and performances throughout campu