For this edition of Culture Club, our segment devoted to recommendations from local personalities, WFDD's Neal Charnoff sat down with Richard Emmett, co-owner of The Ramkat music venue in Winston-Salem and former program director for the Blue Ridge Music Center in Galax. He now serves as the chief operations officer for the Blue Ridge Parkway Foundation.
His current personal music playlist includes Elle Cordova, a singer-songwriter and lead of the folk rock band Reina del Cid.
He also recommends Ketch Secor, a member of the Old Crow Medicine Show whose latest album is called Story the Crow Told Me. And he's a big fan of Justin Morris, a graduate of Reynolds High School in Winston-Salem, who is now playing in a band called Sluice, based in Durham.
Emmett talks about several books that have influenced his career as a music promoter, including A Guide To The Crooked Road: Virginia's Heritage Music Trail by Joe Wilson, which includes information about the music of the region.
He mentions Clapton's Guitar: Watching Wayne Henderson Build the Perfect Instrument by Allen St. John, which chronicles how the Virginia-based luthier maker constructed an instrument for the legendary guitarist.
And he points to Building Culture: Sixteen Architects on How Museums Are Shaping the Future of Art, Architecture, and Public Space as a book that greatly influenced his thoughts on building community in concert venues.
When asked about what traditional folk songs he would recommend to rock fans, he mentions "Fly Around My Pretty Little Miss/Shady Grove," which dates back to the early 20th century, and "In the Pines," also known as "Where Did You Sleep Last Night?", famously sung by Lead Belly and covered by Nirvana on their MTV Unplugged album.