Across the Blue Ridge #152 - The New Ballard’s Branch Bogtrotters

Fiddler Eddie Bond of the New Ballard's Branch Bogtrotters has received a 2018 National Heritage Fellowship from the National Endowment for the Arts. The award recognizes tradition bearers for their outstanding artistry and for both preserving traditions and moving them forward. On this encore broadcast, we hear a fabulous Muddy Creek Music Hall stage performance from The New Ballard's Branch Bogtrotters, one of the finest mountain string bands performing today. Hailing from southwest Virginia, the band is a dyed-in-the-wool old time group with a stylish sound and a driving beat you will love. Its name harks back to the original Bogtrotters, a highly popular band of the 1930s and 1940s centered around the famously musical Ward family of Ballard's Branch. The current band's founder, Dennis Hall, can lay good claim to the name: He was raised practically steps from the home of one of the original Bogtrotter fiddlers, and he's played since childhood. Hear the music and the history, plus a hilarious story from fiddler Eddie Bond about how he came to reconcile traditional religion with playing “the Devil's Box” – the fiddle.  

Playlist

1. Sugar Hill
   The Buck Mountain Band
   The Original Bogtrotters
   Biograph
    
2. Polly Put The Kettle On
   The New Ballard's Branch Bogtrotters
   Same Branch, Different Trotters
   Heritage
    
3. Pole Cat Blues
   The New Ballard's Branch Bogtrotters
   ATBR recording
    
4. Red Rocking Chair
   The New Ballard's Branch Bogtrotters
   ATBR recording
    
5. Lee Highway Blues
   The New Ballard's Branch Bogtrotters
   ATBR recording
    
6. Hop Light Ladies
   The Bogtrotters
   The Original Bogtrotters
   Biograph
    
7. Break 1 - Cluck Old Hen
   The Bogtrotters
   The Original Bogtrotters
   Biograph
    
8. Susan Anna Gal
   The New Ballard's Branch Bogtrotters
   ATBR recording
    
9. Staggerlee
   The New Ballard's Branch Bogtrotters
   ATBR recording
    
10. Interview - The New Ballard's Branch Bogtrotters
    ATBR recording
     
11. John Brown's Dream
    The New Ballard's Branch Bogtrotters
    ATBR recording
     
12. Break 2 - Piney Woods Girl of North Carolina
    The Bogtrotters
    The Original Bogtrotters
    Biograph
     
13. The Sweetest Gift
    The New Ballard's Branch Bogtrotters
    ATBR recording
     
14. Durang's Hornpipe
    The New Ballard's Branch Bogtrotters
    ATBR recording
     
15. Reuben's Train
    The New Ballard's Branch Bogtrotters
    ATBR recording
     
16. Jimmy Sutton
    The New Ballard's Branch Bogtrotters
    ATBR recording