Since the 1980’s, the Floyd Country Store has been known as a community gathering place built on the celebration of traditional Southern Appalachian music and dance. The Floyd Country Store is renowned as a place to experience authentic Appalachian music and is home to a group of musicians, flatfoot dancers, and cloggers who carry on the local tradition of social music making. Whether picking on the front porch, singing in a neighbor’s kitchen, or dancing at the Floyd Country Store, traditional music continues to bring people together in Floyd.
The Handmade Music School, dedicated to teaching old time, bluegrass, and traditional music and dance from Floyd County, Virginia and throughout the Blue Ridge Mountains. The philosophy of The Handmade Music School is to “hand down” the songs and dances from the teacher to the student, phrase by phrase and step by step, the way it’s been taught in the Blue Ridge Mountains for centuries.
For almost four decades, the Floyd Country Store has been a place where the musical traditions of Appalachia have been enjoyed by audiences coming to the Friday Night Jamboree or shared at a jam session on Sunday afternoon. Now the Floyd Country Store will provide the opportunity to learn directly from these musicians and dancers so we can rest assured that we will all be enjoying these traditions for a long time!
This project is the first of The Handmade Music School's 'Harmonic Heritage' series a recording project preserving the voices of elders singing traditional Appalachian Music in Floyd County, Virginia. Ross Peacemaker is a staple in the community. In his 90's Ross is seen with a guitar in one hand and a chair in another prepared to jam on the streets of Floyd, VA every Friday Night. All proceeds go to The Handmade Music School, an initiative of Floyd Creative Studios, a non-profit, 501(c)3 organization dedicated to the creative process and preservation of traditions in Floyd County, Virginia.
Track Listing:
1. Red Mountain Wine
2. Two Little Boys
3. It Takes One to Know One
4. Old Country Baptizing
5. White Dove
6. ‘Till the End of the World Rolls ‘Round
7. East Virginia Blues
8. Let Me Fly Low
9. Ole Slew Foot
Ross Peacemaker - Vocals
Jesse Smathers - Mandolin and Vocals
Barry Collins - Banjo
Patrick Robertson - Guitar and Vocals
Dylan Locke - Bass
