Martha Bassett

Even though 2021 is far from over, the season finale of the Martha Bassett Show is just around the corner. On October 21, I’ll host my last show of the year at the Reeves Theater in Elkin. We’ll take a short break and start up again in February. If all goes well, I plan to increase our number of shows next year, which will be (unbelievably) Season 5! But first I’d like to take stock of this past season. 2021 has been a wild ride. We started the season later than usual, in May, and without live audiences, aside from a few friends that I invited to come and clap for us. Our season premiere featured two North Carolinians, guitarist and composer Colin Allured, and singer-songwriter Lyn Koonce, whose star is on the rise. Following that, we featured EmiSunshine from Tennessee, and North Carolina’s Presley Barker, two young artists who, as teenagers, have already garnered national audiences. American Songster Dom Flemons (of the Carolina Chocolate Drops) came from Chicago to grace our stage, paired with national dulcimer champion Sarah Kate Morgan from Kentucky. I had the pleasure of working with country singer Martha Spencer of Southwestern Virginia for the first time. She was paired with the funky Sam Fribush Organ Trio featuring international guitar god Charlie Hunter. That takes us through June. We were finally able to open for ticketed shows in July, and folks were bubbling with enthusiasm to hear live music again. Our Band (Justin Poindexter and Sasha Papernik) traveled down from New York City and played on the same show as Redd Volkaert, famous for his telecaster magic and membership in Merle Haggard’s band. Next was a high intensity show with the Nashville duo, Wild Ponies, paired with North Carolinian Kyle Caudle. Ben de la Cour came to us from Nashville, and old-time duo Tui from Massachusetts. Guitarist Yasmin Williams traveled from Washington D.C and was paired with the legendary North Carolina singer-songwriter Joe Newberry. Perhaps the longest drive was made by Austin-based artists Carrie Elkin and Danny Schmidt, who played the same night as guitarist Drake Duffer from Winston-Salem and old-time band Gap Civil from Sparta. Somewhere in the middle of all those shows, WUTC in Chattanooga began syndicating our radio show to a large region in Tennessee. In September and early October, we had our first outdoor performances. The Arts Council of Winston-Salem and Forsyth County sponsored the first, which was held at a beautiful amphitheater at Triad Park in Kernersville. We featured Chance McCoy (of Old Crow Medicine Show), Floridian Swamp Sista Beth McKee, and guitarist Presley Barker. (By the way, Chance McCoy will be returning to the Reeves on October 29 to do his own show. Check him out!) On October 2, the Martha Bassett Show hosted a full day of music at Bailey Park in WinstonSalem for IdeasCityWS Festival. There were seven glorious hours featuring Winston-Salem musicians of various genres. I’m most proud that we expanded the number of small Elkin businesses we represent on the show, podcast, and on WFDD to include Dirty Joe’s Coffee, the Smoothie Station, Gwyn and Market Mercantile, the Barkery, Lifestore Insurance, Elk Pharmacy, Yoga on Main, Coley Hall at the Liberty, Angry Troll Brewing, Southern on Main, Yadkin Valley Quilts, the Wisdom Table, & Fruition! Next year we’d like to include local wineries and farms. This community support has meant everything to us. During this whole season we’ve learned to roll with the ups and downs of the ongoing Covid restrictions, and at this point I’m just happy to be able make music with and for other people again. We’ll finish up the season back at our home, the beautiful Reeves Theater, on Oct 21. I hope you’ll come join us live, but if in-person gatherings are not up your alley right now, I hope you’ll tune in to our livestream at www.marthabassetshow.com

We’ll be living into our tag line: Good Music for Good People.

by Gin Denton

THE FREEMAN HOMEPLACE

In the small Surry County community of Round Peak, between Mount Airy and Lowgap, is a little house known as the Freeman Homeplace. Built in the early 1900s, the house became a gathering spot by 1909 for local musicians and square dancers. It then became the place for traveling musicians to stop by. Over the years, the house continued to draw crowds of dancers and musicians and now draws students of music. Chester McMillian is one of the first folks I met when I moved here over a decade ago. He is the caretaker of the historical Freeman Homeplace. By marriage to Polly, who passed away a few years ago, he is a Freeman family member as well. And Chester always has a story to tell about the Freeman home. I met with Chester recently at the house and listened as he told of this legendary homeplace of his father-in-law, Dix Freeman (1908-1995). Dix played old-time clawhammer banjo and his home became a gathering place for music and square dancing. This music we now call Round Peak has Scottish roots, tweaked by the locals to become their own sound. Chester shares stories and lore of the old house as we stand in the yard. Over the years, many musicians have passed through the doors, some known only locally, some famous, and some from faraway places. Musicians from Scotland have come to study the ways of playing their traditional music Round Peak Style. And as the stories go on, Chester says, “Tim O’Brien, do you know him? He’s come through to visit and play.” The entire conversation was a who’s who of local music and stories of how many famous traditional musicians came from this area or came here to learn. Chester tells me about Tommy Jarrell playing at the house, and the Freeman Homeplace was the filming location of a documentary, Sprout Wings and Fly, about Tommy and the Round Peak music. You can preview a short segment of this film on YouTube https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=bDJPnG3RDxU Chester and his son, Nick, keep the sounds alive by competing and teaching Round Peak Style of music. They have both traveled extensively to share their music. Chester has traveled to several National competitions. Something that has always stood out to me is Chester’s banjo. The first five frets have been replaced with a flat piece of metal. When I asked Chester about this, he told me that “back then they would pull radiators out of junk cars, beat the metal down flat, pull the frets out of the banjo and put this chunk of hammered metal in place of the first five frets.” He calls this flat metal fretboard the “cat cries.” This banjo adaption is unique to this area. You can see some of these instruments at the Mount Airy Museum of Regional history, and the Earle Theatre displays more information about the banjos. The first time I saw the Freeman house was over a decade ago when Nick gave us a tour. He told us how they leveled floors with bowls of water. You can only enjoy the house from the outside now, as inside tours are no longer given. I’m grateful for my inside look into Round Peak history those years ago. To see the house, drive to Round Peak Church Road and take Richard Road, it’s a dead-end road, you can’t miss it. It turns to gravel and the house sits near the road. A plaque was dedicated this year to the house and all the history it holds.

November 14th, 1:00 – 5:00 PM The Barn at Heritage Farm

152 Heritage Farm Lane • Dobson, NC 27017

PEDIATRIC STROKE AWARENESS Kids have strokes. Roughly 60% of children who survive will have permanent neurological problems. Our mission for this event is to raise awareness for pediatric stroke and its survivors. We want to show these kids, who feel left out and different, how special they truly are. We want to give God praise and glory for these miraculous children. God has been with these families through the good and the bad. Now - our goal is to share God’s love, one blessing at a time.

MULTIPLE VENDORS J5 Designs Heavenly Hill Honey Glamour Vine Design Sunshine and Honey Starry Night Creations The Farmer’s Daughter Carolina Kudzu Crazy My Sunshine Children’s Boutique And MORE!

DJ Face Painting Hair Braids

50/50 Drawing Giveaway Raffl e & Gun Raffl e

FOOD TRUCKS Cousins Maine Lobster Truck Honey Bee’s BBQ Liz’s Taco T’s Treats Duck Donuts Truck