The Sounds of Sweet Music Fills the Barns

The Sounds of Sweet Music Fills the Barns

The view from outside the Barns at Rose Hill.

By John Sherman

Years ago, when my wife, Roma, and I opened the Ashby Inn, we were warned we’d never see any customers “from over the mountain.”

For whatever reason, people from Clarke and Frederick counties were reluctant to head east. I remember sending a note to our small customer base that the dragons that once roamed the Blue Ridges were extinct. “No reason to fear coming through Ashby Gap.”

Today, that reluctance is ironically reversed. Few of my friends had ever stopped short of Costco in Winchester. They never heard of Millwood, with its working mill. Never mind White Post, where Washington, the surveyor, left behind a pivotal marker.

Sad that so few have even heard of the Barns of Rose Hill, arguably the finest music venue between its home in Berryville and Wolf Trap. “Barns of what?”

The Barns was the concept of a small group who raised funds to convert two cow barns into a cultural center.

“We wanted to salvage as much of the original structures as we could to preserve the integrity of their agricultural history. It’s more beautiful than we imagined,” said Diana Kincannon, one of the original “barn raisers” and former board chair.

Morgan Morrison, who plays Appalachian music on her mandolin, has been booking music performances almost since its opening in 2011. She calls venues like the Barns “listening rooms,” as opposed to concert halls and bar rooms. She has performed in many countries and considers the Barns “among the very best.

“What sets us apart from most venues is not only the quality of the music, but the casual and welcoming atmosphere,” she said. “The wonderful acoustics belie the rustic barn timbers.” Performers use a step-up stage which faces an audience of up to 175.

The Barns went dark when the pandemic gained intensity in March. Since then, she’s had to cancel 28 scheduled performances. “We’re still picking up the pieces,” she said. “The worst is the uncertainty. We just hope we can rescue part of the season.”

Morrison’s challenge is to integrate popular tastes with first-rate performers from around the world. A costumed band from Mongolia. An ensemble from Estonia. Scheduled to perform, but cancelled, was a West African who plays the n’goni, a lute covered with animal skins.

“Some of our artists have played Carnegie Hall and Prairie Home Companion,” she added.

Most performances reflect what she calls “root music”—-bluegrass, folk, jazz, blues, Celtic. Performers have included “Blind Boy” Paxton, Corey Harris Band, Bumper Jackson, Dom Flemons. The annual tribute to Patsy Cline is scheduled for September.

The Barns is home of the Rose Hill Chamber Orchestra, whose next performance, “Harpsichord Celebration,” is scheduled for October. Recent performers include pianists Brian Ganz and Marika Bournaki and eight-time Grammy winner Mark O’Connor.

The center also has two art exhibit galleries, featuring national and international artists and regional favorites. A film series features funky to high brow. Thursday nights are reserved for local musicians to jam on bluegrass, old-time and Celtic. Workshops include water color, fiddle playing and poetry.

“Our biggest obstacle is also our biggest asset,” Morrison said. Clarke County, which sits on top of Fauquier, is one of the state’s smallest counties and quite content with its rurality. The Barns is referred to as a “best kept secret.”

That’s the Barns’ challenge—how to introduce its programs to the rest of the region.

“Our sell-outs tend to belong to fans of a particular artist like Celtic fiddler, Martin Hayes,” Morrison said. “We have people who drive from as far away as Ohio and North Carolina. Once people come, we know we’ll get them back.”

The Barns’ annual gala—its major source of support--- will stream September 5 on their website (barnsofrosehill.org). The evening will bring live music, interviews and tributes from artists. An on-line auction will run from August 1 to the gala evening.

“This is the evening that keeps us alive,” Morrison said. “The pandemic has crippled so many of the arts. All we can do is hope that music lovers will go on line and up the bids.”