Week Two of America's Music is centered on the fast picking and high-pitched singing of the branch of country music known as "bluegrass". We will watch about an hour of "High Lonesome", which shows how bluegrass music evolved from it's rural roots during the Twentieth Century. If you are not familiar with bluegrass, "High Lonesome" is a great introduction to this style of music. If you are already a fan, you will be thrilled by the musical gems included in this cinematic time capsule. In either case, I hope you will join us to view the film and discuss it with UT musicologist Caroline O'Meara at the Terrazas Branch at 6:30 p.m. on Tuesday, April 2. For more information about bluegrass and the film "High Lonesome" click here.
Photos shows: Bill Monroe and his Bluegrass Boys in the mid-1940s, from the film High Lonesome - The Story of Bluegrass Music.
America’s Music: A Film History of Our Popular Music from Blues to Bluegrass to Broadway is a project of the Tribeca Film Institute in collaboration with the American Library Association, Tribeca Flashpoint, and the Society for American Music. America’s Music has been made possible by a major grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities: Exploring the Human Endeavor.”
On Tuesday, March 26th at 6:30 p.m., the Terrazas Branch is starting America’s Music with "Swing Jazz." An excerpt from the "Swing" chapter from Ken Burn’s series, "Jazz," will give an overview of the period. Then we zoom in on the first racially integrated all-women band in the U.S., the International Sweethearts of Rhythm. We are delighted to announce that Sherrie Tucker, author of Swing Shift: "All-Girl" Bands of the 1940s, is in Austin then; so she will introduce that night’s films and lead our discussion. Celebrate Women's History Month and hear some great music while learning more about how American women contributed to this chapter in the history of America's popular music.
