Participation Type
Panel
Session Title
Session 2.11 Music
Presentation #1 Title
Rising Appalachia: Shaping the Appalachian Imaginary through Music, Materiality, and Activism
Presentation #1 Abstract or Summary
Rising Appalachia is a musical group started by two sisters, Chloe and Leah Smith, who were born and raised in Atlanta, Georgia. Influenced by Appalachian string music, as well as hip hop, gospel, jazz, and all kinds of roots music, they have developed an innovative performance style that crosses musical boundaries and reflects and shapes the contemporary Appalachian imaginary. In addition to their musical performances, they have formed a community activist group called the RISE Collective, which combines diverse artistic collaborations among global performers, activists, youth educators, dancers, circus artists, yoginis, acrobats, fire spinners, poets, aerialists, cultural workers and others who perform at music festival, rallies and street parties and hold sound education workshops at youth centers, schools, prisons and other venues. This panel explores several dimensions of Rising Appalachia and their contributions to contemporary imaginations of Appalachia as a region and as a metaphor of the region’s continual “rise” and place in larger America’s imagined landscape. Using various interdisciplinary approaches, panelists bring such topics as musical genres and innovation, transcending borders, material culture, race and gender into discussions of Appalachian identity in a global world.
At-A-Glance Bio- Presenter #1
Elizabeth Fine is a Professor in the Department of Religion and Culture, specializing in Appalachian Studies, oral traditions, multicultural communication, and performance studies.
At-A-Glance Bio- Presenter #2
Jordan Laney is a doctoral student in (ASPECT) the Alliance for Social, Political, Ethical, and Cultural Thought at Virginia Tech, with concentrations in cultural and political theory.
At-A-Glance Bio- Presenter #3
Brittany Walker is an undergraduate student at Virginia Tech, majoring in Human Development, and a member of Soulstice, an a capella music group at Virginia Tech.
At-A-Glance Bio- Presenter #4
Michael Saffle is Professor of Music and Humanities in the Department of Religion and Culture, Virginia Tech.
Rising Appalachia: Shaping the Appalachian Imaginary through Music, Materiality, and Activism
Harris Hall 234
Rising Appalachia is a musical group started by two sisters, Chloe and Leah Smith, who were born and raised in Atlanta, Georgia. Influenced by Appalachian string music, as well as hip hop, gospel, jazz, and all kinds of roots music, they have developed an innovative performance style that crosses musical boundaries and reflects and shapes the contemporary Appalachian imaginary. In addition to their musical performances, they have formed a community activist group called the RISE Collective, which combines diverse artistic collaborations among global performers, activists, youth educators, dancers, circus artists, yoginis, acrobats, fire spinners, poets, aerialists, cultural workers and others who perform at music festival, rallies and street parties and hold sound education workshops at youth centers, schools, prisons and other venues. This panel explores several dimensions of Rising Appalachia and their contributions to contemporary imaginations of Appalachia as a region and as a metaphor of the region’s continual “rise” and place in larger America’s imagined landscape. Using various interdisciplinary approaches, panelists bring such topics as musical genres and innovation, transcending borders, material culture, race and gender into discussions of Appalachian identity in a global world.
