The Opera House Story Sessions

In this episode, I sit down with Mary Sue Burns. She is best known for her Paleozoic banjo picking, shaping young minds, and playing in groups like Juanita Fireball and the Continental Drifters. We will also hear about the first women in banjo and how she found a silver lining in the pandemic when she picked back up the fiddle. --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/story-sessions/support [https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/story-sessions/support]

In this episode, we will hear from my conversation with Dwight Diller. Dwight is a banjo player and teacher known for the "sledgehammer" banjo style and for documenting the stories and songs of the Hammons family. It is because of Dwight and people like Carl Fleischer and Alan Jabbour that we have records of the songs that were born out of these hills and hollers. --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/story-sessions/support [https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/story-sessions/support]

Today we’ll hear from Homer Hunter. Homer is known locally for his tall tales, kindness towards others, and booming voice that he learned later in life to meld and weave into bluegrass tunes — playing and harmonizing with others in a truly special way.  --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/story-sessions/support [https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/story-sessions/support]

Today we’ll hear from Dave Bing, the fiddle-playing brother of the old-time band, The Bing Brothers. We interviewed Mike Bing, the mandolin-playing brother, on an earlier podcast episode. But today, we focus on Dave. Like all the musicians who’ve played for the story sessions, Dave came to the Opera House to bow a little for us and tell stories. Still, Dave has such an immense library of tunes stored in his mind that we did have to take a few breaks — So bear with us as we chat both on stage and off with Dave in this story session. Dave shares tales of the old-time music family, the Hammons, and we chat about how Irish and Scottish tunes have influenced his playing and the dynamic tradition of passing down tunes in person. Our conversation wanders, much like the Williams River, which lured Dave’s father to Pocahontas country when Dave was just three years old. The three boys and their dad would camp on the Williams, known for trout fishing. --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/story-sessions/support [https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/story-sessions/support]

In today's episode, we’ll sit down with Mandolin player Mike Bing. He is one of three brothers who together formed the old-time band, The Bing Brothers, but he is one-of-a-kind. His mandolin chops and the band's prowess have carried him as far away as Ireland and Australia, but his roots are dug deep into the Appalachian soil.  So far on the Story Sessions, we’ve covered both Old Time and Bluegrass musicians, but Mike says the Bing Brothers’ music lies somewhere between both genres. --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/story-sessions/support [https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/story-sessions/support]