Music matters. It is the soundtrack of our lives and adds a depth of meaning we ache for as human beings. But how often do we experience music, rather than just consume it? Most of us know how to plug up our earphones, hit a button and music comes out--that's consumption. What if you could pick up an instrument and follow along in a bluegrass jam circle; grab a pint and pull up a chair next to the Irish session players; join in with your daughter at an old-time music contra dance during the Wide Open Bluegrass street festival; or sit down on a Sunday afternoon at the museum and soak up a free hour of live Piedmont blues music? If you live in Raleigh, NC you can! On a regular basis people of all generations come together here to claim their musical birthright by engaging with handmade, homespun, built from scratch North Carolina roots music. PineCone: the Piedmont Council of Traditional Music brings their programming into the community and empowers everyone to be a part of the music, not just as producers (musicians) and consumers (listeners), but as arm-in-arm fellow standard bearers all carrying these traditions forward in a collective circle of musical joy that keeps on giving back. I support PineCone throughout the year as a member, as an annual contributor and as a volunteer because engaging in our own musical legacy is the only way we can keep it alive, make it fresh and relevant to the current human experience and ensure that someday in the future our children will be able to play it forward.
Review from #MyGivingStory