Taking Root

MOUNT AIRY

Bluegrass and old-time music reign in and near Mount Airy. The late Tommy Jarrell fiddled his way to stardom here, and his successors are showcased in weekly jam sessions at the Andy Griffith Playhouse and each Saturday on "Merry-Go-Round," a live-music show that has aired on WPAQ (740-AM) since 1948.

But other genres of American roots music are also setting down or deepening roots here -- most notably in a traveling exhibition on view through April 24 at the Mount Airy Museum of Regional History on Main Street.

The exhibition is called "New Harmonies: Celebrating American Roots Music." It's the latest "New Harmonies" presentation about roots music in the "Museum on Main Street" program of the Smithsonian Institution. The institution joined forces with the N.C. Humanities Council to bring "New Harmonies" to Mount Airy and five other rural communities in North Carolina through Dec. 29.

"With ‘New Harmonies,' our state can flex its musical muscle," said Darrell Stover, the N.C. Humanities Council's statewide coordinator of "Museum on Main Street."

"North Carolina is rich in musical heritage," he said, referring to the state's contributions to such genres as old-time, rockabilly, R&B, jazz, Piedmont blues, traditional gospel, hip-hop and bluegrass. "We have it all, and ‘New Harmonies' allows us to put our unique musical legacy on display."

The "New Harmonies" concept has been around for several years, having manifested itself in one way or another in several states across the country. The Mount Airy museum is launching the first "New Harmonies" in North Carolina.

"It's a huge opportunity for us to engage a new audience within our community," said Matt Edwards, the director of the Mount Airy Museum of Regional History. "That Smithsonian name affiliation has the potential to attract folks to the museum who might not otherwise have come here before. The goal is to create something for everyone and get people in the door. The Smithsonian name does that."

The "New Harmonies" that opened March 13 in Mount Airy occupies about one-third of the museum's third floor, sharing space with two Model T cars and several other galleries, including one for children and another that is presenting an exhibition called "White Liquor and Dirt Tracks: The Origins of NASCAR."

"New Harmonies" reconsiders the Mount Airy area's homegrown musical legacy within a fuller, more diverse panorama of sounds: A display of photos and other memorabilia devoted to Jarrell stands by interactive kiosks, with each exploring a different genre, including blues, country, folk and gospel.

"This is one of the best-prepared traveling exhibits I've seen," Edwards said. "Most people who are music buffs tend to be music buffs in a genre. (This) helps you to draw some connections between some things you might not have realized were there."

Such as how spirituals evolved into the blues. Or how the banjo originated in Africa and eventually became a staple of traditional mountain music.

"New Harmonies" marries photos and concise-yet-scholarly explanatory notes with several opportunities to engage with the exhibition in a hands-on fashion:

In addition to hearing music at several listening stations, visitors can also pluck a banjo, clack spoons together or play a diddley bow (described by Edwards as "a one-string slide guitar built on the side of a house").

They can turn on a vintage radio to listen to recorded excerpts of Grand Ole Opry shows from the distant past. Or by pushing several buttons, they can hear how the accordion sounds in different dance-music settings, including zydeco, tejano (from Mexico), polkas and klezmer.

Edwards welcomed the hands-on nature of "New Harmonies" and encouraged visitors of all ages to take advantage of it.

"So often we think of museums as stuffy, quiet, don't-touch kind of places," he said. "We're trying to engage the public and get them excited about museums, excited about learning and experiencing things in museums. It's much easier to experience something if you can touch it."

kkeuffel@wsjournal.com.
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