Cheryl Hall and Chuck Adams are a pair of old-time musicians based in Yakima, Washington.
Their band, Gone Fiddling Again, specializes in a genre of North American folk music that some say was born in Appalachia, but it resonates here, too, all the way across the country in the Yakima Valley.
The vocals and strings that exemplify old-time music are but one of the factors that define this genre. The accompanying dances are virtually inseparable from the music itself; the tradition of contra dancing is strongly connected to old-time tunes, carrying inspiration from its Celtic and Appalachian/Ozarks roots. There’s a social factor, too: from Saturday night dances to contra gatherings, people have always met and shared and talked together to these 32-measure rhythms.
Listen to Cheryl and Chuck discuss music as a universal art, and why it’s important to keep art alive in our communities.
