Old Time Music: The Next Generation
Sweetbriar Jam, Forget-Me-Nots and Carolina Chocolate Drops breathe new life into ancient styles

By Jeff Eason

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When you think of old-time, bluegrass and Celtic musicians, it’s easy to imagine elderly mountain men sitting on a front porch picking tunes on their guitars and fiddles. While there are plenty of good musicians who fit that profile, you might be surprised to learn that those musical styles are still attracting younger musicians, of both genders!

This weekend’s MusicFest ‘n Sugar Grove is a great opportunity to witness what the next generation is doing with the older songs and styles. The festival will showcase three young bands performing three distinctly different styles of music. The Carolina Chocolate Drops specialty is recreating the Piedmont string band music popular at barn dances and socials during the 1930s and 40s. Sweetbriar Jam, from Lenoir, is a four-piece bluegrass outfit that rips through classic tunes such as “Alabama Jubilee.” And the High Country’s own Forget-Me-Nots is a female fiddle trio that plays Celtic and classical string music.

Sweetbriar Jam and the Forget-Me-Nots were on hand at the historic Cove Creek School this past Monday to give organizers and the media a sample of their musical talents. The two bands even joined forces for an impromptu jam session.

Sweetbriar Jam features Sawyer Whitman on banjo, Kaitlyn Caldwell on upright bass, Nicholas Seymour on guitar and Sarah Seymour on fiddle. The band has been together for the past year-and-a-half and has performed at the All America City Festival in Tampa, Florida, the Broyhill Civic Center in Lenoir plus plenty of social and church functions in western North Carolina. In addition to playing classic bluegrass tunes, the band has recently been taking more contemporary country songs and putting a bluegrass spin on them.

The Forget-Me-Nots feature sisters Ledah and Willa Finck and Maura Shawn Scanlin. The trio started playing classical violin in the Suzuki Method at early ages and formed the Celtic group The Forget-Me-Nots six years ago. Over the years the trio has performed at MerleFest and other festivals. These days they are the house band for the Mast Farm Inn in Valle Crucis and will appear in August as part of the Jones House’s Concerts on the Lawn Series in Boone.

Although they are slightly older than the other two bands, the Carolina Chocolate Drops are mighty young to perform the style of music that they do. Rhiannon Giddens, Justin Robinson and Don Flemmons learned how to play Piedmont string band music under the guidance of Joe Thompson, a native of Mebane, North Carolina, thought to be the last African-American traditional string band player in the state. With ties to barn dance music, blues and even a little mountain music, the Piedmont string band sound is uniquely percussive and listeners find it impossible to sit in their seats when the Carolina Chocolate Drops start playing.

Sweetbriar Jam will perform at the MusicFest ‘n Sugar Grove on Saturday, July 12th at 10:10 a.m. The Forget-Me-Nots will perform on Saturday at 11:50 a.m. The Carolina Chocolate Drops will perform on Friday at 7:30 p.m. and again on Saturday at 6:30 p.m.

Tickets are on sale at the gate.