Ralph Stanley and His Clinch Mountain Boys, along with such acts as the Packway Handle Band and the High Strung String Band, at the Fifth Annual Classic City American Music Festival. 4-11 p.m. July 4. $25; $20 in advance; $15 students with a valid student ID; ages 12 and under free. The event will take place rain or shine at The Melting Point inside the Foundry Park Inn and Spa, 295 E. Dougherty St., Athens. 706-254 -6909, www.MeltingPointAthens.com
To see Ralph Stanley performing "Wayfaring Stranger" with Pretty Lights, see www.youtube.com/watch?v=XqMGKf4qSSw
In the year 2000, the Coen brothers movie “O Brother, Where Art Thou?” brought traditional country, shape-note and bluegrass music to the ears of a new generation of fans and sparked the second great flowering of string band music.
The movie featured performances by a stellar group of musicians, including Emmylou Harris and Gillian Welch, but the standout number was a haunting ballad by bluegrass forefather Ralph Stanley, singing an a cappella version of “O Death.” Stanley’s high lonesome tenor, his deep mountain dialect, the stark horror of the lyrics put the chill of the grave on the tune.
It also propelled the then 73-year-old musician to a new level of recognition.
“My show dates, they just about doubled,” said the southwest Virginia native, who plays in Athens on July 4 for the 5th Annual Classic City American Music Festival. “It took me places I’d never been; that just changed me all around.”
Something that didn’t change was the authenticity of Stanley’s singing and banjo playing, which stays the same whether he’s performing with His Clinch Mountain Boys or recording a psychedelic collage with Pretty Lights.
The fact that Stanley, now 86, is sought out by the electro-dance crowd shouldn’t surprise. Stanley’s music speaks across generations. He will share the stage in Athens with artists the age of his grandchildren and many younger bands, including the Avett Brothers and Mumford & Sons, draw on the tradition that offers Stanley as perhaps its greatest living exemplar.
He spoke with The Atlanta Journal-Constitution recently from his home in the mountains near the Kentucky line.
Q: How do you like sharing the stage with a lot of 20-something musicians?
A: They like what I do. … That tickles me. I'm glad and I have been in this business a long time, maybe 60 years. I'm glad the Lord has blessed me to be able to still sing. I'm 86 years old and not too many people can get out there and do it at that age.
Q: What makes you keep touring?
A: You still have to live. I spend money at my age, same as you do. There's still bills to pay. Livin's high.
Q: How many gigs do you play a year?
A: Probably 100 or so. I still play two or three days a week most of the time. … I like it as long as I stay able.
Q: You convinced T-Bone Burnett to let you record an a cappella version of “O Death.” Why did you want to do it that way?
A: It just felt better that way. I thought it would better not to have any instrument or anything to take away from what I had to say. I'm real proud of it.
Q: Will you be playing three-finger style at this show in Georgia?
A: I don't play any three-finger anymore. I play claw-hammer. My fingers got a little stiff on me. I didn't feel I could do it as good as I used to and there's so many that likes the claw-hammer style, it seems to satisfy the people. The public seems to like it that way. And that's the way I started.
Q: You campaigned for Barack Obama for president. Looking back, are you glad you did?
A: I don't know. I don't think that hurt me too bad. But you know, everybody don't like Obama or me or nobody else. There's some that like him and some that don't.
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