The Sugarlands visitor Center of the Great Smoky Mountains National Park which sits right outside Gatlinburg Tennessee is the place to be April 6 if you want to see Williams and the Victory Trio and April 13 for The Roan Mountain Hilltoppers who will perform their mountain music to a crowd of up to 160 appreciative fans.
Your Smokies would like to express a huge thanks to the Great Smoky Mountains Association for sponsoring these concerts. The concerts are not just so that you can tap your feet and enjoys the sounds of the mountains but the mountain music is also bringing the history of the Smoky Mountains to you.
Long before TV, Ripley's or Dollywood found their ways to the culture of the Smoky Mountains the settlers here had to find ways to entertain themselves. While you can visit Cades Cove and Cataloochee to see the homesteads, barns, churches, grist mills and schools of this bygone era, or walk though the woods and hear the music that nature herself provides, the part of the Smokies experience you are still missing is the music of the people.
The Great Smoky Mountains National Parks concert program kicks off April 6th with Paul Williams who plays the mandolin and other acoustic instruments with the Victory Trio. Paul Williams is from East Tennessee and his music carrier began in the 50's playing bluegrass music with "The Lonesome Pine Fiddlers" and has even been nominated for a Grammy in 2000 in the Best Southern, Country, or Bluegrass Gospel Album category.
On April 13th listen to the Country Music Hall of Fame honorees The Roan Mountain Hilltoppers. This wonderful group was started by 2 brothers Joe and Creed Birchfield who learned Appalachian string music from their parents and neighbors in the early 1900s in the tradition of Roan Mountain in upper East Tennessee. There is even a album of theirs in the permanent collection of the Library of Congress.
You can buy tickets for both concerts which start at 7:00 pm online or by phone for only $10 each. The web site to book tickets with any major credit card for the concert is www.smokiesinformation.org . While you can call (865) 436-7318 ext. 222 to purchase tickets, the Great Smoky Mountains Association asks that you book online and only call if you don't have access to the internet.
