Balsam Range

Artist Playlist

Genre: Bluegrass

Biography: It has been said that the loudest word in the world is your name, because it is who you are, it is how you have been identified to the world for the length of time you have had your name, and it is a huge part of your self-perception for your whole life. A lot of people who live in Western North Carolina claim the antiquated names of the peaks and valleys and the lakes and rivers of this beautiful part of the Southern Appalachian Mountains as part of their language in ways that might equate to sharing a warm story with an old friend. Place-names can create strong mental images and add building blocks of self-identity that give way to a treasured sense of “where I’m from” or “who I really am.” These feelings of place to which we mountain folk cling help define a majestic home shared by those lucky enough to live here. And these mountain names often undergo a metamorphosis from the memories of “what I’ve experienced here” to virtually become extensions of ourselves.