Join us for our third year!

The origin of bluegrass music can be traced to the people who came to America in the 1600s from Ireland, Scotland, and England and brought with them basic styles of music that are generally considered to be the roots of modern bluegrass music.  As the settlers began to move out into North and South Carolina, Tennessee, Kentucky, Virginia, and West Virginia, they wrote songs about daily life in the new land. 

Since most of these people lived in remote areas, many of the songs reflected life on the farm or in the hills.  This music was often referred to as country, hillbilly, or mountain music.  Its development included the blending of elements from gospel music and the blues music that was prominent among people of African origin who lived in the Mississippi Delta region.  The invention of the phonograph and the onset of radio in the early-to-mid 1900s brought this music out of the hills and into the homes of people all over the United States.