Bascom Lamar Lunsford Festival

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Bascom Lamar Lunsford, known as the Minstrel of the Appalachians, worked to preserve the cultural heritage of Southern Appalachia at a time when many were running from the region and others were seeking to change it. He practiced law and other professions as a young man before returning to his first love, mountain music and dancing.

From his earliest recollections Lunsford was involved with the making of music and was strongly connected to Mars Hill College. He was the great-grandson of the college founder, Thomas Shepard "Squire" Deaver, and was born on the campus in 1882 on the spot where Cornwell Hall now stands. Lunsford's father taught at Mars Hill College and his mother oversaw one of the residence halls.

In 1967, Lunsford and Mars Hill pharmacist Ed Howard collaborated to bring forth a festival that would differ from the other festivals in the area. The Bascom Lamar Lunsford festival would be a time to preserve and celebrate the music, dance, and crafts that had carried the early settlers through the hard times. Instead of trophies, old songs would be passed to new singers; instead of competition, new players would learn old techniques.

Throughout its 40 years, the Bascom Lamar Lunsford Festival at Mars Hill College has celebrated a particular style of life, shaped by both the beauty and the harshness of the land. Lunsford was the midwife for the rebirth of mountain culture. His legacy is the clear mandate of preserving the pride of the region through its people.

The Festival is just one of the highlights of Lunsford's career. He performed for both Franklin D. Roosevelt at the White House and in England for King George VI and Queen Elizabeth. He recorded his "memory collection" of some 350 songs, tunes, and stories for Columbia University in 1935 and the Library of Congress in 1949. These collections plus some other material make the Lunsford collection at the Library of Congress the largest contribution by a single performer.

Throughout his life, Lunsford maintained close contact with Mars Hill College and donated many of his manuscripts, recordings, and instruments to the school. The Bascom Lamar Lunsford Scrapbook and Ballad Collections are one-of-a-kind treasure in the college's Appalachian Room Archives. His instruments are on display in the Liston B. Ramsey Center for Regional Studies at Mars Hill. Bascom claimed that he first learned banjo picking and ballad singing on the mountain campus, and of all the festivals he founded, this is the only one he allowed to carry his name.

The festival hosts musicians from western North Carolina and the upstate of South Carolina who play mountain music- bluegrass bands, traditional string bands, square dancers, ballad singers, and traditional song writers- grace the Lunsford Stage. The lineup changes yearly to give opportunity to new performers.

The 40th Annual Bascom Lamar Lunsford "Minstrel of the Appalachians" Festival will be held on September 8th, 2007, starting at 7 pm, in Owen Theatre, on the campus of Mars Hill College.

30 and 1 Folksongs from the Southern Mountains, by Bascom Lamar Lunsford and Lamar Stringfield has been reprinted in a limited edition run for this special occasion! The songbook will be on sale at the festival this year. All proceeds will support the Bascom Lamar Lunsford Collection in the Appalachian Room Archives at Mars Hill College.

Tickets are 10$ for adults, 5$ for children, and MHC students get in free with their MHC ID.

For more information about the Bascom Lamar Lunsford Minstrel of Appalachia Festival, contact Karen Paar at 828 689-1262, or at ramseycenter@mhc.edu.