Jean Laney Harris Folk Heritage Award Winner joining the lineup for October 18th!

I just spoke with Norma Hughes-Smith and she confirmed she and Alda Smith will be among the Storytellers on the “Front Porch” of the Belton Train Depot on 10/18. Here is a little bit of information on them:

“Traditional Country Music song writer and performer Alda Smith has dedicated his life to preserving and performing the country music traditions that are part of the mill town culture of the South Carolina Piedmont. The youngest son of the late Ralph Smith, Alda Smith traces his regional musical heritage back to the mid-1800s. Born and raised in Greenville County, SC Smith has deep roots in Piedmont culture and has fostered a keen understanding of the musical genres that form traditional country music. Alda has received the Governor's Order of the Palmetto in grateful recognition of his contributions and friendship to the State of South Carolina and her people and received the Jean Laney Harris Folk Heritage Award Winner for advocacy of traditional music in 2007.

As a musician, Smith began playing the Dobro, a modified acoustic guitar, and later played the pedal steel guitar with many groups in the Piedmont. He joined the Nashville Songwriters Association and began playing acoustic and bass guitar, composing and singing. His musical interests and repertoire are varied, but they are laden with the Upstate traditional music popular in the early 1990s.

Organizer and emcee for Bluegrass, Traditional Country and Gospel Music at the Belton Depot’s Music at the Depot (2ⁿ and 4^t Saturdays each month), Norma Hughes-Smith, has developed partnerships with many upstate groups. Music has been an integral part of her life integrating tunes that brought lessons alive in her classroom (as an elementary teacher) for many years. She has encouraged student participation in community events, singing patriotic songs at festivals in the Upstate, exhibit opening performances in Columbia, Anderson, Newport TN, and Belton. Norma's story about the impact of the arts in her life and how she became involved in music was published recently during the SC Arts Commission's 40th Anniversary Celebration.”

Both Alda and Norma will be at the TCMA Upstate’s event all day on 10/18 to share their music and experiences. Remember – tomorrow is our Front Porch Picking in Honea Path. Hope you can join us!

RJ