Historic Asheville Sessions Symposium & Panels

This event is free. No ticket needed—just show up!

Dive deep into the history and legacy of Asheville's landmark 1925 recording sessions with a day of free panels and discussions. The day features a look at "Asheville in 1925" with Katherine Cutshall, Special Collections Manager, Buncombe County Libraries and the art of "Remastering Acoustic Recordings" with Bryan Wright of Rivermont Records. In the afternoon, music historians Ted Olson and Tony Russell will discuss the lasting significance of the sessions. The day concludes with a special "Gathering of Descendants," as relatives of the original recording artists share their family stories and musical legacies.

This event will be held off-site at The Venue, 21 N. Market Street, Asheville.

10:30-Noon
Asheville in 1925 (Katherine Cutshall, Special Collections Manager, Buncombe County Libraries)
Remastering Acoustic Recordings (Bryan Wright - Rivermont Records)

Noon-1:30 pm
Lunch

1:30-3 pm
Significance of the Asheville Sessions (Ted Olson & Tony Russell - music historians and writers of the Asheville Sessions liner notes/booklet)

3:30-5 pm
Gathering of Descendants (descendants of Asheville Sessions recording artists will speak about their relatives, their musical legacy, and their impact & influence on the family lineage)

----------------------

Asheville wrote the first chapter of America’s country music story by producing the earliest commercial recordings of Appalachian music two years before any other city. A century ago, in the heart of downtown Asheville, a mobile recording studio was set up at the George Vanderbilt Hotel to capture the voices of a region rarely heard beyond its mountain borders. Known as “The Asheville Sessions,” the 1925 recordings brought together fiddlers, banjo players, guitarists, ballad singers, and family groups. The recordings became one of the first commercial projects to preserve the musical traditions of Appalachia and helped lay the foundation for what would become American roots and country music.

That legacy didn’t fade. Today, Asheville produces stars like country giant Luke Combs and guitar legend Warren Haynes, alongside a burgeoning generation redefining music for the next century.

Explore Asheville is the presenting sponsor of “The Asheville Sessions: Celebrating 100 years of Americana & Appalachia,” a November weekend filled with concerts and events linking the groundbreaking work of 1925 to the city’s thriving modern music scene. Find more information here about events taking place as part of this program throughout Asheville.