GATLINBURG, TN -Great Smoky Mountains National Park and the City of Gatlinburg have announced the “Music of the Mountains” program on Saturday, March 28, 2009, a jointly-sponsored event that celebrates the national park’s 75th anniversary with southern Appalachian music.  The event includes a series of free performances of old-time mountain music during the day at the Park’s Sugarlands Visitor Center and culminates with a ticketed evening concert in Gatlinburg, Tenn., featuring “Jimbo Whaley and Friends”.

The Roan Mountain Hilltoppers will be one of six performances at the Sugarlands Vistor Center celebrating the Park's 75th anniversary with Southern Appalachian music. Photo credit: Roan Mountain Hilltoppers.

The six programs that are scheduled at the Sugarlands Visitor Center require no tickets or reservations and are free.  These programs will be held in the auditorium beginning at 10 a.m. with the last performance scheduled at 4 p.m.  Tickets for the evening performance, which will be held at 6:30 p.m. at Gatlinburg’s W. L. Mills Conference Center, can be purchased online in advance for $20 at www.jimbowhaley.com, or at the door during the evening of the concert for $25.

“‘Music of the Mountains’” began in 2005 and is an ideal way to showcase some of the musical traditions of the southern Appalachian Mountains during this year’s 75th anniversary of the national park which, among other things, is a celebration of the Park rich history and culture,” said Park Superintendent Dale Ditmanson.  Many of the people who lived and farmed in this area traced their ancestry back to the British Isles.  Old World ballads, jigs, reels, and fiddle songs were brought to the New World and passed down through generations.  Tunes and songs changed over the years as new renditions were made, new lyrics added, new instruments used and even different keys added, establishing southern Appalachian music as a true American folk art.

“We have another fabulous lineup of old-time and traditional artists for this year’s program,”,” said Supervisory Ranger Kent Cave. “We want to thank our partners – the City of Gatlinburg and Great Smoky Mountains Association for making it possible to showcase this important part of our Smoky Mountain heritage. We are also happy that Jimbo Whaley, whose family and music are deeply rooted in these mountains, is again a part of the celebration,” Cave said.

The schedules for both the Sugarlands Visitor Center and Gatlinburg performances are:

Sugarlands Visitor Center (free admission)

10:00 a.m. Lost Mill String Band

11:00 a.m. Tony Thomas

12:00 p.m. Dr. Ted Olson

1:00 p.m.   Boogertown Gap

2:00 p.m.   Roan Mountain Hilltoppers

4:00 p.m.   Roger Howell and the Bailey Mountain Ramblers

W.L. Mills Conference Center, Gatlinburg, Tennessee

6:30 p.m.  Jimbo Whaley and Friends (Tickets can be purchased online in

advance for $20.00 at www.jimbowhaley.com or at the door for

$25.00)