FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE                                        
CONTACT: Cristy Dunn                                                                                                                    
PHONE: 423-957-6346                                                                                                                     EMAIL:cdunnoriginals@hotmail.com                                                                                                    
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LONG JOURNEY HOME 2021
"I'll Fly Away"

                           
Just about as far northeast in Tennessee as you can get, you’ll find a county that is half Cherokee National Forest and half Watauga Lake, where people still get together and play music on their front porches. Nestled within those hills, lies Mountain City (appropriately named), and each year a celebration takes place honoring the iconic Old Time mountain music style that shaped country music as we know it. The three-day Long Journey Home Tour and Festival spans over Labor Day weekend, September 3rd, 4th and 5th. This year’s theme is “I’ll Fly Away”.

This year’s Long Journey Home festival events include

• Buskin’ on Main, a showcase of local and regional acoustic talent playing up and down Main Street followed an outdoor showing of Short Life of Trouble: The Legend of G.B. Grayson, an outdoor film produced by Appalachian Memory Keepers on Friday, September 3rd
• A new downtown interactive mural, I’ll Fly Away, will be unveiled in Downtown Mountain City- Saturday, September 4th
• The Musical Heritage Homecoming Tour showcases authentic Old Time music played at four heritage sites throughout Johnson County by musicians who still carry on the legacy of true mountain music- September 4th

The fun begins on Friday evening with Buskin’ on Main Street. This event brings the small town to life with music, friends, and plenty of good eating. The Long Journey Home Art Show and Quilt Show are always a big hit. Then, Short Life of Trouble: The Legend of G.B. Grayon, a short film by Appalachian Memory Keepers will be shown outdoors at dusk.

Then on Saturday, September 4th, the Musical Heritage Homecoming Tour begins with a performance highlighting the music of G.B. Grayson. The next stop is in downtown Mountain City, where a new interactive mural I’ll Fly Away will be unveiled. This new mural installation is the eighth in a series that honors the rich musical heritage of Johnson County and the latest addition to the Musical Heritage Mural Mile. Guests are encouraged to bring a quilt or lawn chair and be ready to take a trip back in time as you experience Clarence “Tom” Ashley’s signature clawhammer banjo style played right on his front porch by Kenny Price, who learned from Tom himself. Saturday’s tour concludes, as always, at the Fred Price Homeplace, nestled high in the mountains with musical selections from the album, Old Time Music at Clarence Ashley’s, Doc Watson’s first album, now on the National Recording Registry. Long Journey Home closes with a traditional gospel Sunday Singin’ at historic Heritage Hall in downtown Mountain City on Sunday at 2pm. The Musical Heritage Mural Mile and Long Journey Home were made possible in part though funding from East Tennessee Foundation and Tennessee Arts Commission as well as the generosity of community members.
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“It’s about as real as it gets. If you were wondering whether authentic Appalachia still exists, look no further.”
 
For more information, please contact
Cristy Dunn at 423-957-6346 or Evelyn Cook at 423-727-8700
cdunnoriginals@hotmail.com or visit www.longjourneyhome.net.
 

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Fred Price, Clarence "Tom" Ashley, and Clint Howard in the 1960s
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Kenny Price performs clawhammer banjo on the front porch of the Clarence "Tom" Ashley Homeplace as part of the Musical Heritage Tour. Kenny learned directly from Clarence Ashley and was featured on The Ballad of Finley Preston, alongside Fred Price and Clint and Clarence Howard.

WCYB

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