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Sourwood Mountain Dulcimers/John Jacob Niles

I.D. Stamper, a master dulcimer builder and player from Letcher County, Ky., and John McCutcheon, a young musician, play together, swap tunes, discuss musical traditions, and demonstrate the difference between hammered and mountain-style dulcimer. And, a portrait of John Jacob Niles, the adding machine repairman who came to eastern Kentucky in 1909 and became a much-noted "arranger, expander, collector, recorder, and performer" of traditional Appalachian ballads. The film shows Niles in concert, at home, at work arranging his music, and explaining the historical place of balladry in American music.
Season 1 Episode 10 Length 56:40 Premiere: 03/10/11 Rating: TV-G

Appalshop @ 40: Classics from the Collection

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Season 1 Episodes

Beyond Measure
S1 E11 Premiere Date 03/17/11

Sourwood Mountain Dulcimers/John Jacob Niles
S1 E10 Length 56:40 Premiere Date 03/10/11

Harriette Arnow/Ourselves and That Promise
S1 E9 Premiere Date 03/03/11

Nimrod Workman: To Fit My Own Category/Coal Miner: Frank Jackson/UMWA: A House Divided
S1 E8 Premiere Date 02/24/11

Strangers and Kin
S1 E6 Premiere Date 02/10/11

Buffalo Creek: An Act of God/Buffalo Creek Revisited
S1 E5 Premiere Date 02/03/11

Hand Carved
S1 E4 Premiere Date 01/27/11

Coalmining Women/In Ya Blood
S1 E3 Premiere Date 01/20/11

Big Lever
S1 E2 Premiere Date 01/13/11

Sunnyside of Life
S1 E1 Premiere Date 01/06/11

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Harriette Arnow/Ourselves and That Promise - S1 E9

Premiered On: 03/03/2011

In interviews filmed not long before her death, Harriette Simpson Arnow, author of the "The Dollmaker", describes the basic biographical details of her life and reveals the difficulties of being a writer, a wife, and a mother. And. three contemporary Kentuckians, James Still, Robert Penn Warren, and Billy Davis, discuss their work and its relationship to the environment in which they live. A 2011 Production.

  • Thursday March 5, 2026 8:00 am ET on KETKY
  • Thursday March 5, 2026 7:00 am CT on KETKY

Sourwood Mountain Dulcimers/John Jacob Niles - S1 E10

Premiered On: 03/10/2011

I.D. Stamper, a master dulcimer builder and player from Letcher County, Ky., and John McCutcheon, a young musician, play together, swap tunes, discuss musical traditions, and demonstrate the difference between hammered and mountain-style dulcimer. And, a portrait of John Jacob Niles, the adding machine repairman who came to eastern Kentucky in 1909 and became a much-noted "arranger, expander, collector, recorder, and performer" of traditional Appalachian ballads. The film shows Niles in concert, at home, at work arranging his music, and explaining the historical place of balladry in American music. A 2011 Production.

  • Thursday March 12, 2026 8:00 am ET on KETKY
  • Thursday March 12, 2026 7:00 am CT on KETKY

Beyond Measure - S1 E11

Premiered On: 03/17/2011

Explores the interplay between culture and economy while looking at the economic history of the Appalachian region. Focusing primarily on current events, the film puts the challenges of large-scale job loss in historical context and documents efforts of citizens to rebuild their communities. A 2011 Production.

  • Thursday March 19, 2026 8:00 am ET on KETKY
  • Thursday March 19, 2026 7:00 am CT on KETKY

Sunnyside of Life - S1 E1

Premiered On: 01/06/2011

Celebrates the legacy of the country music dynasty of the Carter Family by focusing on the Carter Family Fold in Maces Spring, Va., an old-time music hall founded in 1975 by Janette, Joe, and Gladys, the children of A.P. and Sara Carter. The film features Saturday night performances at the Fold by such artists as the Home Folks, Red Clay Ramblers, and Hot Mud Family. The film also includes a history of the Carter Family. A 2011 Production.

  • Thursday March 26, 2026 8:00 am ET on KETKY
  • Thursday March 26, 2026 7:00 am CT on KETKY
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Nimrod Workman: To Fit My Own Category/Coal Miner: Frank Jackson/UMWA: A House Divided - S1 E8

  • Thursday February 26, 2026 8:25 am ET on KETKY
  • Thursday February 26, 2026 7:25 am CT on KETKY

Strangers and Kin - S1 E6

  • Thursday February 12, 2026 8:38 am ET on KETKY
  • Thursday February 12, 2026 7:38 am CT on KETKY

Buffalo Creek: An Act of God/Buffalo Creek Revisited - S1 E5

  • Thursday February 5, 2026 8:00 am ET on KETKY
  • Thursday February 5, 2026 7:00 am CT on KETKY

Hand Carved - S1 E4

  • Thursday January 29, 2026 8:30 am ET on KETKY
  • Thursday January 29, 2026 7:30 am CT on KETKY
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