Asheville News

Asheville Music Hall of Fame in the works

Jason Sandford May 1, 2008

Jason Sandford

Jason Sandford is a reporter, writer, blogger and photographer interested in all things Asheville.

If you haven’t read this week’s Mountain Xpress yet, you need to check out the letters section. There’s a note from Dallas Taylor, who says there’s an effort underway to establish an Asheville Music Hall of Fame.

Dallas says you can email him at [email protected] or catch up with him at AMJAM later this month.

It’s an interesting proposition. Asheville is certainly a tourist destination, and it’s musical cred seems to be building every day. From its country roots to Bob Moog’s synthesizers and everything in between, there could be some potential here.

Think about Roberta Flak. How about Gladys Knight, who now reportedly lives here. There’s Warren Haynes and newbie Tyler Ramsey. R&B artist and big-time producer Jermaine Dupree was born in Asheville.

So there’s plenty of potential. Somebody find out what’s going on with this project – it could be cool.

Jason Sandford

Jason Sandford is a reporter, writer, blogger and photographer interested in all things Asheville.

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3 Comments

Dallas May 14, 2008

Wow,
Never know what you’ll find on a Google search. Well, first thanks. I’ve only been met with positive resistance to this idea that was to encourage me to get my act together. It’s official as far as a business/non-profit goes and the goal will be to provide resources to local musicians including but not limited to a program similar to the http://www.healthallianceforaustinmusicians.org model where they had an impact study of the local musicians on the economy and it determined they bring billions of dollars in every year. There’s no such study that has been done that’s publicly accessible. They’re usually sponsored by the hosting city for other Hall’s of Fame because it does ultimately stimulate the economy, I think our city will eventually come to their senses and help me out. In the meantime I’ll continue my campaign of shameless promotion. Please visit the myspace page with audio from my radio interview on 105.9fm The Mountain by Bad Ash.

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FM May 3, 2008

This is an outstanding idea. A number of musically-rich cities around the country have similar institutions — Nashville, obviously. A lot are geared specifically to the entire state, such as the Georgia Hall; others include Kansas, Alabama, Hawaii, Kentucky, etc. (just googled it.. there’s also one specific to Buffalo of all places…).

The Austin Music Awards (http://www.myspace.com/musicawards) is aligned with the TX Hall and is in its 26th year and counting, and their annual awards ceremony is without a doubt one of the best pure music events I’ve ever attended.

There are enough heritage artists and contemporary-era talents around here to make it a no-brainer for Asheville specifically. Could even reach out and link up with similar institutions or events around the state; in Charlotte, the main public library has a room dedicated exclusively to Carolina music. Let the funding begin.

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Woody May 2, 2008

I think it would be great to honor Asheville’s past and current contributions to the music world!

And don’t forget Asheville’s link to the whole folk revival of the 50’s and 60’s, starting when Pete Seeger accompanied his father as a teenager to the Mountain Dance and Folk Festival in the 30’s, sparking his interest in traditional music.

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