Sharp’s Appalachian Harvest
Jeff Davis and Brian Peters
Sharp’s Appalachian Harvest is a special multimedia folk music show researched and
performed by England’s Brian Peters and Jeff Davis, of the USA.
Their presentation is devoted to the astounding collection of songs and music made by
Cecil Sharp and Maud Karpeles in the Southern Appalachians over three summers in
1916, 1917 and 1918. The English folklorists had ventured into the heart of the
mountains to seek out old British ballads still being sung in remote mountain
settlements, and their haul of over sixteen hundred pieces is one of the greatest folk
song collections ever made.
In their presentation, Jeff and Brian, two respected performers and researchers of
traditional song and music, sing and play some of the musical highlights of Sharp’s
harvest, accompanied by readings from his diaries describing vividly the hardships
and triumphs of song collecting, and a display of his terrific photographs of the singers
and of mountain life. The music ranges from old ballads to American breakdowns,
dance tunes, children’s songs and gospel, performed by Jeff and Brian on banjo,
fiddle, guitar, and a variety of other instruments.
“The best presentation of this kind that I’ve heard in years”. Roy Palmer, folklorist.
Jeff Davis is a singer and musician from the USA with a towering reputation for
performing traditional songs and music. A superb banjo and fiddle player, and a
singer with a rare touch of authenticity, Jeff’s admirers range from The Copper Family
to Tim O’Brien. He also has a following amongst the British old-time music
community. Jeff has appeared at UK festivals including Whitby, Cheltenham,
Bromyard, Fylde and Towersey, and has an equally high reputation amongst lovers of
traditional music in the US, where he is an occasional member of Cordelia’s Dad. He
was deeply involved with the ‘Songlinks’ project on Fellside Records, and was
interviewed by Vic Smith for a feature in fROOTS’ July 2012 issue.
“A consummate singer and musician… a great banjo player and a superb fiddler.”
fRoots
Brian Peters is a leading solo performer of English songs and music, a powerful
singer and an excellent player of anglo concertina and melodeon, as well as guitar and
mandolin. He is well-known for seeking out unusual traditional repertoire. Brian has
played most of the major UK folk festivals, from Sidmouth to Celtic Connections, and
his presentation on the Child Ballads, ‘Songs of Trial and Triumph’ has been highly
successful. He also has a very strong reputation in North America, where he has
tutored at Summer Schools including Swanannoa and Augusta in the Appalachian
region (where he shared songs with descendents of Sharps’ informants such as Sheila
Kay Adams), has played many US festivals and concerts, and was the subject of a
major article in the 2012 issue of ‘Sing Out!’ magazine.
“A singer with a compelling style, an accomplished guitarist, a concertina player of
repute, and one of the country’s finest melodeon players… a man of considerable
talent.” English Dance & Song