Songs and Stories Inspired by the Smoky Mountains
We tell stories. It’s what we do. In every culture across the world, tales get passed from one generation to the next, reinforcing our values or just keeping us entertained. Long before any of those stories got written down, they took on the form of songs. Now story and song traditions are together again during the Lyrics and Lore Weekend taking place from Thursday, January 26 to Sunday, January 29 and being held at Dollywood’s DreamMore Resort in Pigeon Forge.
This public event put on through a joint effort of the Smoky Mountain Songwriter’s Festival and the International Storytelling Center will combine the two arts of storytelling and songwriting into a single weekend of emotion evoking and thought provoking.
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One highlight of the weekend will be the story transformation. Songwriters will listen to a tale and then transform that story into a song. All the efforts will be performed before the Friday night ticketed concert. With so many talented writers hard at work, the resulting wide variety of songs should be a fascinating glimpse into the creative mind.
Folks who want to get their own creative juices flowing can attend a number of different workshops. Whether you’re looking to sharpen your story-crafting ax or you want to set a story to music, you’ll pick up some helpful tips from the many seasoned professionals attending the weekend’s events. You might also learn something during the Q&A session with Brady Seals, Bryan White, and Chad Kennedy, who will be sharing their knowledge about the songwriting business.
Of course both songs and stories are meant to be heard. If you’d rather just sit back and listen, you can attend one of the storyteller matinees or the songwriters showcase concerts.
Each day of the weekend will bring its own special concert. On Friday night songwriters Keith Anderson, Doug Johnson, Scott Reeves, and Bill Labounty will perform. Saturday’s show will feature Brady Seals, Bryan White, and Chad Kennedy. With all that songwriting talent, you’ll want to get your tickets early. Sunday morning attendees can take part in the Hit Writers Praise Hour during the inter-denominational service at the DreamMore Resort.
To be sure, you’ll head home from this festival with a story to tell.
