Been a minute! I’m the type of country singer that tries to be doing country sh!t every minute I’m off the road (and subsequently off work) so social media and uploading in general have taken a backseat this year as I haunt the swimming holes instead of comment sections.
This tune is a special one for a variety of reasons, but I’d like to share a fun fact or two about “Fort Smith Breakdown”, the 1920’s stringband recording I’m covering in this video. This fiddle tune is often cited as one of a few that are truly unique to the US interior highlands, however, Luke Highnight was neither from the Ozarks, nor the fiddler on this recording. Apparently his name was misspelled on the original album release, and Luke HIGnight actually hailed from the foothills of the Ouachita (‘washitaw’) mountains of central Arkansas, and is in fact playing banjo and a harmonica simultaneously on the recording. As someone who also spent his formative childhood years in rural Ouachita country, I was stoked to learn this beloved example of Arkansas stringband music was in fact rooted in the same piney southern ridges as my musical lineage, and goes to show you the lens of history is often a warped one. Also worth noting Fort Smith is symbolically important as the end point of the trail of tears, and highlights the need to be honest about the legacy or civil war, removal and enslavement that define the southern experience. Though always warped, if your version of history only makes you feel good about yourself, there’s a pretty good chance that’s not history. Thanks for jamming and reading and we’ll see you out on the road this summer 💜🔥💜🔥💜