This week, in the 1920s, Oscar Micheaux was an entrepreneur filmmaker in western Virginia. He became a world-renowned director and producer. Also, Kentucky’s poet laureate lives down the road from what has been called the country’s most lethal cryptid. Attempts to spot it have led to deaths. And, we talk soul food with Xavier Oglesby, who’s passing on generations of kitchen wisdom to his niece.
A Fiddler Contemplates The Fate Of The Mountain State
Photo Credit: Jordan Beck
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Phillip Bowen grew up playing the fiddle. The 38-year-old learned classical violin as well as how to improvise on the fiddle, combining musical styles and genres. Now, he’s turned to songwriting, becoming a phenomenon on social media. Bowen releases his first album soon, with a wide range of offerings.
Us & Them host Trey Kay talks with Bowen about his music and the songs that focus on memories of things past as well as the Mountain State reality of today. Bowen sings about his small hometown of Montgomery along the Kanawha River; another song mourns the loss of family members, while yet another may just steal the show.
“Vampire in Appalachia” offers a heartbreaking look at the ways his native state has become overshadowed by black lung illness from the coal industry and an opioid crisis that continues to take lives.
This episode of Us & Them is presented with support from the West Virginia Humanities Council, the Daywood Foundation and the CRC Foundation.
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Listen to Philip Bowen’s entire performance on Mountain Stage. He appeared on Jan. 8, 2023 at a show recorded at the Culture Center Theater in Charleston, West Virgnia. Also on the lineup were: Tim O’Brien Band, David Mayfield Parade, Dirty Grass Players and Lauren Calve.
Kathy Mattea introduces West Virginia native Philip Bowen to a packed auditorium at a recording of West Virginia Public Broadcasting’s Mountain Stage. Credit: Chris Morris/Mountain StagePhilip Bowen performing his original tunes about West Virginia with the Mountain Stage Band. Credit: Chris Morris/Mountain Stage
“There’s a vampire in Appalachia and we’re running out of blood.” — Montgomery, West Virginia native Philip Bowen.
Watch a video of Philip Bowen performing ”Vampire in Appalachia” live on Mountain Stage.
Gary Bowen, of Montgomery, West Virginia, shows the tiny violin that his son Philip learned to play when he was four years old. Credit: Trey Kay/West Virginia Public Broadcasting
This Charleston Gazette clipping features 10-year-old Philip Bowen performing in a fiddle competition at the Vandalia Gathering. The gathering is an Appalachian folk arts festival that’s been held every Memorial Day Weekend on the grounds of the West Virginia State Capitol since 1977. Credit: Trey Kay/West Virginia Public Broadcasting
Lou Ann and Gary Bowen in the parlor of their home in Montgomery, West Virginia. Their house sits on the bank of the Kanawha River, which is the subject of their son’s song “Old Kanawha.”Credit: Trey Kay/West Virginia Public BroadcastingFor 40 years, Larry Groce has vetted acts for the popular radio program Mountain Stage, a show that he co-founded. Groce says he loves a good fiddler.
“You know, a fiddle is probably the closest thing to a human voice expression, because you can do so much with the fiddle. You can make it cry, You can make it laugh,” Groce told Us & Them host Trey Kay. “To me, the very best people are the most expressive. It’s not the ones who can play the fastest, not the ones who can, you know, impress you with their gymnastics. It’s the people who talk to you with their instrument and make you feel like you’re experiencing something that’s almost a physical place… I think Philip understands what his licks mean and why he’s playing them… He can play well. But I think he’s got the heart and the soul is his strong suit.”
Credit: The Charleston Gazette-MailAfter Philip Bowen’s debut performance on Mountain Stage, host Kathy Mattea congratulates him with a hug. Credit: Chris Morris/Mountain Stage
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On this West Virginia Week, residents demand action on energy bills, the Hope Scholarship bill moves forward and changes to homeschooling requirements meets resistance.
This week, in the 1920s, Oscar Micheaux was an entrepreneur filmmaker in western Virginia. He became a world-renowned director and producer. Also, Kentucky’s poet laureate lives down the road from what has been called the country’s most lethal cryptid. Attempts to spot it have led to deaths. And, we talk soul food with Xavier Oglesby, who’s passing on generations of kitchen wisdom to his niece.
On this episode of The Legislature Today, bills must be out of their respective committees by Sunday to be able to meet crossover day next Wednesday, and lawmakers are still working their way through next fiscal year’s budget. Also, we speak with Emmett Pepper, the policy director for Energy Efficient West Virginia, to learn about the Ratepayers Bill of Rights.
Photo Credit: Jordan Beck
