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Rising Appalachia: Tiny Desk Concert

Rising Appalachia's Tiny Desk Concert is charged with the roots music that sisters Leah Song and Chloe Smith learned in fiddle camps as kids. Growing up in urban Atlanta and beyond, they also heard rhythms from a wider world, and their music grew to reflect new sounds and their activism. When they came to NPR, their van was packed with a bodhrán (Irish drum), an ngoni (West African harp) a huge gourd, a cello, a baritone guitar and more, including the other musicians who make up this wandering, Atlanta-based band: David Brown, Biko Casini, Arouna Diarra and Duncan Wickel.

But American roots music sure seems to be the connecting tissue for this group. They end the set with a song Leah and Chloe "learned from our mama, an old boot-stompin' Appalachian folk tune" called "Cuckoo," where the many worlds of American, Irish and African music and storytelling combine, and Rising Appalachia shines.

SET LIST

  • "Resilient"
  • "Medicine"
  • "Cuckoo"
  • MUSICIANS

    Leah Song: vocals, banjo, bodhrán; Chloe Smith: vocals, guitar, fiddle, banjo; David Brown: baritone guitar; Biko Casini: percussion; Arouna Diarra: ngoni; Duncan Wickel: fiddle, cello

    CREDITS

    Producers: Bob Boilen, Morgan Noelle Smith, Maia Stern; Creative director: Bob Boilen; Audio engineers: Josh Rogosin, Natasha Branch; Editor: Maia Stern; Videographers: Kara Frame, Morgan Noelle Smith, Maia Stern, Jack Corbett; Associate producer: Bobby Carter; Executive producer: Lauren Onkey; VP, programming: Anya Grundmann; Photo: Mhari Shaw

    Copyright 2021 NPR. To see more, visit https://www.npr.org.

    In 1988, a determined Bob Boilen started showing up on NPR's doorstep every day, looking for a way to contribute his skills in music and broadcasting to the network. His persistence paid off, and within a few weeks he was hired, on a temporary basis, to work for All Things Considered. Less than a year later, Boilen was directing the show and continued to do so for the next 18 years.