The Carter Family Fold is a musical performance and concert venue located near Hiltons, Virginia. It is dedicated to the preservation and performance of old time country and

bluegrass music Bluegrass music is a genre of American roots music that developed in the 1940s in the Appalachian region of the United States. The genre derives its name from the band Bill Monroe and the Blue Grass Boys. Like mainstream country music, it la ...

. It is named in honor of the original

Carter Family Carter Family was a traditional American folk music group that recorded between 1927 and 1956. Their music had a profound impact on bluegrass, country, Southern Gospel, pop and rock musicians as well as on the U.S. folk revival of the 1960s. ...

, A.P., Sara, and Maybelle, who were among the earliest recording artists in

country music Country (also called country and western) is a genre of popular music that originated in the Southern and Southwestern United States in the early 1920s. It primarily derives from blues, church music such as Southern gospel and spirituals, o ...

, with their first records on

RCA Victor RCA Records is an American record label currently owned by Sony Music Entertainment, a subsidiary of Sony Corporation of America. It is one of Sony Music's four flagship labels, alongside RCA's former long-time rival Columbia Records; also Ar ...

being released in 1927. The Fold was founded by

Janette Carter Janette Carter (July 2, 1923 – January 22, 2006), daughter of musicians A.P. and Sara Carter, was an American musician involved in the preservation of Appalachian music. Carter was born on July 2, 1923, in Maces Spring, Virginia. She and he ...

, daughter of A.P. and Sara Carter, in 1979. Janette Carter directed the center and served as master of ceremonies and performer at the Saturday night shows, often accompanied by her brother Joe, until her death in 2006. Her daughter, Rita Forrester, now fulfills that role. The Fold presents weekly concerts. To stay true to musical preservation, no electric instruments are allowed (although this rule was often set aside for performances by singer

Johnny Cash John R. Cash (born J. R. Cash; February 26, 1932 – September 12, 2003) was an American Country music, country singer-songwriter. Much of Cash's music contained themes of sorrow, moral tribulation, and redemption, especially in the later s ...

, a Carter family in-law).

Smoking Smoking is a practice in which a substance is burned and the resulting smoke is typically breathed in to be tasted and absorbed into the bloodstream. Most commonly, the substance used is the dried leaves of the tobacco plant, which have bee ...

and

drinking Drinking is the act of ingesting water or other liquids into the body through the mouth, proboscis, or elsewhere. Humans drink by swallowing, completed by peristalsis in the esophagus. The physiological processes of drinking vary widely among ...

are prohibited in the venue. Most of the participating performers at the Fold are not famous outside the communities of bluegrass and old-time country music. However, Johnny Cash performed at the Fold many times, and played his last concert there on July 5, 2003, a few months before his death. Cash's wife,

June Carter Cash June Carter Cash (born Valerie June Carter; June 23, 1929 – May 15, 2003) was an American singer, songwriter and dancer. A five-time Grammy award-winner, she was a member of the Carter Family and the second wife of singer Johnny Cash. Prior ...

, was a daughter of Maybelle Carter. The Carter Sisters, Helen, June and Anita, performed at the Carter Fold many times also. The Fold has a dance floor where Appalachian buckdancing and clogging, local forms of folk dancing, are seen weekly. The concert venue, the "Fold," is the centerpiece of the Carter Family Memorial Music Center, Inc., a non-profit organization. This includes the 1880s cabin where A. P. Carter was born. The cabin was moved from its original location to a site next to the Fold, refurbished and rededicated before

's death in 2006. Singer

Marty Stuart John Marty Stuart (born September 30, 1958) is an American country and bluegrass music singer, songwriter, and musician. Active since 1968, Stuart initially toured with Lester Flatt, and then in Johnny Cash's road band before beginning work as ...

, formerly a member of the Johnny Cash band, was instrumental in raising funds for the cabin's relocation and restoration. The Carter Store, built by A. P. Carter and friends in the late 1940s and where he conducted daily business, is the site of the Carter Family Museum. This building was renovated in September, 2009. After the renovation, part of the large collection of Carter Family memorabilia that it had housed was moved back and redisplayed. A large crowd witnessed the rededication of the museum, which featured the cutting of a ceremonial red ribbon by Rita Forrester (daughter of Janette Carter) and Marty Stuart, who later performed at a special concert with his band, the Fabulous Superlatives. A yearly Carter Family Memorial Festival is held in August at the Fold. In 2019, the Festival celebrated its 45th anniversary. Also in 2009, the organization purchased property across the road from the Fold, which includes a three bedroom house that will be converted to office space. The accompanying grounds will be used for additional parking. The Carter Family Fold and Museum is located in the Poor Valley region of southern Virginia at the foot of

Clinch Mountain Clinch Mountain is a mountain ridge in the U.S. states of Tennessee and Virginia, lying in the ridge-and-valley section of the Appalachian Mountains. From its southern terminus at Kitts Point, which lies at the intersection of Knox, Union and Gra ...

, in a settlement once known as Maces Spring. Maces Spring was home to A.P. and Sara Carter's family, as well as Ezra and Maybelle Carter and their daughters. Since Maces Spring no longer has a post office, it is considered part of the area of Hiltons. Capacity at the Fold is 842 seats. Those wishing to attend a Saturday night show will usually find ample seating. However, for gospel and other special shows, it is advisable to request

tickets Ticket or tickets may refer to: Slips of paper * Lottery ticket * Parking ticket, a ticket confirming that the parking fee was paid (and the time of the parking start) * Toll ticket, a slip of paper used to indicate where vehicles entered a to ...

well in advance.

Controversy

In 2007, a controversy occurred concerning tapes of Carter Family performances. Dale Jett, son of Janette Carter, gave tapes of live performances of the Carter Family to the

University of North Carolina The University of North Carolina is the multi-campus public university system for the state of North Carolina. Overseeing the state's 16 public universities and the NC School of Science and Mathematics, it is commonly referred to as the UNC Sys ...

's Southern Folklife Collection. The Carter Fold board called for the immediate return of the tapes, claiming that Jett (who was on the board) transferred the tapes without the board's knowledge. The board maintains that they own the tapes, and Jett had no right to move them. Jett's response was, "My only concern was to preserve them

he tapes He or HE may refer to: Language * He (pronoun), an English pronoun * He (kana), the romanization of the Japanese kana へ * He (letter), the fifth letter of many Semitic alphabets * He (Cyrillic), a letter of the Cyrillic script called ''He'' ...

for the ages. And it should be the Fold’s nly concern The tapes don't belong to the Carter Fold, they belong to the people that are on them." Jett's connections to the Carter Fold Board were severed. According to some sources, he was removed. According to other sources he resigned from the board. The University of North Carolina has since returned the tapes to the Carter Fold.

References

External links

Official Carter Family Fold Website PBS special on the Carter FamilyFriends of the Carter Family Fold
{{authority control Buildings and structures in Scott County, Virginia Tourist attractions in Scott County, Virginia Music venues in Virginia Museums in Scott County, Virginia Music museums in Virginia Country music

Controversy

See also

References

External links