David Holt’s State of Music Season 4 Premieres
The upcoming season of David Holt’s State of Music also features the innovative powerhouse Della Mae; blues legend Taj Mahal; Josh Goforth and Zeb Holt playing with host David in a look back at David’s 50-year career in folk music; and award-winning bluegrass duo Darin and Brooke Aldridge with New Grass Revival’s John Cowan. At the recent 30th annual IBMA awards, Brook Aldridge was named Female Vocalist of the Year for the third year in a row.
The six episodes in Season 4 of David Holt’s State of Music will be fed to PBS member stations beginning in November. Air dates and times will be posted on local station schedules and at DavidHoltTV.org. Previews can now be seen on the David Holt's State of Music YouTube channel. The series can also be streamed anytime on iTunes, Amazon Prime, or, for PBS Passport members, at PBS.org.
Filmed entirely on location in North Carolina, Tennessee, Virginia and South Carolina, David Holt's State of Music premiered on North Carolina Public Television (UNC-TV) in 2015 and is now carried in nearly 90% percent of PBS markets in the United States. Nashville Public Television (NPT) is the presenting PBS station for Season 4 of David Holt’s State of Music.
Series host David Holt is a musician and storyteller who toured for 14 years with the late Doc Watson.
“David Holt’s State of Music gives me the chance to introduce phenomenal up-and-coming young acoustic musicians to a nationwide audience as well as feature established icons and old friends in the music,” Holt said. “It is great fun to interview these folks and hear their stories and masterful musicianship. The traditional music of this region is a treasure we’re privileged to share. Whether it’s bluegrass, gospel, a string band or the blues, the artists we feature are performing at the very highest level. Some are young; some are older but deserve greater recognition than they have received before. We help raise awareness of these artists by presenting them to the PBS audience nationwide.”
The series previously featured Rhiannon Giddens, Doyle Lawson & Quicksilver, Sam Bush, Jerry Douglas, Molly Tuttle, Jerron “Blind Boy” Paxton, April Verch, Joe Newberry, Wayne Henderson, the Kruger Brothers, Dom Flemons, Amythyst Kiah, Jeff Little, Alice Gerrard, Rayna Gellert, Laurelyn Dossett, the St. John AME Zion Unity Choir, Josh Goforth, the Branchettes, Bryan Sutton, Mipso, Balsam Range and the Steep Canyon Rangers.
The series is a production of the Will & Deni McIntyre Foundation. Major funding for Season 4 was provided by the Rhea Bigelow Charitable Trust, The Community Foundation of Henderson County and its Perry N. Rudnick Endowment, the NC Arts Council and Come Hear NC, Blue Ridge Music Trails of NC, Cheri and Ron Allari, the J. Lyles Glenn Family Fund, A Bar A Ranch, Carlyle Adams Foundation, Fritz and Renee McPhail, Ben and Laurie Duke, the Chatham Foundation, Myrna Harris, Charlie and Lois Brummitt, Lee and Margaret French, and Rich and Jenny Schwartz. A complete list of underwriters is available at PBS.org.
The Will & Deni McIntyre Foundation is a 501(c)(3), charitable nonprofit established in 2009 to raise the profile of the arts and educational organizations through the creation of videos, books and photography for websites and related media. It is the prime fundraising entity for David Holt's State of Music.
To help celebrate and preserve the traditional and modern musical heritage of Appalachia, please consider supporting the production of David Holt’s State of Music by making a tax-deductible contribution to the Will & Deni McIntyre Foundation at WillandDeni.org.
More about David Holt
David Holt previously hosted the UNC-TV/PBS series Folkways that took viewers through the Southern mountains visiting traditional craftsmen and musicians. He also served as host of The Nashville Network’s Fire on the Mountain, Celebration Express, and American Music Shop. He was a frequent guest on Hee Haw, Nashville Now and The Grand Ole Opry. David was cast as a musician in the popular Coen Brothers film O Brother Where Art Thou. He has hosted Riverwalk Jazz for Public Radio International and Great Scenic Railway Journeys on public television. In 2002, David Holt and Doc Watson won two Grammy Awards for Best Traditional Folk Recording for Legacy, a three-CD collection of songs and stories reflecting Doc Watson’s life in music. Doc and David toured together from 1998 until Doc’s death in 2012. More information can be found at DavidHolt.com.
