Connecting to Your Roots: Carley Arrowood
At only 23 years old, fiddler/singer Carley Arrowood has already had quite the musical career in the realms of bluegrass and string music.
“I knew from the very beginning that I wanted to play fiddle,” Arrowood said. “Being in 4-H as a kid, I remember watching the fiddle competitions. And I looked at my mom and said, ‘That’s what I want to do.’”
Raised in Rutherford County, Arrowood has been performing onstage since she was 10. Initially taught the Suzuki classical style of fiddle, Arrowood soon shifted towards learning the instrument by ear, something that parlayed itself into her passion and drive within bluegrass, traditional and mountain music.
“With playing by ear, it was about playing what I wanted to play, and not worrying about doing ‘this right’ or ‘that right,’” Arrowood said. “And I’ve been able to play by ear, where I can just hear pitches and know when I’m out of tune.”
So, why the fiddle?
“It’s the closest thing to an actual human voice,” Arrowood said. “It’s the only bowed instrument in bluegrass, and so you have the possibility to produce longer bows and add vibrato as you pull the notes out of the fiddle. It sounds like an emotional vocalist, but with no words, which helps with backing a vocalist — it’s almost like a conversation between the fiddler and the vocalist.”
Aside from performing in the Hendersonville Youth Orchestra (part of the Hendersonville Symphony Orchestra), Arrowood began seeking out any and all bluegrass musicians within earshot. She wanted to play, with each new collaboration and partnership an opportunity to acquire knowledge about her emerging craft and talents.
“It’s all about connecting with other musicians. It’s like when you get in a jam session and there’s certain songs that everybody knows,” Arrowood said. “And in that jam, you might have someone you’ve never met, but you all know a particular song, so you’re able to immediately improvise and connect on that level — bluegrass is just one big family.”
A member of the International Bluegrass Music Association “Kids on Bluegrass” program (2012-2014), Arrowood also received the IBMA “Momentum Award” in 2017. And within that time, she also was honored with a first place in competitions at the North Carolina Mountain State Fair, Union Grove Fiddlers Convention and Ellenboro Fiddlers Convention.
For the better part of the last five years, she’s been a member of Darin & Brooke Aldridge’s group, with Brooke receiving the IBMA award for “Female Vocalist of the Year” in 2017, 2018 and 2019.
“Playing and touring with Brooke, I’ve seen her character and her humility,” Arrowood said. “Everybody knows her from the awards, but they also know her sweet heart and the way she presents herself. And that really goes a long way — I want to be known as somebody like that, too.”
Coming into 2020, Arrowood has since departed Darin & Brooke Aldridge and is now a recording artist with Mountain Home Music Company in Arden. Her latest single, “Dear Juliana,” marks a new and exciting chapter in her promising career. A full album will be released later this year.
“In a way, bluegrass music has always been part of me,” Arrowood said. “I wasn’t around when my grandparents were. My dad and pawpaw tell me about my grandparents sitting on the porch and singing. This music has been around for years and years — it means a lot to carry on that mountain tradition of the music and performing.”
See Carley Arrowood in the Traditional Artist Directory.
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From 2020 Down the Road – Bluegrass and Old-Time Music Guide by the Blue Ridge National Heritage Area produced in collaboration with Smoky Mountain News. Story by Garret K. Woodward.
