GATLINBURG MUSIC
Showcasing the venues, bands, and musicians in
Gatlinburg, Tennessee.
Photos • Videos • LIVEs • Artist features
“We always had our own mountain music in the Smokies.
We still have that. And I think we’ll always have that.”
~Dolly Parton, 2022 National Geographic interview
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September Featured Artist:
Gary 'Biscuit' Davis
Gary “Biscuit” Davis has spent decades making music, including years traveling and performing with Dolly Parton. Today he continues to play regularly in Gatlinburg and around the Smokies, while also teaching and offering music lessons. Read more about Biscuit and his connection to Dolly in the September 1st Gatlinburg Music newsletter.
Musician/Band of the Month: Jason Passmore
Jason Passmore has been making music since childhood, carrying those early roots into a career that includes recording, songwriting, and years of live performance. He continues to perform regularly in Gatlinburg, bringing his mix of country, rock, and blues to local stages while continuing to write and release original music. Read more about Jason Passmore in the September 1st Gatlinburg Music newsletter.
Image touched up by Jason Passmore
"Venue Spotlight": Where 'Dolly' Has Touched
Last month, August, we featured the local venue Jason Aldean's. This month, following the passing of our Appalachian Saint Dolly Parton we shift what the term 'venue' means.
A venue is usually understood as a place. It is a stage, theater, bar, porch, festival, or concert hall. But music teaches us that a “place” can travel. A song heard in the Smoky Mountains can find its way into a car hundreds of miles away, a family living room decades later, or the memory of someone who may never have visited Tennessee at all. Wherever music reaches us, wherever it gives voice to a memory, an emotion, a community, or a sense of home, that place becomes part of its venue.
Dolly Parton carried the Smokies with her in much the same way. She carried them through her songs and performances, but also through the Imagination Library, philanthropy, and assistance following disasters both here in the mountains and far beyond them. The place she came from did not become smaller as she traveled farther from it; its reach became larger. Her roots traveled with her.
Dolly wrote that “music is the voice of the soul.” Music gives expression to the divine, the beauty, the hardships, and the full spectrum of experiences we carry through our lives. And that voice can travel through a song, a photograph, a story, spoken words, generosity, mentorship, and kindness. Simply choosing to use the heartbeats, talents, and expressions we have to leave something meaningful wherever we go allows the spirit of Dolly’s artistry to continue forward. Our talents can travel. Our roots can travel. Our kindness can travel. And in that sense, every place touched is changed, and every place where we hear the voice of the soul becomes, in its own way, a venue.
Personal memories and stories from regional musicians and others touched by Dolly are featured in the September 1 Gatlinburg Music newsletter.
MUSICIAN PARTNERS
This list includes local musicians and bands that are working closely with Gatlinburg Music!
The list will change from month to month so always check back!
You can hear these two at Hotel Indigo on Saturdays from 1 to 4 pm. They have additional performances in the greater region. Visit their websites for more details!. Visit the Websites:
Gary 'Biscuit' Davis and Joe Lee Stevens
Morgans Mill can be found as a duo during the week at Jason Aldean's and Ole Red in Gatlinburg. They play occasionally as a full band at Jason Aldean's and do tour both in the broader region and around the United States. Check their website for details.
Kenny Stinson and his band Perfect Tym'n plays regularly at the Ole Smoky Distillery in the Holler. They also perform beyond Gatlinburg at various venues and events. Visit their main website for more details.
VENUE PARTNERS
Starting in October local venues that partner with Gatlinburg Music will be featured here.
BUSINESS PARTNERS
Starting in October we will start sharing the businesses that partner with and share the vision of Gatlinburg Music.
MUSICIAN LINKS
This list includes local musicians as well as those who have recently visited to play at Gatlinburg Venues.
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All photos by Debra JM McDermitt unless otherwise credited.
If you would like a photo removed please contact gatlinburgmusic@achievinglife.com.
Venues, Bands, Musician information contact debramcdermitt@achievinglife.com
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