News Flash

Port Hampton Lecture Series returns with special multi-media and performance presentation!

Join us for a musical journey through Virginia’s contributions to American music. Hundreds of Virginians from all walks of life recorded for folklorists and commercial companies in the early twentieth century. These traditional musicians laid the groundwork for some of the most important genres of American music including country, blues, and gospel. This multi-media presentation explores these musicians and their songs through rare photographs, period recordings, and live performance. Historian Gregg Kimball and educator Cluny Brown will introduce you to the legendary Carter Family, songster Jimmie Strother, the original “Hill Billies,” and a host of other seminal Virginia artists who profoundly influenced American musical culture.

Dr. Gregg D. Kimball
 Gregg is the director of Public Services and Outreach at the Library of Virginia. He has enjoyed a long career in museums and libraries, curating exhibitions, conducting programs, and helping researchers. Gregg grew up in rural New Hampshire with a deep love of traditional music and an ear for the old stories about family and community. His life-long interest in music inspired him to learn guitar, banjo, fiddle, accordion, and lap steel in a wide variety of styles. Gregg frequently combines his interest in traditional music and history by creating unique interpretive shows. He has performed at festivals and venues including the Richmond Folk Festival, the D.C. Blues Festival, the Landmark Theater (with the Richmond Symphony), and Colonial Williamsburg.

Cluny Brown
 Cluny is a teacher at Clover Hill High School where she teaches U.S History and Historical Research. She has a background in museum interpretation and also brings a long love of music to her performances. Some of Cluny’s earliest memories involve singing Broadway hits on the swings (you’ve not heard anything until you've heard a five-year-old sing “Let Me Entertain You”) and performing variety shows in her back yard. By the age of 17, after years of singing in school choirs, she was performing as an opening act for the Good Guys and would go on to sing with other central Virginia favorites, such as the Bopcats and the Dads. While Cluny’s background is steeped in popular music, her love of history has encouraged her to search for the origins of American music, performing with Gregg in the Broad Street Ramblers.