The Appalachian sound

The BIB editor reports:

For a long while I've spent far too much time working on this computer (there'll be more to come on that subject) and not enough playing or listening to music; otherwise I'd have heard before now of Elizabeth LaPrelle, a powerful singer in the old Appalachian ballad style, and still in her mid-twenties (photo by Mike Melnyk).

Thanks, therefore, to the FOAOTMAD news blog for the information that a public radio interview with her can be heard here. After that introduction, there was nothing for it but to follow her up on YouTube, where fortunately much can be found. For a long time I've wanted to hear 'Blind Bartemus' (as recorded by the Golden Gate Quartet) sung a cappella by a bluegrass band. This video proves it can make a hair-raising duet.

Update 8 Dec.: BIB readers who listen to Sandy Harsch's Country Time show on RTÉ Radio 1 (the next is on at 11.10 p.m. tonight) will not have needed this introduction, as Sandy has been playing Elizabeth LaPrelle on the show for over three years.