Traditional acoustic artistry blends with modern creative vision in this spectacular talent from Appalacia.

11 MP3 Songs
FOLK: Modern Folk, FOLK: Folk Pop



Details:
Aaron Burdett is a musician from western North Carolina who combines the best of the singer-songwriter and Appalachian acoustic music genres into a style uniquely his own.
Growing up in a small mountain town, Aaron was afforded an early music education through his parents' extensive record collection, chronicling their own musical explorations. From the folk revival of the early 60's to the mid 80's rock scene-it was all there. By an early age a connection had been established with the songwriters and folk singers of the day-Cat Stevens, John Prine, Gordon Lightfoot.
"The beauty of some of these guys was that they really had something to say. It was like their songs took me to a place that said something about their world and their perspective. It was a kind of communication I'd never experienced before."
So Aaron was strumming a few chords by the age of 13, trying to simulate the sounds on all types of recordings.
But the real foundation of his writing and performance style came after a move to the high country of North Carolina in the mid 1990's. He found traditional players and songs that had an energy that fascinated him. He traveled to fiddle festivals and old-time conventions in Virginia, West Virginia, North Carolina, and Tennessee. Some of the tunes were over a hundred years old, but the way they were presented seemed like the freshest music he had ever heard. Aaron was introduced to a completely different style of acoustic guitar playing, and a new set of performers to admire, like Doc Watson, Norman Blake, and David Grier.
The rich and diverse music scene in the Boone area at the time had him collaborating with the members of Snake Oil Medicine Show, Lazybirds, The Larry Keel Experience, and Acoustic Syndicate. There was a real emphasis among these close-knit musicians on honoring the spirit and original intent of traditional acoustic music, while reframing it in a context of innovation and individual artistic expression.
Aaron had the opportunity to tour Ireland in support of his first release, Appearing Nightly, in 2001. He played extensively around the Belfast area and the north of Ireland, often backed by the Lurgan based bluegrass trio, Northern Exposure. He did several live interviews on the BBC while there and played pubs and folk clubs around the region.
His performance schedule slowed down a bit when he returned home, as he took over ownership of Friends Music, a well-known acoustic instrument shop in Boone. There he met many more musicians from the area, and actually sold guitar strings to Doc and Richard Watson. The store closed in 2003, though, and Aaron moved back to the Saluda area.
Summer 2005 has seen the release of his second full-length album of original songs, The Weight of Words. Aaron is performing regularly again, and building a strong following around the region.