Mars Hill College hosted “New Harmonies: Celebrating American Roots Music,” a traveling Smithsonian Institution exhibition that highlights our country’s unique and rich cultural soundtrack. The exhibition was free and open to the public.

The North Carolina Humanities Council selected Mars Hill as the most westward and the only institution of higher education among the six “New Harmonies” host sites in the state. The exhibit was on display in the Weizenblatt Gallery of Moore Auditorium on the college’s campus.

The opening included a concert featuring several genres of roots music that appear in the “New Harmonies” exhibition, as well as greeting and speeches from college leaders and area politicians.

Mars Hill College has a longstanding commitment to preserving and celebrating the music of the Southern Appalachian region. An exhibition honoring Madison County music traditions complemented New Harmonies and featured the rich music collections in Mars Hill College’s Southern Appalachian Archives, including the Bascom Lamar Lunsford Collection.

“New Harmonies: Celebrating American Roots Music” was part of Museum on Main Street, a collaboration between the Smithsonian Institution and the North Carolina Humanities Council, a statewide nonprofit organization and affiliate of the National Endowment for the Humanities. Support for Museum on Main Street has been provided by the United States Congress. Local support is being provided by Dry Ridge Historical Museum, Madison County Arts Council, Thomas Wolfe Memorial State Historic Site, Wolf Laurel Historical Society, and Zebulon B. Vance Birthplace State Historic Site.

Visit mhc.edu/newharmonies, or call 828.689.1571.