By Emma Castleberry
ReString Appalachia is an initiative born out of necessity, compassion and an enduring love for music. Founded by Nicholas Edward Williams, a musician and host of the American Songcatcher podcast, ReString Appalachia emerged in the wake of Hurricane Helene as an effort to support musicians who lost their instruments to the disaster.
Nicholas Williams restrings a fiddle that was donated outside of Acoustic Corner in Black Mountain. Photo by Lacy Kelly
“What music offers is a chance to transcend your pain, and also an opportunity to transcend your happiness,” says Williams. “Imagine, then, that the most traumatic event of your life happened and that thing that you’ve been using to understand your life is not there. I know as a musician how vital it is to have that resource in your life and that ability to use it to understand your world. And once you start, you really don’t ever stop.”
Williams, who has spent years immersed in Appalachian music history and culture, felt an urgent need to help his friends and fellow musicians who had lost their most cherished possessions, the very tools they use to make sense of a world that was just turned upside down. “I just couldn’t stop thinking about them and thinking about this,” says Williams. As the father of two young children, Williams couldn’t be in service on-the-ground as he would’ve liked. Instead, he leveraged his network and platform, calling on musicians and donors to help replace instruments lost in the flood. What began as a personal effort quickly grew into a structured initiative, with a team of volunteers and a logistical framework to collect donated instruments and distribute them to those in need.
The process of donating and receiving instruments is designed to be as straightforward as possible. Donors submit their instruments for consideration through the initiative’s website, where they are vetted for quality and condition before being distributed. Instruments are then matched with recipients based on their specific needs and musical background. Recipients, who apply through an online form, provide general information about their loss and musical practice. Transparency is baked into the process—donors are often informed about who will be receiving their instrument, and in some cases, recipients and donors have even connected directly to share stories and support one another.
Nicholas Williams with his friend and recipient Justin Forrest. Photo by Lacy Kelly
The program serves anyone who lost an instrument, whether they were a professional musician or hobbyist. More than 300 instruments have been distributed thus far to recipients like singer-songwriter Cam Ragsdale. “Music has always been my 100 percent go-to and primary coping mechanism in times of struggle, doubt, depression, anxiety and stress,” says Ragsdale. “Between practicing and writing new songs, there’s always something to look forward to and reflect on fondly—an unpredictably predictable process that brings waking life into a more balanced perspective.”
Ragsdale lost his entire music studio as well as the remaining musical equipment that was in his home. Through ReString Appalachia, he received a restored 1906 fiddle and a PA system, both of which have reconnected him with his music. “I’m very honored to be a part of this program,” he says. “They’re truly good people, and the instrument and gear are of a very high quality.”
ReString Appalachia has partnered with Guitar Center Foundation to provide direct replacements for high-value instruments and has also been consulting the Foundation on similar efforts to support musicians affected by wildfires in California. The initiative continues to grow, with aspirations beyond disaster relief. Williams envisions ReString Appalachia as an ongoing resource for musicians, schools and underserved communities, providing instruments and fostering musical education.
“We plan to be an instrument resource for other nonprofits, for schools, for underserved communities because we’ll have an overstock of instruments that we want to get into the hands of people that want to play them,” he says.
Learn more at AmericanSongcatcher.com/ReStringAppalachia.
