On Saturday, Oct. 19, the 90th anniversary of the Johnson City Sessions took place in downtown Johnson City.
This event is celebrating the Johnson City sessions, which are commercial recording sessions that happened here in October of 1928 and 1929,” said Ted Olson, a staff member for the event. “At those sessions some very important recordings were made.”
Two stages on opposite ends of the street and various tents with vendors as well as a record fair decorated East Main Street downtown for the event. The event started at 11 a.m. and concluded at 10 p.m. with a full schedule and lineup of artists posted prior to the event on the official Johnson City Sessions Facebook page. One of the events near the children’s stage was an hour of square dancing.
Despite some rain in the afternoon, the street remained filled with people of all ages.
Katie Hillman, a Johnson City native, is a big fan of the music but ultimately, she loves it all. “All of this brings the community together,” she said.
“Olson explained that the country recordings from 1928 sold well, but once the depression hit in 1929, people steered away from the music for a while.
A generation later, the public discovered these records on 78 RPMs (beats per minute), and they were then reissued under the “Anthology of American Folk Music” in 1952.
“That’s when people really started to focus on the recordings from the Johnson City Sessions,” said Olson. “There were really only three records on that album, so 97 went unheard for years until 2013.”
Olson also put out a box set called, “Can You Sing or Play Old-Time Music?” which tells the whole story of the Johnson City Sessions. The box set was also available for sale at one of the first tents on the street. “People haven’t talked about it (the recordings) because they were not available until 2013.”
Olson is affiliated with the department of Appalachian studies at ETSU which houses the bluegrass and old time country music studies program. He is a professor of Appalachian studies, and he was heavily involved with bringing the event to life.
“This is what we were aiming for, one really big festival that brings people together,” said Olson. “I always love to tell the story and promote the legacy.”
Headline photo: A bluegrass band playing on the children’s stage.