It’s our salute to the sounds of Alabama!

In Florence, the Tennessee River is often known as the Singing River. The breadth of music history in this area proves there must be something in the water. Learn more about the city’s troubadours and trumpeters with a visit to the Alabama Music Hall of Fame (starts at 2:19) and the W.C. Handy Music Festival (starts at 8:59).

Starts at 15:49 – Farmers pass a lot of hours away riding in the cab of a tractor. It’s a time when the musically inclined can multitask, scattering seeds and belting out ballads. That’s one way Morgan County’s Mark Byrd prepares his voice and practices to hit just the right note as part of the Living Faith Quartet.

Starts at 23:00 – There are certain sounds and songs that are quintessentially Southern. While bluegrass and the blues certainly are rooted in the region, shape-note singing may claim the prize as the South’s most unique sounding rhythm. It’s a hauntingly beautiful style, and folks from all over learn to hone their shape-note singing skills at the annual Camp FaSoLa.