Whitewater Bluegrass Company will be the first U.S. Host Group for Folkmoot USA.

This five-member band based in Western North Carolina showcases the best of traditional Southern Appalachian music. The band features Grammy Award winning banjo player Marc Pruett along with some of the finest musicians in the area. Folkmoot organizers decided this year to bestow this designation on a band that represents this region’s folk music tradition. The band members will act as a host for the international groups in a unique opportunity for cultural exchange.

Whitewater Bluegrass Company will perform July 21 at the Folkmoot Gala Prevue and again July 22 at the opening performance. The Bailey Mountain Cloggers, a university dance group from Mars Hill College, will dance with the band at the Gala Prevue performance. This electrifying dance group has performed throughout the United States and abroad and will perform traditional Southern Appalachian dances.