The Clinch Mountain MusicFest is more than just another music festival. It’s a unique music experience born of the desire to preserve and foster the rich musical heritage brought to Appalachia by various living traditions from native countries. Hardy, fiercely independent and resourceful Scots, Irish, Anglo and Welch settlers brought their native music in about 1750. They built log cabin homes on steep mountain ridges and in deep, dark “hollers” by rushing mountain streams. They hunted in the pristine forests, fished in the bountiful creeks and rivers, and farmed harsh, mostly barren land, except for bottom land along the creeks and rivers. They lived in hard times but worked hand-in-hand with neighbors to survive, all the while building strong family and community bonds and deeply-held religious beliefs.

Musical instruments were scarce in Appalachia in those days. The settlers brought with them a few fiddles, three-stringed dulcimers, jaw harps, mouth bows and bones from their native lands, and they made simple rhythm instruments from gourds, dish pans and wash tubs. During the Civil War, African-Americans introduced the banjo to Appalachia and influenced the mountain music we know today. Also during the war, minstrel show music was introduced, featuring harmonicas, guitars, and squeeze boxes. The mandolin came with Italian immigrants of the 1880s and quickly spread across the United States. The Spanish guitar came in the early 1900’s when catalog instruments like the autoharp, squeeze boxes, factory-made banjos, mandolins and guitars found their way to new mountain homes.

Appalachian people shared hardships and beliefs that became the “Heart, Soul and Spirit” of Mountain Music. This unique music is a rich heritage of Appalachia, in general, and Scott County, Virginia, in particular. Here's a picture of the original Carter Family from Scott County, from left to right, Maybelle Carter, Sara Carter and A.P. Carter, considered by many in academia, the media, and in the music industry as the "First Family" of mountain, blue grass, folk and country music.