Artist Statement
I am a living story- every breath, step, and sentence made from mountains, music, and memories. My passion is telling stories that transport readers to the rolling hills, blue ridgelines, festivals, and winding back roads of my home and add another voice to the songs of these places. My mission is to create a relationship between the readers and the people I write about that makes the reader feel like they’ve just spoken with that person. I stitch together lyrics, histories, people, and performances into a quilt of bluegrass-inspired stories. I am an Appalachian Storyteller.
As an Appalachian Storyteller, I am deeply influenced by the people and traditions of the Blue Ridge Mountains. These mountains live inside my soul- they inspire and flow through my writing in language, content, imagery, and theme. My influences are rooted in the mountains, and hence, rooted in my people. I am the stories of my family and carry them on through memories and my writing. The ties I have deeply set in the Blue Ridge impact my ability to tell stories about the life and music of this place. And the music… that has shaped me into the writer I am today.
Bluegrass and mountain music have always surrounded me, from radio waves to festival stages, shaping the stories I tell. The stories of the people who play this music inspire me to craft pieces that make readers feel as though they know them personally. Their music drives me to write articles that immerse readers into the songs from the melody to the lyrics that wind around the tone and structure of my work. The bluegrass community is a family bound by one common thread: a love for the music. I am incredibly blessed to be connected to this community where connections form as naturally as harmonies. The friendships I’ve built in the bluegrass community have helped my writing reach an audience far beyond where I imagined it could go. Above all, I know that none of this would be possible without the gifts that the Lord has given me and the opportunities, people, and places he’s led me to.
Every fragment in my notes app, all the pages of writing scattered through notebooks and Google Docs, and each published piece reflect my undeniable love of the Lord, Appalachia, and bluegrass music.
Bio
Ellie Smith is a native of Wilkes County, NC and an honors student at East Tennessee State University studying bluegrass and writing, two things she is enormously passionate about. She is an avid student of the history, people, and music of Appalachia and loves to share that passion with others through her writing.
Contact
For articles, feature pieces, reviews, and any of your writing needs, reach me at:
Email: elliesmccs@gmail.com | Social: via Facebook or Instagram linked below |
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