Carol Rifkin

Carol Rifkin has been deeply involved in the music of Western North Carolina for decades, as a writer whose work appears in the Asheville Citizen-Times and prominent music magazines, and as a performer, dancing and playing oldtime and country music.

Carol joyously shares traditional music, writing songs, exploring the history behind mountain music, teaching dance, and engaging people to sing along. She is an award-winning multi-instrumentalist and singer; her sweet voice appears on many recordings and is uniquely recognizable on stage or radio (she co-hosts WNCW’s This Old Porch on Sunday afternoons). She has published more than 1,000 stories in newspapers and magazines (Asheville Citizen-Times, Acoustic Guitar, Sing Out!, and others). An early member of the former Green Grass Cloggers Professional Road Team, Carol later worked solo with Tommy Jarrell, Doc Watson, appeared in the movie Songcatcher and the documentary Down Home, Appalachia to Nashville, and received Asheville’s 2013 Bascom Lamar Lunsford Award for “Significant Contribution to the Art of Appalachian Culture”.

Carol is director of the non-profit French Broad Valley Music Association based in Mills River, NC, where she hosts a weekly jam session.

Availability

Carol is available for performances solo or with a string band at schools, theaters, and dances. She appears at many traditional music festivals and events across the region.