Speed Bumps on a Dirt Road: When Old Time Music Met Bluegrass

In the late 1950s and early ’60s, photographer and musician Cohen documented the lives of bluegrass and folk musicians, and displays them in this beautiful and candid debut collection of 140 black-and-white photos. Cohen traveled from rural North Carolina and Virginia to Nashville, moving from traditional log cabins and front porches to fiddler’s conventions, music parks, and the backstage of the Grand Ole Opry. His photographs capture, for example, Mr. and Mrs. John Sams surrounded by their children and grandchildren, sitting on the front porch of their home in Combs, Ky., as Mrs. Sams sings a gospel song while strumming her guitar. There are snapshots of musicians gathered at a land auction in Galax, Va., where Wade Ward, Charlie Higgins, and Dale Poe played songs on fiddle, banjo, and guitar. Cohen’s photos feature familiar bluegrass musicians such as Bill Monroe and the Stanley Brothers, and old-time musicians who were popular in the 1930s and ’40s, such as Sara and Maybelle Carter. The most spellbinding shots capture audience members, many of whom appear enthralled with the music. Cohen’s moving photos serve as a time capsule of what was once a remote, regional music genre. (Sept.)