From the Jones House Cultural Center to Boonerang Music & Arts Festival, musical harmonies float around every corner of Boone. Walking through the streets of downtown Boone, Doc Watson’s influence drapes over every corner, but the world music scene isn’t quite so apparent. Music from all corners of the world thrives in Boone; you just have to know where to listen.
According to World Music Central, “world music” is a loose term, one that since the 1980s has been used as more of a marketing label than anything else.
Laurie Semmes is a professor of ethnomusicology, a term referring to the study of music in its social and cultural context. Upon entering her office, there are instruments everywhere, from French horns to banduras, a traditional Ukrainian string instrument.
“World music to me is — I can’t think of any music that is not in the world,” Semmes said. “So it all qualifies.”
Having lived in the High Country since 2003, she is familiar with the local music scene.
“A few years ago, there was a family group that used to play on Tuesdays at the Bojangles out on 421. I remember watching this little girl, somebody handed her a fiddle and she had this look on her face like, ‘Great, I’ve got to play this now,’” Semmes said. “The spontaneous nature of the local music is, I think, half the fun of it.”
Not all music in Boone is spontaneous. Every third Saturday, Fizz Ed hosts a Latin Dance Night from 8 p.m. to midnight, where friends gather to learn the intricacies of salsa and bachata dancing.
Off the NC-105, Casa Rustica offers live jazz on Thursday nights, featuring musicians Todd Wright and Andy Page. During the summer, the Jones House hosts porch concerts where the community gathers on the lawn with blankets and picnic supplies for a night of music.
Local band Rastacoustic, a reggae-inspired group formed in the High Country in 2017, also contributes to Boone’s world music scene.
They regularly play at local breweries and events around town, recently taking the stage at High Country Beer Fest. Peter Brown, singer and keys player, grew up listening to lots of reggae, jazz and latin music influences the band’s sound.
“We’re playing a lot of reggae music in the mountains and foothills of North Carolina,” Brown said. “That’s, you know, heavy bluegrass, heavy old-time music, string band music, you know, traditional Americana.”
Brown said that despite the strong influence of folk music, Boone listeners still wish to hear world music. Brown said, the appreciation for reggae that the community shares links to an appreciation for world music as a whole.
“I think a lot of world music is that way,” Brown said. “It’s like they have a love for it and also a feeling of, like, I want to share this.”
The presence of world music in Boone will continue over the next year, with several visiting musicians coming to perform from many corners of the world.
The performing group Afrique en Cirque is coming to the Schaefer Center for the Performing Arts on Nov. 12. The group, formed by Yamoussa Bangoura, combines the contemporary sounds of afro-jazz with the entrancing sights of acrobatics to celebrate the artistry of African culture.
Rhiannon Giddens, director of the Silkroad project, will be coming to the Schaefer Center on April 18, 2026. Giddens’ music explores America’s musical history through perspectives that have been overlooked, focusing on the lives and cultures of Black and Indigenous artists.
Gidden’s commitment to celebrating diverse cultural narratives aligns with High Country Humanities, an initiative from the College of Arts and Sciences focusing on promoting the humanities within Western North Carolina.
Jacob Kopcienski is an assistant professor of musicology with a focus in music history and world music.
“What we are working to do is support humanities programming at App State and provide opportunities for faculty to do research in the humanities,” Kopcienski said. “But also continue to build and support an ecosystem of arts organizations, humanities organizations, historical organizations that are doing this work in Watauga, Ash and Avery County.”
Past performances have had a wide range of topics. In 2024, the program explored the life of Béla Bartók, a Hungarian composer who during the 19th century documented folk music in Hungary, focusing on antisemitism and how it manifested in the music.
“I think if you’re looking to participate by watching, it’s important to think about how you as a citizen create a community where people are able to thrive and do things that are both expressive and interesting in creative ways, but also expressive of long histories and stories,” Kopcienski said.
One way to engage with culturally rich expression is by attending upcoming events on campus.
In celebration of National Hispanic Heritage Month, on Sept. 28 at 4 p.m., the Hayes School of Music will be putting on a special show, highlighting Latin American culture in a night of colorful and eclectic music.
