Menconi takes readers through NC's musical history in new book
Longtime music writer David Menconi is taking readers on a trip through North Carolina's musical history in his latest book, Step It Up and Go.
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Menconi was the music writer for 28 years at the News & Observer and has since been a contributor for WRAL.com's Out and About.
Menconi covers everything from rock to bluegrass, which has deep roots in the state.
"Even before Earl Scruggs, Charlie Poole was playing old time string band music around textile towns through the North Carolina Piedmont. He was playing something very much like bluegrass, a good 20 years before Bill Monroe, quote unquote 'invented it,'" Menconi said.
The International Bluegrass Music Association's World of Bluegrass is happening this week virtually. The event has been held in Raleigh since 2013 and was set to be in the city again this year until the coronavirus pandemic hit.
"Bluegrass has really deep roots here in North Carolina. There were some people connected to the bluegrass world who kind of poo-pooed the notion of IBMA moving World of Bluegrass here, but there's a lot more to the history of bluegrass in North Carolina than many people realize," Menconi said.
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