Chatham Arts
Chatham has a long and storied tradition in the visual and performing arts. Historic Poet Laureate George Moses Horton, banjo player A.C. Overton, and country musician Charlie Daniels are just a handful of the artists who were born or raised in the county.
Today, Chatham has become well-known for its arts, with many musicians, painters, potters, poets, and playwrights calling the county home. While the following recordings are by no means representative of the entire artistic community in the county, they give you a small taste of the vibrancy of its contemporary arts scene.
You can learn even more about new and exciting arts initiatives happening in the county by visiting the Chatham Arts Council’s website.
Explore by Topic
Musicians
Local Chatham musicians engage in many genres, with perhaps no group better representing the emerging blend of the old and the new musical traditions in Chatham than Kaira Ba, a band which combines music from the Senagalese griot tradition with the music of the Piedmont (see Dial Cissokho’s interview below). Kaira Ba, as well as the renowned Chatham Rabbits are just a few of the locally-based bands whose oral histories you’ll find in our collection.
Festivals & Venues
Music festivals help foster Chatham county’s vibrant arts scene. Old-time music venues and festivals like the Bynum Front Porch and Hoppin’ John Fiddlers Convention attract southern and bluegrass artists from across the Triangle while the biannual Shakori Hills Grassroots Festival of Music & Dance showcases everything from folk and rock to Cajun and West African music. Listen to the accounts of long-time coordinators and volunteers who have been integral in keeping these events running from year-to-year.
