ASHEVILLE, N.C. (828newsNOW) — Asheville has deep ties to the musical traditions of the Appalachian mountains, a century-long legacy which will be honored this autumn with a centennial celebration of the history, future and continued preservation of the region’s musical roots.

“The Asheville Sessions: Celebrating 100 Years of Americana & Appalachia” will be held as a weekend-long series of events from Thursday, Nov. 6 to Sunday, Nov. 9 at venues across Asheville.

100 years of Americana in Asheville

“Let’s go back to Asheville in 1925. Imagine musicians traveling from across the southern Appalachians to Asheville, bringing their fiddles, banjos, voices and songs passed down from generations,” said Richard Emmett of the Blue Ridge Music Center. “On the roof of the George Vanderbilt Hotel on Haywood Street, talent scout Ralph Peer and his engineers set up what was then state-of-the-art acoustic recording equipment.”

That congregation of musicians with Peer and his crew was a major milestone for the proliferation of Appalachian music throughout the United States.

“These sessions were historic,” Emmett said. “They were the first commercial recordings of any genre of music ever made in Appalachia.”

This November, Asheville will revisit the 60 wax masters Peer made for Okeh Records with a brand-new remastered album, “Music from the Land of the Sky: The 1925 Asheville Sessions,” a 28-track collection of songs restored by Grammy-nominated engineer Bryan Wright now available for pre-order on vinyl, CD and digital formats. The album will be locally pressed by Citizen Vinyl in downtown Asheville.

“These stories deserve to be told and shared with a new generation of music fans across the world. Today, we are here to honor our history, celebrate our present and invite the world to experience Asheville through music this fall,” said Vic Isley, president and CEO of Explore Asheville.

Those musicians, including Kelly Harrell and Henry Whitter, Bascam Lamar Lunsford and Emmett Miller, laid the groundwork for the thriving community of Americana artists working today.

Musicians the Asheville Sessions have influenced, whether directly or indirectly, include “country music superstar Luke Combs, Grammy-winning guitarist and Christmas Jam founder Warren Haynes, high priestess of soul Nina Simone, ballad legend Roberta Flack in nearby Black Mountain, electronic music pioneer Bob Moog, along with North Carolina folk favorites like MJ Lenderman, Steep Canyon Rangers and River Whyless,” listed Isley.

Hearing the restored tracks, given new life after a century of dormancy, was an emotional experience for Laura Boosinger, a North Carolina musician, folklorist and host of the Appalachian music podcast, “Down the Road on the Blue Ridge Music Trails of North Carolina.”

“I had a little moment up there this morning,” said Boosinger, who opened the announcement of the celebration with a performance of “I’m Going Back to North Carolina,” the first track on “Music from the Land of the Sky.”

“When I got to the ‘one more kiss before you leave me’ verse, I just got completely overwhelmed, and I was like, all right, keep it together, keep it together,” Boosinger shared.

Watch a clip of Boosinger performing:

The “Asheville Sessions” celebration schedule

Thursday, Nov. 6

The Wicked Weed Funkatorium will host a kickoff event featuring a panel on the history of the Asheville sessions with music historians Ted Olson and Tony Russell along with a performance by the Russ Wilson Jazz Orchestra.

Friday, Nov. 7

Free sessions will be held all day long at Pack Memorial Library in downtown Asheville. Panels will include Katherine Cutshall on Asheville in 1925, Bryan Wright on the process of remastering audio recordings and a gathering of descendants sharing about their family legacies.

Later that evening, a concert will be held at The Grey Eagle with Ketch Secor of Old Crow Medicine Show, the Nest of Singing Birds and Jesse Smathers. Find tickets at www.ashevillesessions.com.

Saturday, Nov. 8

More free sessions will be held at Pack Library, featuring panels on subjects like music as a tool for disaster recovery, the continuing legacy of live music in Asheville and Cherokee influence on Western North Carolina musical traditions.

In the evening, a concert will be held at the Thomas Wolfe Auditorium with River Whyless, Tyler Ramsey, Toubab Krewe and Floating Action. Find tickets at www.ashevillesessions.com.

Sunday, Nov. 9

A free daytime concert will be held for the community with local bands performing roots music in the spirit of the 1925 Asheville Sessions. More details will be announced about the location of the concert.

For more information, visit www.ashevillesessions.com.