APPALACHIAN HOLLER

Every Friday, musicians gather at the Vintage Corner to keep oldtime traditions alive – sharing songs and trading stories, some sweet, some dark, all deeply Appalachian.

Once a booming coal town, Jenkinjones is now just a shell of its past – empty streets, shuttered shops, and fading memories of what was lost.

Deep in the Appalachian coal mines, life was ruled by the company: miners were paid in scrip, forced to shop at the company store, and lived in company houses. Families struggled to survive, while underground mules worked and died without ever seeing daylight. This documentary reveals the brutal history of coal mining in Appalachia – the hard labor, the dangers, the broken bodies, and the communities that carried the weight of it all.

Mike lives off-grid in the Appalachian Mountains with a few animals and his fiddle. His raw, jagged playing is far from classical harmony – it’s a wild, haunting Appalachian fiddle sound, shaped by hard lives in Virginia, Kentucky, West Virginia and Tennessee.

After a tornado ripped through their trailer home in Appalachia, the Hill family talks about faith, survival, guns, bluegrass — and the raw hillbilly resilience it takes to stand on your own.

Hermann shares the story of losing his gun shop, the politics behind it, and why firearms remain a symbol of freedom, resilience, and rural identity in America. A glimpse into Second Amendment culture and tradition.

Lyle Rickards performs the traditional Appalachian tune Pretty Pink on his mountain dulcimer, sharing insights about the instrument and the melting pot of American folk culture. His playing captures the soul of mountain music — simple, haunting, and deeply rooted in community.