Galax, Virginia is a small town with a long tradition of old-time music. In this town of roughly 7000 people, music is one of the main ways people socialize. But when the Covid-19 pandemic hit, the town's music life suddenly came to a halt. And as the virus swept through the town, this tightly-knit community suddenly found itself politically divided. As neighbors stopped speaking to each other, faith and community leaders came up with creative ways to re-create a sense of community. An experiment in audio ethnography. This project was funded by Princeton University’s Humanities Council.
Featuring music by local musicians Stevie Barr, Eddie Bond, and musicians and the local String Bean Jam
This project was based on a trip I took to Galax in 2015, as well as Zoom interviews conducted during the Covid-19 pandemic with community members. Many thanks to the generous people of Galax, who took the time to speak with me, sometimes for hours:
Emily Burnett-Brown, former tourism director of Galax
Eddie Bond, teacher and musician
Beth White, pastor of Church of Christ Chapel Galax (and now vice mayor of Galax)
Chief Dewitt Cooper, police chief of Galax
Kevin Rosenfeld, pastor at First Baptist Church of Galax
Trish Kilby Fore, librarian at the Galax Public Library and musician
Stevie Barr, musician and owner of Barr’s Fiddle Shop in Galax
Thomas Barr, luthier and stone mason
Keith Barker, former city manager for the city of Galax
Mark Handy, doctor in Galax
Derrick Davis, local radio host of WCGX The Cat
Chris Hennis, volunteer fire-fighter and police dispatcher in Galax
Ray Kohl, former tourism director of Galax
Bernadette Hodges, general manager of The Galax Smokehouse
