They’re long narrow strips, usually made of fabric, that are used for tying, decorating, awarding, or commemorating someone or something. They also come in handy for superlative bluegrassical song subjects. Claire Lynch, Ty Gilpin, the Dry Branch Fire Squad, and Chris Jones will help us celebrate ribbons—from faded red, pretty blue and scarlet ribbons, to ribbons of darkness, concrete, and lonesomeness.

PROGRAM PLAYLIST

• Longview: “Faded Red Ribbon” from Lesson In Stone(Rebel)
• The Bowes Brothers: “Pretty Blue Ribbons” 45 (Moonlight)
• Claire Lynch: “Scarlet Ribbons” from Holiday(Compass)
• Clint Alphin: “Box With a Ribbon” from Effigy(self-released)
• Flatt & Scruggs: “A Faded Red Ribbon” from 1964-1969(Bear Family)
• The Bayley-Hazen Boys: “Another Blue Ribbon” from Another Blue Ribbon(self-released)
• Ty Gilpin: “Old Rotten Ribbons” from Crooked Hollows(self-released)
• Tony Rice: “Streets of London” from Church Street Blues(Sugar Hill)
• The Dry Branch Fire Squad: “Balo’s Song” from Live! At Last(Rounder)
• The Hunger Mountain Boys: “Blue Ribbon Waltz” from Blue Ribbon Waltz(Old Fi)
• Jim & Jesse: “Help Me Make It Through the Night’ from Mandolin Workshop(Hilltop)
• Chris Jones & the Night Drivers: “Ribbon of Darkness” from No One But You(Rebel)
• Kane’s River: “A Far Cry” from Same River Twice(Snake River)
• The Hillbenders: “Concrete Ribbon” from Can You Hear Me?(Compass)
• Big Al Weekly: “Endless Black Ribbon” from For the Long Haul(Golden Ring Entertainment)
• Bev King & Joe Knight: “Down At the End of Memory’s Lane” fromJewels of a King: Salute to Roy Acuff(Country Heritage)