Lyrics & Lore weekend set for Jan. 26-29 at Dollywood’s DreamMore Resort showcases songwriters and storytellers.
Songs and stories blend with the beauty and inspiration of the Great Smoky Mountains for a weekend of Lyrics & Lore at Dollywood’s DreamMore Resort and Spa, an event held Jan. 26-29, 2017, in conjunction with The Smoky Mountains Songwriters Festival (SMSWF) and The International Storytelling Center (ISC).
Lyrics & Lore brings together some of the country’s most talented storytellers and musicians to celebrate the rich traditions of songwriting and storytelling in the Appalachian region. The weekend allows the public to interact with storytellers and songwriters who will teach participants ways to tell their family’s unique stories. Additionally, songwriters participating in the event will work in small groups to pen songs to be performed during Saturday’s activities, offering those in attendance the opportunity to experience the process of story developing into song.
Throughout the event, nationally-recognized storytellers and hit songwriters from country, bluegrass and gospel perform for Lyrics & Lore guests. On Friday, a country songwriters’ showcase and a concert featuring Bryan White and Brady Seals from the country group Little Texas highlight the evening’s activities. Sunday morning brunch and an inspirational gospel hour with Grammy Award winner Carl Jackson, Larry Cordle and Jerry Salley round out the special weekend event. Some of the music concerts are separately ticketed events.
The International Storytelling Center, based in Jonesborough, TN, will award its inaugural Seal of Excellence to Dollywood’s DreamMore Resort during the weekend event. ISC created the Seal of Excellence program to recognize storytelling-related sites of superior quality across a variety of cultural institutions, heritage sites, tourist attractions and communities. Kiran Singh Sirah, President of the International Storytelling Center said,
"We created the seal as a way to recognize excellence in different organizations that are using storytelling to enhance their own core mission, whatever that may be. I think anyone who’s been there (to Dollywood’s DreamMore Resort) could tell you that this designation has been richly earned."
