FOLK MUSICIANS CATHY FINK, MARCY MARXER, AND 
CHAO TIAN ANNOUNCE NEW ALBUM,

FROM CHINA TO APPALACHIA

THE GLOBAL MUSIC PROJECT COMBINES AMERICAN, CHINESE,
AND MANY MORE ROOTS MUSIC STYLES

From China to Appalachia promises to capture that ineffable and unique musical lightning in a bottle that has resonated with global music fans across the United States and around the world. 

GRAMMY® Award winners and multi-instrumentalists Cathy Fink & Marcy Marxer have joined creative forces with Chinese hammered dulcimer virtuoso Chao Tian for their upcoming global, and roots music project, From China to Appalachia (available August 16, 2024 from Community Music, Inc. and Redeye Distribution.) 

The trio, who met through Strathmore, an acclaimed D.C. area arts and education center and performance venue, have toured across the United States with their one-of-a-kind stage show that combines roots music styles from the Southern U.S., China, and around the globe. From Wintergrass Festival to the Library of Congress to universities and arts councils– plus a mega viral TikTok video – Fink, Marxer, and Tian have brought their singular combination of styles to thousands of listeners and music fans. 

The much-anticipated album builds on that engaging and successful stage show – which received a 2024 Wammie Music Award from the Washington Area Music Association for Best World/Global Artist-Group – and demonstrates the many cross-cultural connections between and vibrant folkways behind these roots music styles. Together, the three world-class instrumentalists showcase a broad repertoire and a wide variety of instruments, including yangqin (Chinese hammered dulcimer), gourd banjo, five-string banjo, ukulele, guitars, dumbek, cello-banjo, and mandolin. 

Utilizing traditional songs from the U.S. old-time and string band canon (“High on the Mountain” by Ola Belle Reed, “Ruby Are You Mad At Your Man” from Cousin Emmy) as well as traditional Chinese and other east Asian folk songs (like “Three Rules of Discipline and Eight Points for Attention” – known stateside from Pete Seeger and Arlo Guthrie – “Nan Ni Wan,” “Yongjun Yanko,” and more), the album is proof positive of the sonic, cultural, and vernacular interconnections between people from opposite side of the world. 

With upcoming appearances set for upstate New York, the Southeast, the D.C. Metro Area, and for this fall at the International Bluegrass Music Association’s annual Bluegrass Live! Festival, Fink, Marxer, and Tian will be taking their impeccable, fascinating, and jaw-dropping music to many hundreds and thousands of more fans. From China to Appalachia promises to capture that ineffable and unique musical lightning in a bottle that has resonated with global music fans across the United States and around the world. 

From China to Appalachia will be available for purchase, to stream, and download wherever you get your music and from CathyMarcy.com on August 16, 2024. 

 

"Fink and Marxer have constructed every facet of their lifelong careers with community building centered – that’s how they connected with Tian, after all, when she participated in a fellowship program at Strathmore Arts Center nearby their home in Maryland.

When the three began making music together, they realized the seamlessness of their musical and cultural vocabularies almost immediately." – The Bluegrass Situation