Upstate musician Angela Easterling sings an unsung Appalachian story
While some of us were baking bread during the COVID lockdown, celebrated Upstate musician Angela Easterling decided to finally pursue a lifelong dream: Turn her fascinating family history into the next Tony-awarding musical—starting with her newest album, Songs from the Knoxville Project.
“The ultimate goal is for The Knoxville Project to be a full theatrical production, and my hope with this concept album is to drum up interest in the story,” reveals Easterling, who still lives on the Greer farm that has been in her family since 1791. While the award-winning artist is shining a light on a small slice of Appalachian history, she brings her own expansive musical perspective to the ambitious endeavor.
A native of Taylors, Easterling began doing workshops and shows at the South Carolina Children’s Theater around age 11. “That was when I knew, ‘Okay, this is my thing,’” says the artist, who then followed her talents to Greenville’s Fine Arts Center and the musical theater program at Emerson College in Boston, where she picked up a guitar and started writing songs. “My approach to music is from the more self-taught, folk side of the genre—so when I started writing and performing my own songs, a lot of people said, ‘Oh, you’re a country artist,’” reflects Easterling with amusement. “I’d never even listened to country music before. I had the Les Mis and Oklahoma soundtracks on repeat.”
After strumming, singing, and rubbing elbows with Grammy-winning legends like Lucinda Williams in L.A., Easterling had planned a move to Nashville, Tennessee. Fate instead led her to fall back in love with her evolving home city of Greenville, and the ability to live a rich life in the Upstate as a musician while raising a family and touring the region to perform—which she often does with her bandmate and parenting partner, guitarist Brandon Turner, with whom she now shares three boys.
Angela Easterling returns to theater
Fast forward to 2020: Easterling might have traded an early love of acting for a career in songwriting, but she had always planned to return to theater. The spark was lit when her father told her a Civil War-era story from her family’s history. “My ancestors were poor hand-to-mouth farmers from Hendersonville, North Carolina. Even though they were Southerners, they were Union loyalists,” shares Easterling. When the Civil War forced the men of the family to join the Confederate Army, they defected to the closest Union headquarters in Tennessee instead.
Facing dire consequences for the desertion at home, the women in Easterling’s family—led by matriarch Narcissus Middleton—rallied their strength and resolved to set out on an arduous, 18-day journey by foot to join the men in Knoxville, risking all for their beliefs and to protect their young daughters and sons from starvation, enlistment, and more. “They carried babies on their hips. They nearly drowned in the Nolichucky River, and they could have been caught and thrown in jail . . . as a mom, it’s just incredible to me to think about,” reflects Easterling.
“Too often, the stories of our history feature great generals and battles, but what about what was happening at home? I wanted to shine a light on the everyday folks who had to step up,” adds Easterling, who seeks to connect the dots between then and now. “We’re living in similar time, with a divided country. I wanted to explore what it might have felt like to know that your neighbors wouldn’t help you in a time of need simply because of who you supported.”
The result is a powerful and timeless story of family and perseverance, with nearly 30 original tracks written so far in a bluegrass-inspired, Appalachian folk style. While Easterling continues to partner with music lovers and organizations like the South Carolina Arts Commission to raise the funds needed to record the entire musical, her newest album is a beautiful introduction: a curated, must-listen selection of tracks featuring the voices of several regional guest artists that tell The Knoxville Project story with heart, depth, and timeless artistry.
STAGE INSPIRATION: HER TOP 4 MUSICALS
- Hamilton
- Hadestown
- The Sound of Music
- Big River
START HERE: STREAM EASTERLING’S BEST-LOVED TRACKS
- “Black Top Road”
- “Isaac Woodard’s Eyes”
- “Throwing Strikes”
SUPPORT THE PROJECT
angelaeasterling.com or angelaeasterling.bandcamp.com
