Audio Book of the paperback book "Appalachia: Ballads, Bloodlines, and the Long Journey Home"
$24.99
Appalachia: Volume One
Ballads, Bloodlines, and the Long Journey Home
In the hills, truth don’t always come printed on a page. Sometimes it shows up in the way a porch plank creaks under a familiar pair of boots, or in the way a fiddle cries a note that ain’t written in no songbook. Around here, stories don’t end—they echo. Through hollow logs, rusted fence posts, and the voices of folks who still remember.
This book ain’t meant to be a textbook. It’s a torch. One passed from the calloused hands of mountain preachers and midwives, moonshiners and mandolin pickers, all the way to you. Inside, you’ll find tales that might be half-true and wholly felt—about kinfolk who wrestled God and each other, who bled into red clay and carved their names into these ridge lines with nothing more than stubbornness and song.
Appalachia ain’t a place you can find with just a map. It’s a rhythm. A way of being. A kind of knowing passed down in rocking chairs and revival tents, behind barns and in beauty shops. And if you’re lucky—or maybe just still enough—you might catch it whispering to you through the pages.
Some of the names in here are famous. Most ain’t. But all of ‘em matter. Because they laid the stones we’re still walkin’ on today. This book honors that. It honors them.
So pull up a chair. Pour something warm or strong. And settle in.
We’re goin’ home.
—R.O. Locust Ridge, Tennessee
Appalachia – Ballads, Bloodlines, and the Long Journey Home
Featuring The Acoustic Duo of Richie Owens & Bob Ocker
Songs and Stories from the Hills. Told with Soul. Rooted in Truth.
From the misty hollers of East Tennessee to the windswept cliffs of the British Isles, Appalachia is more than just a band—it’s a living tradition, passed down by hand, heart, and harmony. This acoustic duo—Richie Owens and Bob Ocker—were both born and raised in the Appalachian Mountains, steeped in stories, string music, and a legacy that spans generations.
Together, they revive the forgotten corners of mountain life through song, story, and spirit, carrying on the oral traditions that once echoed from front porches to revival tents.
🎻 Old Instruments, New Fire
Built around acoustic guitars, dobro, mandolin, dulcimer, banjo, and autoharp, the music of Appalachia channels the instrumental mastery of Ry Cooder and Doc Watson, but with a voice all its own. There’s reverence for the past—but no museum glass here. Every note they play breathes, rattles, and stirs up something deep.
Bob Ocker handles harmony and stringwork with soul and restraint, bringing texture and nuance to every tune. But it’s Richie Owens—songwriter, historian, and keeper of the tales—who takes center stage as the storyteller.
🗣️ Stories That Haunt, Heal, and Hold You
Richie doesn’t just introduce the songs—he walks you into them. His spoken-word monologues echo the dry wit of Will Rogers, the rustic rhythm of Mark Twain, and the sideways charm of Tom Waits. One moment you're laughing at a ghost story, the next you're feeling the weight of five generations who never left the ridge.
Their stories stretch well beyond the Smoky Mountain DNA project. These are the lost legends, tall tales, and true confessions of mountain folk—healers and moonshiners, circuit-riding preachers and banjo prophets, forgotten floods and old-time love. It’s not about nostalgia. It’s about keeping the spirit alive.
🌲 What Appalachia Brings to the Stage
What you’ll experience isn’t a concert in the typical sense. It’s part acoustic set, part folk opera, part fireside revival. It’s music wrapped in memory, lit by laughter, and anchored in truth.
Whether on a folk festival stage, in a small-town theater, or under the rafters of a chapel, Appalachia reminds us that the stories of the mountains—and the music they carried—still have something urgent to say.
Meet the Duo
Richie Owens – vocals, guitar, dobro, harmonica, songwriter, and the voice behind the stories
Bob Ocker – harmony vocals, mandolin, guitar, and the man who gives the music wings
The hills are still singing. Appalachia is listening.
MUSIC COMING SOON