MIDDLESBORO — As Scots and Ulster Scots emigrated to America, they carried with them a rich oral traditional of song and ballad singing. Musician Sara Grey and her son Kieron Means will trace the migration of these songs on Sunday, March 14th at the Cumberland Gap National Historical Park (CGNHP) Visitor Center Auditorium.

The renowned mother/son team will perform many of these traditional songs next Sunday, and share with the audience stories of how these tunes influenced Appalachian music.

The duo’s repertoire will include songs and ballads in which the tunes and words have remained unchanged throughout the years. The musical pair will also perform compositions which have radically changed, but still remain unique and recognizable.

Sara Grey grew up in New Hampshire but has lived in North Carolina, Ohio, Montana, New York, Pennsylvania, Arizona, Wales, Scotland and England. She first heard mountain music as a youngster growing up in rural North Carolina, and her love for old-time banjo music and songs developed from this experience.

Moreover, Grey has carried this interest into her adult life — studying folklore, and collecting and performing music from the various areas in which she has lived. During many of her songs, she accompanies herself by picking a five-string banjo and, when playing tunes, it is obvious why she is regarded as one of the foremost exponents of the old-time style.

Kieron Means is the son of the traditional singer Sara Grey. He is known as a guitar player of great merit with a voice as smooth as silk. The professional young performer mainly sings traditional songs, but he also plays a variety of contemporary songs which he has written himself. Means, though born in the United States, grew up in Britain — gaining an intense love for the music of both traditions as well as the contemporary scene.

The musicians will be performing at the Cumberland Gap National Historical Park Visitor Center Auditorium on Sunday, March 14, 2010. The event will begin at 2 p.m., and admission is free.

For more information on this event or other park functions, contact the CGNHP by phone at 606-248-2817. One can also visit Sara Grey’s website at www.maclurg.com/saragrey/.

Adam Young is a Staff Writer for the Middlesboro Daily News. He can be contacted by e-mail at ayoung@middlesborodailynews.com.