Rich & the Po’ Folk

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Rich and the Po’ Folk, Letcher County Kentucky’s best old-time string band, dig into a wide range of traditional mountain music in “When the Whistle Blew.” The album ranges from a British ballad first printed in 1635 to “Dying to Make a Living,” a 2006 song by Virginia group Foddershock. The tracks in between come from such musicians as Lee Sexton, George Gibson, Sarah Gunning, Virgil Anderson, Jean Ritchie, Nate Polly, and Mike Paxton, many of whom themselves have released work on Appalshop’s record label June Appal Recordings. “When the Whistle Blew” draws on the region’s coal history as well as its musical traditions for an album that is vintage Appalachia.