Here in Appalachia, we have a way of singing stories. Songs that carry real people, real places, real heartbreak — passed from voice to voice until the song itself becomes the memory. No two people tell them quite alike. That's not a flaw. That's how they stay alive.
The Storied Song is a podcast from Appalachia Book Company that adapts traditional Appalachian ballads into original audio dramas, paired with live performances of the ballads themselves. Each episode takes a song you may already know and asks what lives inside it — the full story, the complicated people, the history the chorus leaves out.
In this introductory episode, narrator and ballad singer William Ritter tells you how this project works and what to listen for.
Narrator — William Ritter
Production Team
Director — Michael McNulty | Sound Effects Design — Rosa Bott | Audio Engineer — Samuel O'Sullivan | Poster Art — Jess Shadrick
Written by Natalie Axton.
