Piedmont Blues and Ragtime Music
Host of the roots music history podcast American Songcatcher, Nicholas Edward Williams is a multi-instrumentalist and storyteller who is dedicated to "playing it forward" by preserving the songs, stories, artists and styles that have shaped our country: Ragtime, Piedmont Blues, Early Country, Traditional Folk and Old-Time. Williams has spent the last 15 years touring three continents, performing all around the US, as well as the UK, Western Europe and Australia, blending the roots music spectrum in his own style. His critically acclaimed sophomore release from late 2021, Folk Songs For Old Times' Sake has been heralded by well-regarded figures of the roots community such as David Holt, Oliver Wood, Dom Flemons, and JP Harris. For the Coffeyville Humanities Project, Nicholas will be sharing the integral stories of how Piedmont blues and Ragtime music came to prominence from the turn of the century to the 1920's, and the pioneering recording artists who brought these styles into the limelight.