The moonbow at Cumberland Falls State Resort Park is one of only two regularly occurring moonbows on earth. It can be seen on clear nights when the moon is full. Photo credit: Kentucky Photo Library.

Photo credit: Susan McKee, Along the Kentucky Music Trail: Country music and more in the Appalachian Mountains.

The Cardinal Lawyer launches Big Sandy to Big Muddy, an occasional feature on life and culture in our beloved Commonwealth of Kentucky. The Big Sandy River forms part of the eastern boundary of Kentucky, where our state meets Ohio and West Virginia. Big Muddy, of course, is the Mississippi River, which defines our state's western edge. In between, a deep and diverse culture thrives. and In between, rich cultural life abounds. For the benefit of newcomers — and, for that matter, of longtime residents who have not yet exhausted Kentucky's cultural riches — this feature endeavors to highlight the treasures that make Kentucky home.

The inaugural feature in this series focuses on music. I had the privilege and pleasure of attending the November 10, 2007, concert staged by the Kentucky Homefront, a radio show dedicated to showcasing and preserving Kentucky's musical traditions, particularly in the folk, blues, country, and bluegrass genres. On stage this past weekend were four bands specializing in Celtic music: Nora, Ben & Eli; Ceol Cridhe; Liam's Fancy; and My Darling Asleep.

The evening's closing act, My Darling Asleep, should be familiar to many constituents of the Law School: it won third place in the 2007 version of Lawlapalooza, a battle of local bands staged for the benefit of the Law School's Samuel L. Greenebaum Public Service Program and the Judge Ellen B. Ewing Foundation. (Additional coverage of Lawlapalooza 2007 is available via the Law School's news ticker and the MoneyLaw blog.)

The best way to convey the power and the beauty of an evening well spent with the Kentucky Homefront is to let the music of those four bands speak for itself. The following box allows you to play samples from each band.

My Darling Asleep Play My Darling Asleep's song sample set in a popup window.	Ceol Cridhe Download Andy DeJarlis / To the Ladies / Peter Bailey's Wife  by Ceol Cridhe.
Nora, Ben & Eli Download the The Road to Lisdoonvarna  by Nora, Ben & Eli.	Liam's Fancy Download the Whiskey in the Jar  by Liam's Fancy.