Trails of Rosin Dust / Episode 1 Appalachian Dawn

In the Appalachian Mountains, fiddlers carry forward a centuries-old sound born from the meeting of unlikely traditions, setting the groundwork for what would become America’s musical identity.

Before radio. Before records. There was the fiddle. Our first film, Appalachian Dawn, opens a six-part epic journey across America, tracing how this tiny instrument carried dance tunes across an expanding frontier, giving rise to unique musical styles and community traditions as it went. Appalachian Dawn follows present-day Appalachian fiddlers carrying forward a tradition that shaped the sound and spirit of a growing nation, a tradition tracing back to the 1700s, when Scots-Irish immigrants first brought their tunes into the Smoky Mountains and their melodies intertwined with the rhythms and sounds of Indigenous traditions already rooted in the land, shaping something entirely new. Something unmistakably American.

Guided by five master fiddlers Duncan and Lillian from North Carolina, Aila and Earl from Virginia, and Tessa and Chance from West Virginia- we step into a living tradition. Through late-night jams, front-porch sessions, festivals, and contest stages, we witness the places where the music still moves bodies and binds communities. Later in the film, as these Appalachian masters head west to compete in the National Fiddle Championship in Idaho, they follow the path this music carved centuries ago. One tune. One town. One journey at a time. Trails of Rosin Dust is more than a story about the origins of American folk music; it is a story of people gathering, dancing, and shaping a shared tradition that continues to echo across generations.

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Co-Director | Heather Bennett

Co-Director | Sadie Cibula

Cinematographer | David Rush

Camera and Lighting | Hunter Lawson Cibula

Editor | Nancy Richardson

Colorist | Andrew Lichtstein