Although European immigrants were glad to escape repression by the royal ruling class, they still longed for the music and dance enjoyed in their homeland. Dulcimers and other musical instruments were made by hand, and ballads from the old country were sung. These songs were passed down and modified from one generation to the next until they evolved into the fiddle and banjo-driven mountain music, a staple at many festivals and gatherings in the Great Smokies.

Mountain dance, on the other hand, is not as easy to trace. Beginning as a burst of enthusiasm during local celebrations, distinctive Irish step dancing was combined with Scottish sword dancing and Cherokee buck dancing and eventually evolved into the mountain clogging native to the region. This unique style of dancing has also been called flat footing, step dancing, hoe downing, buck dancing and back stepping. Here in the mountains it's just called dancin'.

Handmade dulcimers are a big part of mountain music. Each instrument features its own unique style and ornamentation