What do you think?
Rate this book
Wayfaring Stranger: A Musical Journey in the American South
Can you feel nostalgic for a life you've never known?
Suffused with her much-loved warmth and wit, Emma John's memoir follows her moving and memorable journey to master one of the hardest musical styles on earth - and to find her place in an alien world.
Emma had fallen out of love with her violin when a chance trip to the American South introduced her to bluegrass music. Classically trained, highly strung and wedded to London life, Emma was about as country as a gin martini. So why did it feel like a homecoming?
Answering that question takes Emma deep into the Appalachian mountains, where she uncovers a hidden culture that confounds every expectation - and learns some emotional truths of her own.
Suffused with her much-loved warmth and wit, Emma John's memoir follows her moving and memorable journey to master one of the hardest musical styles on earth - and to find her place in an alien world.
Emma had fallen out of love with her violin when a chance trip to the American South introduced her to bluegrass music. Classically trained, highly strung and wedded to London life, Emma was about as country as a gin martini. So why did it feel like a homecoming?
Answering that question takes Emma deep into the Appalachian mountains, where she uncovers a hidden culture that confounds every expectation - and learns some emotional truths of her own.
336 pages, Hardcover
First published May 30, 2019
15 people are currently reading
207 people want to read
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 28 of 28 reviews
May 18, 2021
After reading two books by Emma John, I told myself – "She has written just one more book. Let me read that too." 😊
In 'Wayfaring Stranger : A Musical Journey in the American South', Emma John describes the time when she took a year off and spent time in the American South researching on bluegrass music and trying to learn it and become a bluegrass musician herself. The book features a wonderful cast of characters who are fascinating and nearly always likeable, musicians who are barbers and carpenters and waiters and teachers in their day jobs, but who play bluegrass music in the evening and weekends and at concerts. For nearly everyone of them, bluegrass music is their life, and their day jobs are just a way of paying their bills. There are some legendary musicians too, who don't play at concerts, who live deep in the mountains, who only play music in their home or their barn and strive for perfection in their art. Emma John writes about some of these musicians too. Emma John writes about a whole list of great bluegrass musicians and it made me want to find their music and listen to it. The book has some of the most beautiful descriptions of music that I have ever read. Emma John was a trained musician (violinist) herself and it shows in those beautiful descriptions.
I loved 'Wayfaring Stranger'. It is a beautiful love letter to bluegrass music, the American South, and the Southern way of life. It is part memoir, part travelogue and part history of bluegrass music. It is one of the best books on music that I've ever read and it is one of my favourite books of the year. I enjoyed reading all three of Emma John's books and I'll always have a soft corner for her cricket book, but I think 'Wayfaring Stranger' is her finest work. It is destined to become a classic.
I'll leave you with one of my favourite passages from the book.
"The mandolinist began to play before anyone else was ready, a little atonal riff he seemed to be offering up to no one but himself. Was he still tuning, perhaps? The banjo plucked a few unlikely notes behind him. A guitar slid in with an answering run, like a batter stealing first base; the bass player laid down some long bow. I couldn’t tell if this was the start of a song or the end of a sound check. But then the individual noises began to grow and coalesce like a creeping threat. Alien bacteria, perhaps, absorbing their environment and evolving rapidly into something cogent, conscious, dangerous. The sound grew louder, more sinister; a fiddle added urgent spikes of fear; I felt my lungs begin to bubble with anxiety. The music reached a crescendo of terror … and stopped dead. A half-breath later, the guitar kicked up a funky beat, and the mandolin player began to sing about his friend who tended bar. The next hour was like falling down a rabbit hole and landing in a club compered by Stanley Kubrick or David Lynch. I had no idea exactly what was going on, but I recognised the genius at work. The band’s authoritative handling of their instruments matched anything I’d heard in the classical world, but their masterful playing was only the half of it. It was what they were doing to music itself that was extraordinary: bending it, contorting it, dismantling its molecules and creating new elements from scratch like chemistry savants. Certainly, this was music I could never think or hope to play myself; it’s probable that only a handful of people on the planet would have the skills to replicate what they were doing. They were a post-modern firework display, showering their listeners with ideas, allusions and deconstructed melodies that charged the atmosphere with electricity and emotion. When they finished, the air I’d been breathing was stuck in my windpipe like a bruise. After an ovation I didn’t think was long or vociferous enough, their mandolin player returned on stage alone and encored with a prelude that Bach had written for violin."
Have you read 'Wayfaring Stranger'? What do you think about it?
In 'Wayfaring Stranger : A Musical Journey in the American South', Emma John describes the time when she took a year off and spent time in the American South researching on bluegrass music and trying to learn it and become a bluegrass musician herself. The book features a wonderful cast of characters who are fascinating and nearly always likeable, musicians who are barbers and carpenters and waiters and teachers in their day jobs, but who play bluegrass music in the evening and weekends and at concerts. For nearly everyone of them, bluegrass music is their life, and their day jobs are just a way of paying their bills. There are some legendary musicians too, who don't play at concerts, who live deep in the mountains, who only play music in their home or their barn and strive for perfection in their art. Emma John writes about some of these musicians too. Emma John writes about a whole list of great bluegrass musicians and it made me want to find their music and listen to it. The book has some of the most beautiful descriptions of music that I have ever read. Emma John was a trained musician (violinist) herself and it shows in those beautiful descriptions.
I loved 'Wayfaring Stranger'. It is a beautiful love letter to bluegrass music, the American South, and the Southern way of life. It is part memoir, part travelogue and part history of bluegrass music. It is one of the best books on music that I've ever read and it is one of my favourite books of the year. I enjoyed reading all three of Emma John's books and I'll always have a soft corner for her cricket book, but I think 'Wayfaring Stranger' is her finest work. It is destined to become a classic.
I'll leave you with one of my favourite passages from the book.
"The mandolinist began to play before anyone else was ready, a little atonal riff he seemed to be offering up to no one but himself. Was he still tuning, perhaps? The banjo plucked a few unlikely notes behind him. A guitar slid in with an answering run, like a batter stealing first base; the bass player laid down some long bow. I couldn’t tell if this was the start of a song or the end of a sound check. But then the individual noises began to grow and coalesce like a creeping threat. Alien bacteria, perhaps, absorbing their environment and evolving rapidly into something cogent, conscious, dangerous. The sound grew louder, more sinister; a fiddle added urgent spikes of fear; I felt my lungs begin to bubble with anxiety. The music reached a crescendo of terror … and stopped dead. A half-breath later, the guitar kicked up a funky beat, and the mandolin player began to sing about his friend who tended bar. The next hour was like falling down a rabbit hole and landing in a club compered by Stanley Kubrick or David Lynch. I had no idea exactly what was going on, but I recognised the genius at work. The band’s authoritative handling of their instruments matched anything I’d heard in the classical world, but their masterful playing was only the half of it. It was what they were doing to music itself that was extraordinary: bending it, contorting it, dismantling its molecules and creating new elements from scratch like chemistry savants. Certainly, this was music I could never think or hope to play myself; it’s probable that only a handful of people on the planet would have the skills to replicate what they were doing. They were a post-modern firework display, showering their listeners with ideas, allusions and deconstructed melodies that charged the atmosphere with electricity and emotion. When they finished, the air I’d been breathing was stuck in my windpipe like a bruise. After an ovation I didn’t think was long or vociferous enough, their mandolin player returned on stage alone and encored with a prelude that Bach had written for violin."
Have you read 'Wayfaring Stranger'? What do you think about it?
May 28, 2019
Visit the locations in the book
If you’re any kind of music fan, this is going to be interesting for you! A girl travels to follow her love of music. Even though I’d heard of the style here – bluegrass, – I’d couldn’t have told you much about it But here, Emma travels to find it and find its heart and soul in the American Deep south. Travelling across Virginia, Tennessee and North Carolina, there’s some great ‘set pieces’ with musical interludes and a playlist to enjoy.
It’s a musical journey in more ways than one and I was with her every step of the way. I’m a huge jazz fan and would travel for miles to see a band (New Orleans was my pilgrimage) so much of what she said and felt along the way, I recognised. It’s the way music moves you and how you learn to appreciate it, how being a British girl might seem odd in the world of this deeply American music tradition. But music is the universal language right? Emma takes you and introduces you to a world you’ve probably never seen or heard of before, but I think she will gain some new fans to the music along the way.
That’s not what this is about however. It’s a journey of passion and discovery. You have to read this with the music playing in the background. Preferably in the deep south with the wild grass blowing across the empty road up ahead, the wind in your hair and a violin or guitar somewhere nearby.…
Emma John has taken a subject, a kind of music, that’s not well-known to many I would think, but she’s written about it in such a way, in such a personable style and with such passion, that I would be surprised if it doesn’t gain the music new fans along the way. Those who take this journey with Emma will be first in the queue at the next show!
I feel as if I’ve known Emma for years after reading this. She’s a brilliant companion to have along on a musical journey of discovery!
January 4, 2026
I thoroughly enjoyed this story of a classically trained English musician travelling to the US to learn about the history and techniques of bluegrass. I can say there is a lot of bluegrass music I have enjoyed, but I didn’t know 99% of the history or the challenges of playing it. Whilst classical music is full of rules and perfectionism, bluegrass is a feeling, a working class culture and a process of learning, licks and improvisations. The author takes readers to the heartland of bluegrass and I constantly stopped reading to look up and listen to artists mentioned in the book. This is not mainstream country music, it is the heartland of musicians who play for the history, culture and love of bluegrass. They are not out for fame or fortune, they have a kinship for the genre. Very good book.
March 20, 2022
I just love her style. Brought back lots of memories for me.
January 8, 2021
Growing up in England, Emma John trained as a classical violinist from the age of four, reaching first chair in her school orchestra. But despite her talent, she was not truly gifted, and that realization, along with a tyrannical teacher and the strain of competition, eventually combined to sap all enjoyment from her playing. At age 21 she gave it up.
Ten years later, after hearing a banjo on an album by Mumford & Sons, John impulsively booked a vacation flight to North Carolina, where she immediately became obsessed with bluegrass. With her 1737 German violin -- magically turned into a fiddle by its relocation -- she rediscovered the joy of music, tentatively joining a few jam sessions. Her vacation ended and she returned to London, but, having been bitten by the bluegrass bug, she subsequently returned to Boone, North Carolina for an extended stay. She had no trouble making friends, who provided encouragement and instruction. This was a time of total musical immersion, with exposure to everything from old-time fiddling to progressive "newgrass", from Tommy Jarrell to the Punch Brothers. John had the good fortune to meet a number of luminaries, including Roland White, Tim O'Brien, Presley Barker, the Kruger Brothers, Aubrey Haynie, Carl Jackson, Jerry Douglas, Michael Cleveland, Alison Brown, Sam Bush, Wayne Henderson, and Bobby Osborne -- to name just a few. She attended a bluegrass music camp run by the illustrious Hot Rize banjo player, Peter Wernick, and she took fiddle lessons via Skype from Matt Glaser. Many American pickers would envy the contacts that she made.
But John's conversion from classical music to bluegrass did not come easily, and she is upfront about her challenges and self-doubts. Gradually she realized that her approach, perhaps a reflection of her formal training, was overly intellectual, and it took a lot of time before she internalized the indescribable emotional elements that underlie and create the spirit of improvisational bluegrass solos. After that breakthrough, however, her playing rapidly improved, and she soon won a couple of prizes at a fiddle contest.
Emma John has steeped herself in the history and lore of bluegrass, and her familiarity with its repertoire and historically-important musicians is impressive. She describes the traditional fiddlers' conventions at Galax (Virginia) and Union Grove (North Carolina), and the edgier RockyGrass festival in Colorado. She visits Nashville's famed Station Inn, where she is invited to play a twin fiddle number on stage with Aubrey Haynie, and she makes a pilgrimage to Bill Monroe's home in Rosine, Kentucky. Her accounts are interspersed with succinct chapters on the history of bluegrass music -- mini-tutorials that are essentially accurate and often revealing. Devoted bluegrass fans will already be familiar with much of this material, but John is an excellent stylist who brings it vividly to life, despite occasional paragraphs that are overwritten. Readers who don't have a prior passion for bluegrass may develop one from the author's infectious enthusiasm (perhaps combined with some YouTube clips), but just about anyone should appreciate this young woman's struggle to master an art form that she found so appealing, but initially so elusive. And the warm acceptance that she received from a variety of people in Appalachia is an apt reminder that cultural divides can still be bridged.
Ten years later, after hearing a banjo on an album by Mumford & Sons, John impulsively booked a vacation flight to North Carolina, where she immediately became obsessed with bluegrass. With her 1737 German violin -- magically turned into a fiddle by its relocation -- she rediscovered the joy of music, tentatively joining a few jam sessions. Her vacation ended and she returned to London, but, having been bitten by the bluegrass bug, she subsequently returned to Boone, North Carolina for an extended stay. She had no trouble making friends, who provided encouragement and instruction. This was a time of total musical immersion, with exposure to everything from old-time fiddling to progressive "newgrass", from Tommy Jarrell to the Punch Brothers. John had the good fortune to meet a number of luminaries, including Roland White, Tim O'Brien, Presley Barker, the Kruger Brothers, Aubrey Haynie, Carl Jackson, Jerry Douglas, Michael Cleveland, Alison Brown, Sam Bush, Wayne Henderson, and Bobby Osborne -- to name just a few. She attended a bluegrass music camp run by the illustrious Hot Rize banjo player, Peter Wernick, and she took fiddle lessons via Skype from Matt Glaser. Many American pickers would envy the contacts that she made.
But John's conversion from classical music to bluegrass did not come easily, and she is upfront about her challenges and self-doubts. Gradually she realized that her approach, perhaps a reflection of her formal training, was overly intellectual, and it took a lot of time before she internalized the indescribable emotional elements that underlie and create the spirit of improvisational bluegrass solos. After that breakthrough, however, her playing rapidly improved, and she soon won a couple of prizes at a fiddle contest.
Emma John has steeped herself in the history and lore of bluegrass, and her familiarity with its repertoire and historically-important musicians is impressive. She describes the traditional fiddlers' conventions at Galax (Virginia) and Union Grove (North Carolina), and the edgier RockyGrass festival in Colorado. She visits Nashville's famed Station Inn, where she is invited to play a twin fiddle number on stage with Aubrey Haynie, and she makes a pilgrimage to Bill Monroe's home in Rosine, Kentucky. Her accounts are interspersed with succinct chapters on the history of bluegrass music -- mini-tutorials that are essentially accurate and often revealing. Devoted bluegrass fans will already be familiar with much of this material, but John is an excellent stylist who brings it vividly to life, despite occasional paragraphs that are overwritten. Readers who don't have a prior passion for bluegrass may develop one from the author's infectious enthusiasm (perhaps combined with some YouTube clips), but just about anyone should appreciate this young woman's struggle to master an art form that she found so appealing, but initially so elusive. And the warm acceptance that she received from a variety of people in Appalachia is an apt reminder that cultural divides can still be bridged.
January 27, 2020
A very well written book, which tells recounts of the experience of being a fledgeling folk musician of a accurately.
September 4, 2019
This is a book about bluegrass, yes, but also about the authors immersion into the culture of the Appalachian south. I shared a personal connection to this book, as I am from New York state and spent a summer of work in Norton, VA, not too far from the authors favorite town of Boone. I whole heatedly related to being an outsider immersing into the culture of the mountains.
Emma is able to take you right into that atmosphere and make you feel like you are meeting all of her new friends right with her. I loved the pace and banter of her writing. I actually laughed out loud several times. I went through this book very quickly, but I didn't want it to end!
On the music side, I am a HUGE fan of the bands Nickel Creek and Punch Brothers, so it was great to see them mentioned. It was even more great to learn about the roots and current presence of Blue Grass through Emma's experiences. I did have to frequently stop reading to YouTube videos of the artists she referenced to and met! I would highly recommend this book if you want to feel like you are going on your own little back woods, mountain adventure.
Emma is able to take you right into that atmosphere and make you feel like you are meeting all of her new friends right with her. I loved the pace and banter of her writing. I actually laughed out loud several times. I went through this book very quickly, but I didn't want it to end!
On the music side, I am a HUGE fan of the bands Nickel Creek and Punch Brothers, so it was great to see them mentioned. It was even more great to learn about the roots and current presence of Blue Grass through Emma's experiences. I did have to frequently stop reading to YouTube videos of the artists she referenced to and met! I would highly recommend this book if you want to feel like you are going on your own little back woods, mountain adventure.
March 19, 2020
A book with incredible heart and ups and downs. There is a romantic, everything is awesome side, but the author also takes you with her on her struggles and failures. She does a great job with settings as well. Highly recommend!
February 20, 2023
Ms John's was trained from a young childhood to be a classical violin. She realized as she got into serious study that she was never going be more than just ok at the instrument, and put it away with uni studies and a career in journalism. In 2017 she journeyed to the US, specifically western North Carolina to spend about a year to learn how to play bluegrass. She had figured that she already had the fundamentals down for how to play a violin, so how hard could it be? She was in for a shock, as it proved to be quite difficult. Another shock was cultural, as she found the friendliness of southerners confronting to her staid British upbringing. She was even more shocked that on a cursory introduction she would be offered a place to stay, and many a meals to her, a total stranger - more culture shock. And she learned quickly to not talk about her political leanings - socialist, nor free health care that most Europeans take as a granted - another culture shock. She makes quite a few friends and struggles to learn how to play bluegrass on her now baptized fiddle. It was quite a journey. I fell in love with this woman in the first few pages. And I loved this book - following her journey. I knew many of these places and some of the people mentioned, I count as friends. This is not just a music book, but a book of discovery and letting go of things you know. Highly recommended.
January 6, 2021
I loved this book. I bought it because I am interested in bluegrass music and used to live in Southwestern Virginia where we attended many bluegrass festivals. The description sounded good and seemed to fit my interests.
For me, the best part of the book was that it was so well written. I loved all the descriptions of the festivals, the music, the author trying to unlearn classical style and learn bluegrass style. I especially loved the insight the author had into her own motivations and how she felt about each experience she was having.
It was just so well written, it was an absolute pleasure to read. As I read it I listened to some of the musicians she mentioned so every evening I had a new playlist while cooking dinner. I loved the descriptions of the countryside and the people. As a New Englander who got to know that geographical area through going to school and working there, so many of her comments resonated with me.
Plus it was a pleasant read for this time period -- so much stress right now with politics as they are and the pandemic. It was perfect.
For me, the best part of the book was that it was so well written. I loved all the descriptions of the festivals, the music, the author trying to unlearn classical style and learn bluegrass style. I especially loved the insight the author had into her own motivations and how she felt about each experience she was having.
It was just so well written, it was an absolute pleasure to read. As I read it I listened to some of the musicians she mentioned so every evening I had a new playlist while cooking dinner. I loved the descriptions of the countryside and the people. As a New Englander who got to know that geographical area through going to school and working there, so many of her comments resonated with me.
Plus it was a pleasant read for this time period -- so much stress right now with politics as they are and the pandemic. It was perfect.
October 28, 2021
I loved this book! As Like Emma, I played violin as a young person and gave it up in mid/late teens (early than Emma did, I think) for guitar. As an older adult I became increasing interested in bluegrass (and old-time), learned a little Banjo, and decided to pick up the violin again in my early 60's. I really resonated (pun half-intended) with the difficulties she had learning bluegrass fiddle and am envious of her time in North Carolina and other bluegrass havens in the American South, especially of all the people she met and learned from over the months she was there. Despite all of the difficulty, she found here "groove" after many months of emersion. I learned a lot from this book, it is a travel-log, social commentary, an ode to Bluegrass music and fiddle playing. I highly recommend it!
January 20, 2020
A fascinating insight into how someone can immerse themselves into a music tradition and a way of life. Emma John if a violinists. When she decided she wanted to learn how to play bluegrass she moved to Boone a town in North Carolina near to the border with Tennessee, Kentucky and Virginia and in the heart of the Appalachian Mountains. There she encountered real southern hospitality and access to legendary bluegrass musicians. You don't have to like Bluegrass to enjoy this book, although it is a fascinating history of the genre. The writing is good with some evocative descriptions of the landscape.
June 2, 2025
Bluegrass is not a musical style I know much about and, having listened to a little now while reading this book, I'm afraid I'm not that bothered about learning more. But Emma John's enthusiasm for it comes across brilliantly and that carried me along completely. Her "musical journey in the American South" (the book's subtitle) doesn't come across as one that was undertaken in order to write a book, but rather driven by a genuine curiosity and desire to learn. It no doubt helped that she really can play the fiddle (there's a couple of YouTube videos if you're interested), and the result is the kind of travelogue that only an outsider (she's from London) can really write. Very enjoyable.
January 10, 2022
Maybe it’s because I love bluegrass music. Maybe it’s because she is situated in an area of the country I know well (and miss dearly.). Maybe it’s the writing style. Whatever it is, this is the best music memoir since Rodney Crowell’s “Chinaberry Sidewalks.” I learned so much about what makes bluegrass, bluegrass…and discovered a new appreciation for certain factions of the art that had eluded me. I am ordering copies for my bluegrass loving friends.
January 29, 2021
While I have no experience with Bluegrass, I am a musician, and I could relate to a lot of Emma John’s experience. Her writing is excellent. She has a beautiful way with expressive description and you could see so much feeling and humanity in her adventure. I highly recommend this for artists and aspiring artists alike.
June 15, 2021
Loved this book. If you are interested in bluegrass music or music in general this is a great read. A classically trained English violin player falls in love with bluegrass music and embarks on a journey to try and learn how to play it. It turns out to be a daunting task. Along the way she shares some history and lots of good insights into the music and the culture.
May 24, 2021
Full disclosure, I rolled out of bed a few years ago and said, bluegrass fiddle, I wanna play bluegrass fiddle. This book captures the terror and awe of going down this path. Unfortunately I didn’t have the whole violin as a school child experience, so I envy her that. It’s a delightful light hearted read.
June 13, 2021
Good travelogue, and current social-political perspective of the South. Great read if you want to learn about Bluegrass. I hope this writer does more, especially combining travel and music. Good niche combination, enjoyable reading.
February 20, 2022
a terrific well written journey
This book is so well written. The writing comes from Emma John’s heart. I grew up in the south and this book was a lesson in the meaning and wider of Bluegrass music and it’s importance to this country.
This book is so well written. The writing comes from Emma John’s heart. I grew up in the south and this book was a lesson in the meaning and wider of Bluegrass music and it’s importance to this country.
February 16, 2020
Just plain enjoyable.
June 16, 2020
Must read if you are into Bluegrass music
January 19, 2021
Even though I’m not a musician I still enjoyed reading about the author’s journey.
January 31, 2021
I just loved this book. It gets the wanderlust and the creative juices flowing. It's best read with Spotify at the ready to look up the artists and the music referenced.
June 19, 2022
Equal parts travelogue, music criticism, immersive journalism and literature, with great descriptive writing.
October 11, 2022
Good read
But could do without the anti-Trump hostility and liberal love letters. She was very lucky to meet all these wonderful people.
But could do without the anti-Trump hostility and liberal love letters. She was very lucky to meet all these wonderful people.
September 6, 2023
Enjoyed the journey
March 17, 2024
As a classically trained violinist who lives in rural North Carolina, I can say with confidence that Emma John gets it
Read
July 6, 2023Emma John is a classically trained violinist from London who stopped playing music for a long time. Through a series of odd coincidences, she discovers bluegrass in the southern Appalachian mountains (where we say "apple-atch-a instead of apple-aych-ya") and decides to quit her job, move here for six months, and learn to play bluegrass fiddle. Not just play, but attempt to master soloing, perform on stage, compete, pretty much all the milestones a great bluegrass picker hits. In six months.
I loved how she didn't just stick to cliches about this place, these people, this music. It made it really fun to read her perspective. I especially liked her conversations with some of my favorite musicians and her descriptions of the mountains, of square dances, and of bluegrass festival etiquette, as well as the little interludes with "history" lessons. I did struggle in the beginning with how in the dialogue she had people saying "y'all" when speaking only to her. I kept thinking she had a traveling companion she wasn't introducing. (Y'all is plural, like vosotros.) But it was easy to get past it and become absorbed in the stories, even if you don't know the music.
I loved how she didn't just stick to cliches about this place, these people, this music. It made it really fun to read her perspective. I especially liked her conversations with some of my favorite musicians and her descriptions of the mountains, of square dances, and of bluegrass festival etiquette, as well as the little interludes with "history" lessons. I did struggle in the beginning with how in the dialogue she had people saying "y'all" when speaking only to her. I kept thinking she had a traveling companion she wasn't introducing. (Y'all is plural, like vosotros.) But it was easy to get past it and become absorbed in the stories, even if you don't know the music.
Displaying 1 - 28 of 28 reviews