John Cephas and Phil Wiggins were modern ambassadors of the Piedmont blues

WBUR | By Here & Now Newsroom

Published May 13, 2026 at 10:04 AM MDT

Phil Wiggins and John Cephas at the Smithsonian Folklife Festival, 2003. (Courtesy of Center for Folklife and Cultural Heritage & Smithsonian Institution Archives)

To mark the 250th anniversary of the United States, we’re cataloging 25 objects that define the country’s history.

John Cephas and Phil Wiggins were modern ambassadors of a fingerpicking regional acoustic blues style developed mainly in Virginia and the Carolinas: the Piedmont blues.

Smithsonian Folkways director and curator Maureen Loughran speaks with Here & Now‘s Robin Young about how the genre — and this duo — fits into the story of America.

This article was originally published on WBUR.org.

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