BOONE, N.C. — David Wiseman has been playing the mandolin for more than 50 years.
"I heard my dad and uncles play, and I heard this band, and I thought, 'man I was supposed to be doing that,'" Wiseman said.
His mother got in on the action too. His mother played the banjo.
"Had an uncle killed in a car wreck. A drunk driver killed him on June 6, 1964, killed his whole family and that festival was a memorial festival to him," Wiseman said.
The festival was one of the first bluegrass festivals in North Carolina. It was started by Wiseman's aunt in honor of her brother.
The festival went on for five years, bringing some big names to the mountains. When the festival ended, his family's love for music only grew deeper.
Wiseman still plays in four bands, seven days a week.
"I got out of intensive care on a Friday, and I was out playing Saturday," Wiseman said.
An autoimmune disease couldn't even stop him, but Wiseman went blind in one eye.
"If you ever hear I ain't playing, then I am dead," Wiseman said.
His son Gabriel Wiseman also plays. He started when he was 17.
"It's hard to describe, but there's a drive in you that you want to do it," Wiseman said.
The younger Wiseman is currently playing with the JackTown Ramblers several times a month and will be hitting the road soon to travel with The Cleverlys.
"You think about it a lot when you're not doing it. You're listening to it when you're not playing it, and you don't feel more fulfilled then when you are," Wiseman said.