After first setting foot in Madison County in the early 1970s, documentary photographer Rob Amberg became so immersed in the Appalachian culture of the rural Western North Carolina community that he missed out on much of the music that shaped wider popular culture of the time.

“The last two months, I’ve been listening nonstop to Queen and Freddie Mercury,” Amberg said during an interview on land in Madison’s PawPaw community, where he’s lived with his wife Leslie for the past 30 years.

“I’ve been telling my friends that I’m listening to him and they kind of say, ‘What?!’ And, well, think about it, when he was at his height, I’m here listening to (Madison County native and old time music legend) Dellie Norton and ballads and missing Led Zeppelin and all these things that were out there.”