On March 27, the North Carolina Folklore Society held its annual meeting in Asheville, and presented its Brown-Hudson and Community Traditions Awards. Musicians who received the Brown-Hudson Awards, which honor “persons who have in special ways contributed to the appreciation, continuation, or study of North Carolina folk traditions,” include Old-Time Herald Founding Editor Alice Gerrard, and bluegrass banjo player Eric Ellis. The Community Traditions Award “recognizes the contributions of a group or organization to the continuation and appreciation of state folklife.” Among this year’s awardees are the Folk Heritage Committee (organizers of Asheville’s Shindig on the Green and Mountain Dance and Folk Festival), and the Etowah Christian Harmony Singers.
In April, Old-Time Herald reviewer Paul Wells retired after serving for nearly a quarter-century as the Director of the Center for Popular Music at Middle Tennessee State University in Murfreesboro. Paul looks forward to continuing to study and play music from his new home in West Kennebunk, Maine.
For the second year, the Old-Time Herald formally recognized elder master artists at MerleFest. In a ceremony emceed by Paul Brown, the awards were presented on May 1 to Raleigh, North Carolina, gospel singer Lena Mae Perry and musician Wilbur Tharpe of the Branchettes; fiddler Earl Murphy, a Missouri native who now lives in Athens, Georgia; and Murfreesboro, Tennessee, dancer Thomas Maupin.
Gordon McCann of Springfield, Missouri, has been chosen to receive an honorary doctorate at Missouri State University for devoting much of the last 30 years to researching and recording the traditional fiddle music of the Ozarks. McCann, who was profiled in the Old-Time Herald (Vol. 10, No. 4), will receive the honorary degree during commencement ceremonies May 14, 2010.
The winners at the 2009 Johnson County Fiddler’s Convention at Laurel Bloomery, Tennessee, were as follows. Band: Roan Mountain Hilltoppers, Virginia Carolina Ramblers, Erika and the Black Lick Boys. Fiddle: Kirk Sutphin, Jacob Bowen, Jerry Correll. Banjo: Kelley Breiding, Brian Fain, Kevin Fore. Guitar: Steve Kilby, Steve Lewis, Chester McMillian. Bass Fiddle: Mark Rose, Tony King, Sandy Mason. Mandolin: Steve Lewis, Carl Brickey, Norman Wallin. Twin Fiddle: Dave Wood & Erika Godfrey, Bill Birchfield & Betty Vornbrock, Maisie Newell & Cecil Gurganus. Dulcimer: Chad Bogart, Steve Kilby, James H. Garland. Autoharp: Bill Birchfield, James H. Garland, Nellie Zuhlke. Folk Song: Jesse Lovell, Trina Varner, Trevor McKenzie. Vocal Duet: Kelly & Ian Snider, Eddie Ogle & Kathie Hollandsworth, Tim & Debbie Yates. Harmonica: Glen Zuhlke, Paul Hiatt, Eddie Ogle. Youth Performance: Carson Peters, Molly & Sadie Yates, Molly Yates. Adult Dance: Brett Morris, Kelly Snider, Josh Hayes. Youth Dance: Molly Yates, Sadie Yates.
The winners at the 2009 Hoppin’ John Fiddler’s Convetion, held September 18 and 19 at Shakori Hills in Silk Hope, North Carolina, were as follows. Old-Time Band: Cool Springs Ramblers, April Fools, The Hushpuppies. Bluegrass band: Rye Mountain Boys, Tree Line Bluegrass, Rocky Creek. Non-traditional Band:The Whompes, Red Rover, Haw River Rounders. Old Time Fiddle: Steve Kruger, Andy Cahan, David Hughes. Bluegrass Fiddle: Debbie Gitlin; Brian English; Kenneth Woods. Old Time Banjo: Kevin Fore, Nancy Sluys, Andy Cahan. Bluegrass Banjo: David Thornberry, Benny Lilly, Steven James. Guitar: David Hughes, Pat Lyons, Margaret Martin. Mandolin: Brian Schmiel, Jim Collier, Zack Mondry. Folk Song: Allison Williams, David Hughes, Steve Kruger. Bass: Bill Sluys, Allison Williams, Harold Clapp. Youth Musicianship: Corey Smith, Nellis Smith, Cassie Lilly. Dance: Justin Robinson, Aaron Ratcliffe, Forest Doyle. Youth Dance: Rose Houch, Ara Houch, Ian Madden.
Winners at this year’s Sparta Fiddlers’ Convention were as follows. Old-time band: Slate Mountain Ramblers, Ararat, VA; Turkey Knob Boys, Independence, VA; Local Honey, Traphill, NC; Smokey Valley Boys, Mount Airy, NC; Grayson County Dare Devils, Elk Creek, VA. Bluegrass band: Narrow Road, Mount Airy, NC; Loose Ends, Cana, VA; Double Overtime, Dobson, NC; Creek Junction, Warrensville, NC; New Tradition, Mocksville, NC. Junior Band: JAM Rejects, Sparta, NC; 1st Tyme Out, Ennice, NC; Mountain Thunder, Max Meadows, VA; Bethesda Bluegrass Boys, Durham, NC; The Lonely Rangers, Sparta, NC. Autoharp: Joanne Redd, Galax, VA; Mary Umbarger, Harmony, NC. Ros Wynne-Roberts, Hillsville, VA; Nellie Zuhlke, Galax, VA; Judy Sipes, Lake Junaluska, NC. Old-Time Banjo: Mark Freed, Boone, NC; Nancy Sluys, Westfield, NC; Brien Fain, Mount Airy, NC; Marsha Todd, Mount Airy, NC; Michael Fox, Hickory, NC. Bluegrass banjo: Jeremy Stevens, Danville, VA; Eric Hardin, Warrensville, NC; Steve Lewis, Todd, NC; Jimmy Paschal, Yadkinville, NC; Matthew Turman, Eden, NC. Junior Banjo: Jared Boyd, Laurel Fork, VA; Stephanie Gibson, Galax, VA; Jackson Hagwood, Durham, NC. Bass: Andy Blevins, Bristol, VA; Marty Miller, Dobson, NC; David Chrisley, Wytheville, VA; Jerry Stenburg, Union Grove, NC; Loyd Richardson, Warrensville, NC. Junior Bass: Caleb Hagwood, Durham, NC; Katie Hackett, Ferguson, NC. Dobro: Tom Costner, Pilot Mountain, NC; Billy Bourne, Fries, VA; Robert Ellis, Mocksville, NC; Jacob T. Jones, Millers Creek, NC; Pammy Davis, Pleasant Garden, NC. Dulcimer: Richard Pardue, Salisbury, NC; Dick Lamb, Keezletown, VA; Tim Thornton, Shawsville, NC; Debbie Toney, Ellenboro, NC. Old-time Fiddle: Jake Krack, Orma, WV; Brian Grim, Independence, VA; Erika Godfrey, Mount Airy, NC; Cecil Gurganus, Todd, NC; A. G. Edmonds, Pilot Mountain, NC. Bluegrass fiddle: Lindsey Nichols, Mount Airy, NC; Frank Nifong, Advance, NC; Jordon G. Blevins, Whitetop, VA; Butch Barker, Lansing, NC; Keith Dunn, Mocksville, NC. Junior fiddle: Samantha Snyder, Lexington, NC; Daniel Greeson, Jamestown, NC; Kate Rhudy, Raleigh, NC. Guitar: Zeb Snyder, Lexington, NC; Jared Sweet, Pounding Mill, VA; Tony King, Galax, VA; Austin Mikeal, Lansing, NC; Danny Casstevens, Mocksville, NC. Junior guitar: Jeffrey Roten, Ennice, NC; Chip Moyer, Sparta, NC; Colby Holcomb, Thurmond, NC. Harmonica: Glen Zuhlke, Galax, VA; Daniel Moore, King, NC; Wayne Childress, High Point, NC; Milton Scott, Thurmond, NC; Paul Hiatt, High Point, NC. Mandolin: Connor Lambert, Troutman, NC; Terry Bullin, Elkin, NC; Teddy White, Carthage, NC; Ronald Davis, Hillsville, VA; Jimmy Holder, Union Grove, NC. Junior mandolin: Adam McPeak, Max Meadows, VA; Connor Hagwood, Durham, NC: Justin Willey, Sparta, NC. Vocal: Shelby Mahaffey, Riner, VA; Tommy Connor, Elliston, VA; Jessie Lovell, Fries, VA; Tommy Nichols, Mount Airy, NC; Jeanne Farlow, Trinity, NC. Senior dance: Gladys Williams, Galax, VA; Marsha Todd, Mount Airy, NC; Barbara Bowman, Ararat, VA; Marty Todd, Mount Airy, NC; Danny Easume, Pehook VA; Junior dance: Brianna Dillon, Wirtz, VA; Samantha Wilhelmi, Riner, VA; Makenzie Maitland, Traphill, NC; Ben Huysman, Sparta, NC; Hunter Stewart, Bristol, TN. Children’s dance (participants, not scored): Kitty Amaral, Elk Creek, VA; Matthew Bumgardner, Galax, VA; Ciara Pierce, Roaring River, NC; Olivia Phipps, Independence, VA.
Winners at this year’s Appalachian String Band Festival (Clifftop, WV) were as follows. Fiddle: Tatiana Hargreaves, Corvallis, OR; Eric Merrilll, New Haven, CT; Emily Schaad, Rhinebeck, NY ; Stephanie Coleman, Brooklyn, NY; Rafe Stefanini, Elkins Park, PA. Youth Fiddle: Tatiana Hargreaves, Corvallis, OR; Isaac Akers, Chapel Hill, NC; Tessa Dillon, St. Albans, WV. Senior Fiddle: Lester McCumbers, Nicut, WV; Henry the Fiddler, Denver, CO; Walt Koken, Avondale, PA. Banjo: Adam Hurt, Kernersville, NC; Walt Koken, Avondale, PA; Rick Good, Spring Valley, OH; Bob Smakula, Elkins, WV; Nancy Sluys, Westfield, NC. Youth Banjo: Jesse Reist, Lancaster, PA; Brennen Ernst, Lucketts, VA; Jared Boyd, Laurel Fork, VA. Senior Banjo: Walt Koken, Avondale, PA; Marvin Gaster, Sanford, NC; Jimmy McCown, Hardy, KY. Traditional Band: The Bailers, Greenville, WV; The Yeah Buddies, Spring Valley, OH; Orpheus Supertones, Avondale, PA; Uncle Henry’s Favorites, Free Union, VA; The Tights, Ithaca, NY. Neo-Traditional Band: Nora Jane Struthers and Her Band, Nashville, TN; The Boston Collective, Boston, MA; The Old-Time Liberation Constituency, Lancaster, PA; Mando Mafia, Charlottesville, VA; Green Willis, Mountain View, AR. Best Original Song:
Nora Jane Struthers and Her Band, Nashville, TN. Best Original Tune:
Mando Mafia, Charlottesville, VA. Old-Time Flat-Foot Dance, 15 years of age and under: Rebecca Molaro, Asheville, NC; Lulu Furtado, Front Royal, VA; Samantha Thomason, Hellam, PA. Old-Time Flat-Foot Dance, 16 years of age through 40: Josephine Stewart, Charlottesville, VA; Ryan Clover-Owens, Ithaca, NY; Joel O’Brien, Nashville, TN. Old-Time Flat-Foot Dance - 41 years of age through 59: Ira Bernstein, Asheville, NC; Jay Bland, Kennesaw, GA; Jane Henderson, Bloomington, IN. Old-Time Flat-Foot Dance - 60 years of age and older: Daniel Butner, Winston-Salem, NC; Mary Butner, Winston-Salem, NC; Carole Bendick, Winfield, PA.
Winners at the Fries (VA) Fiddlers’ Convention were as follows. Old-Time Band: Grim Sheepers; Pilot Mt. Bobcats; Pinnacle Mt. Breakdown; Crooked Road Ramblers; Virginia Creepers. Bluegrass Band: Creek Junction; Mountain Legend Express; Rakstraw Express; Kadzoo; New Ridge Bluegrass. Old-Time Fiddle: Brian Grim; Jake Krack; Richard Bowman; Kilby Spencer; Jerry Correll. Bluegrass Fiddle: Jordan Blevins; Butch Barker; Kylie Hall. Old-Time Banjo: Michael Fox; Ray Chatfield; Marsha Todd; Kevin Fore; Patrick Hill. Bluegrass Banjo: Houston Caldwell; Brian Cox; Henry Webb; Steve Grissley; Gary Webb. Guitar: Matt Osborne; Tony King; Asa Gravley; Gary Dalton; Glen Skaggs. Mandolin: Ben Hill; Tommy Sells; Nick King; Terry King; Dalton Edwards. Autoharp: Joann Redd; Gilbert Suitt; Glenna Anderson; Ross Roberts; Virgil Adams. Folksong: Glen Skaggs; Amber Compton; Jesse Lovell; Gary Dalton; Erin Lunsford. Dulcimer: Terry Lewis; Sharon Boyd; Lou Beasley; Phyliss Gaskins; Dick Lamb. Dobro: Billy Bourne; Jacob Joines; Marvin Farmer; N.R. Taylor; Frank Lawson. Bass: Andy Blevins; Brian Osborne; Loyd Richardson; Mark Rose; Karen Carr. Henry Whitter Award: Brian Grim.
Dudley Laufman of Canterbury, NH, has been named a 2009 National Heritage Fellow. Laufman, 78, has been calling dances and performing since 1948, and founded the Canterbury County Dance Orchestra. He performs today in the duet Two Fiddles, with Jacqueline Laufman, with whom he recently published the book Traditional Barn Dances with Calls and Fiddling. He has also been the subject of a documentary, The Other Way Back: Dancing with Dudley. Visit www.nea.gov/honors/heritage/fellows for more information about this year’s Fellows
Instrument maker Charles J. (“Jean“) Horner was among the recipients of the Folklife Heritage Award in the Governors’ Arts Award Program produced by the TN Arts Commission. Robert Cogswell, Director of the Folklife Program of the Tennessee Arts Commission, writes, “Jean’s been at it far longer than any other instrument maker on this side of the mountain. His fiddles and mandolins are widely used by a number of the outstanding country, bluegrass, and old-time players in the state. Kenny Sears, an Opry staff fiddler and the leader of the Time Jumpers western swing band, has been an long-time devotee of Jean’s fiddles, and at the award event, he showed off their tone by playing a Beethoven concerto and Howdy Forrester’s arrangement of ‘Say Old Man.’”
Hoyt “Slim” Bryant, longtime country music star in the Pittsburgh area, marked his 100th birthday on December 8th. In 1931, Bryant was a teenager in his hometown of Atlanta, working in the electricity industry and studying jazz guitar, when he landed a place in Clayton McMichen’s Melody Men, a band that evolved into McMichen’s Wildcats. He continued to make a name for himself in the country music world as an accompanist to Jimmie Rodgers on the Singing Brakeman’s last recordings, and as the author of popular songs like “Mother, Queen of My Heart” and “Eeny Meeny, Dixie Deeny.” Following McMichen’s departure for other musical ventures, Bryant became the leader of the Wildcats, and in 1940 the band relocated to Pittsburgh. For many years to come they were well-known local TV and radio personalities, and many artists in the area credit Bryant as an early inspiration or instructor. He remains an active member of the local music scene. At his birthday party in December, according to the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review, Bryant invited everyone to come back in a decade for his 110th birthday, and added, “I’m Slim Bryant, and I approved this message.” (Many of the Wildcats’ recordings have been reissued in recent years by the British Archive of Country Music, http://bacm.users.btopenworld.com.)
On December 9th, Piedmont North Carolina fiddler Joe Thompson celebrated his 90th birthday. Thompson grew up playing music with his cousin Odell, mentored by the boys’ fathers Walter and John Arch Thompson, who were farmers in the Orange/Alamance County area north of Mebane, where Thompson lives today. The cousins were musical partners for many years, as children and young men, and then, after a hiatus, in middle age. They received the North Carolina Heritage Award in 1991. Odell passed away in 1994, and Joe suffered a serious stroke in 2001. In recent years, however, Joe Thompson has returned to active musicianship, performing with his protégés the Carolina Chocolate Drops, with Bob Carlin, and with other friends. In 2007 Thompson was honored with a National Heritage Award.
Comparative younguns among the artists celebrating major milestones in late 2008, the New Lost City Ramblers marked their 50th anniversary on September 13th. It’s nearly impossible to overstate the importance of the New Lost City Ramblers in the resurgence of old-time string band music. In the early days of the folk revival, when many Americans’ notion of traditional music reflected the rather homogenized pseudo-folk hits of current pop bands, the NLCR set out, both as performers and documentarians, to reintroduce the nation to authentic old-time music and musicians. Over the next five decades, in their concerts and on their many Folkways recordings, John Cohen, Mike Seeger, Tom Paley, and Tracy Schwarz played music learned from the 1920s and ‘30s canon of Southern commercial recordings, from field recordings of traditional artists, and directly from elder musicians. The Ramblers are responsible, both individually and as a band, for introducing (or reintroducing) many great traditional musicians to an appreciative public, and for inspiring countless other people to take up, and carry on, the traditions of old-time music.
At the Hoppin’ John Old-Time and Bluegrass Fiddlers’ Convention, held on September 19 and 20 at Shakori Hills in Silk Hope, North Carolina, contest winners were as follows. Old-Time Band: Buggy Riders, Carolina Catbirds, April Fools. Bluegrass Band: Grass Up ‘n Go; Rocky Creek Bluegrass. Non-Traditional Band: Haw River Rounders; Running Walkers; Lipstick on a Maverick. Old-Time Fiddle: Wayne Martin; David Hughes; Nancy Sluys. Old-Time Banjo: Kevin Ford; Matt Ball; Ben Riesser. Bluegrass Fiddle: Lee Bidgood; Danny Casstevens; Carter Burke. Bluegrass Banjo: David Thornberry; Alan Jolley. Guitar: David Hughes; William Britt; Rich Hartness. Folk Song: Tim Wells; Lee Arnold; Annalena Phillips. Mandolin: Lee Bidgood; Erik Wolken; Danny Casstevens. Bass: Ed Hammer; Harold Clapp; Tammy Sawyer. Youth Dance: Crystal Santana; David Gillmore; Parker King. Adult Dance: Joan Levitt; Aaron Ratcliffe; Jennie Brunner.
The following people received prizes at the 2008 Delaware State Sea Witch Halloween and Fiddlers Festival, held at Rehoboth Beach and Dewey Beach, DE. Fiddle: Ed Pollak (Exton, PA); Keith Dill (Winchester, VA); Luke Thomas (Clayton, DE). Banjo: Ray Hesson (Upper Marlboro, MD); Bill Schmidt (Baltimore, MD); Keith Dill (Winchester, VA). Youth Fiddle: Clay Johnson (Elkton, MD); Brian Melilli (Bensalem, PA); Zoe Kelly (Lewes, DE); Youth Banjo: Dylan Johnson (Elkton, MD); Clay Johnson (Elkton, MD).
Prize winners at the 42nd Annual Tennessee Valley Old-Time Fiddlers Convention, held on the grounds of Athens State University, Athens, Alabama, Oct. 3-4, included the following. Harmonica: Wailin Wood (Nashville, TN); Isaac Vick (Lyles, TN); Tommy Bounds (Sylacauga, AL); Lewis Taylor (Ringgold, GA); Rob Pearcy (Smyrna, TN). Dulcimer: Bobby Nobley (LaGrange, GA); Ray Hunley (Old Hickory, TN); Rob Pearcy (Smyrna, TN); Tommy Bounds (Sylacauga, AL); Will McMeans (Lester, AL). Old-Time Singing: Clayton Burrell (Athens, AL); Ed Norman (Durham, NC); Sierra Ivie Tomlin (Springfield, TN); Trey Patterson (Hazel Green, AL); Luther Hisaw (Donna, TX). Beginning Fiddle (10 & under): Caleb Bryant (Northport, AL); Thomas Allison (Rainsville, AL); Austin Derryberry (Shelbyville, TN); Raygan Sellers (Ashland City, TN); Kelcy Tomlin (Springfield, TN). Guitar-Finger Picking: Scooter Muse (Florence, AL); Jimmy Wood (Fairview, TN); Justin Miller (Decatur, AL); Wes Langlois (Nashville, TN); Josh Philpot (Shelbyville, TN). Old-Time Banjo: Adam Hurt (Winston-Salem, NC); Scott Miller (Hanceville, AL); Tyler Andal (Whitehouse, TN); Jim Holland (Athens, AL); Charlie Hunter (Birmingham, AL). Old-Time Fiddle: Joseph Decosimo (Signal Mtn, TN); Greg Thigpen (Lexington, AL); Tyler Andal (White House, TN); Adam Hurt (Winston-Salem, NC); Carter Laney (Birmingham, AL). Old-Time Band: Roane County Amblers (Harriman, TN); The Ubiquitones (Greensboro, NC); Flying Jenny (Birmingham, AL); The Lickabees (Nashville, TN); The Honeysuckle Fiddle Show (Cullman, AL). Buck Dance (15 & under): Brianne Hargrove (Athens, AL); Shawn Jones (Lyles, TN); Emma Hargrove (Athens, AL); Frances DiGiovanni (Greenbrier, TN); Kelcy Tomlin (Springfield, TN). Buck Dance (16 & over): Justin Frazor (Smyrna, TN); Jay Bland (Kennesaw, GA); Fran White (Hillsboro, AL); Earl Hawthorne (Dixon Springs, TN); Dudley Richard (Ramar, TN).
The International Bluegrass Music Association (IBMA) presented its Distinguished Achievement Awards on October 2 at its World of Bluegrass Business Conference. Honorees were Appalshop director and longtime MerleFest promoter Art Menius, band leader Bill Harrell, influential music magazine Banjo Newsletter, Nashville’s Ernest Tubb Record Shop, and bluegrass musicians Alan Munde and Joe Carr.
The Folk Alliance has announced that the recipients of their 2009 Elaine Weissman Lifetime Achievement Awards will be Phil Ochs (Legacy Artist Lifetime Achievement Award), Guy and Candie Carawan (Living Artist Lifetime Achievement Award), and the Old Town School of Folk Music (Business/Industry Lifetime Achievement Award). The ceremony will take place at their annual Folk Awards Show on February 18, 2009, at the Memphis Marriott Downtown in Memphis, Tennessee.
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