Special contributor, Promoter and Organizer

The Old Fiddler’s Convention was originated in the spring of 1935 when a few members of the then New Moose Lodge #733 needed something to raise funds and promote publicity. In a newspaper item at the time it was stated that the Convention was dedicated to “Keeping alive the memories and sentiments of days gone by and make it possible for people of today to hear and enjoy the tunes of yesterday.” The original purpose is held in the same regard today. The Old Fiddler’s Convention has grown steadily. In 1965 a Saturday afternoon program was started to relieve the pressure on Saturday night. In 1967 NBC-TV covered the entire three nights and Saturday afternoon. Today, the Convention begins Monday night with Youth Competition and continues each night through Saturday, with an afternoon performance on Saturday. Contestants come from distant states and foreign countries, but when they play, the tunes are the same that have been heard at the convention down through the years. The promoters feel that the Annual Old Fiddlers’ Convention is a tradition in country and mountain musical circles and they do their best to continue bringing the tunes which have been handed down from generation to generation in the Blue Ridge Mountains. The fact that many of the contestants are youngsters is encouraging and the promoters feel that the future of Old Time and Country Music is secure.

Published in 2018

Galax Old Fiddlers Convention

Alice Gerrard is a talent of legendary status. In a career spanning some 50 years, she has known, learned from, and performed with many of the old-time and bluegrass greats and has in turn earned worldwide respect for her own important contributions to the music. A tireless advocate of traditional music, Alice has won numerous honors, including an International Bluegrass Music Association (IBMA) Distinguished Achievement Award, a Virginia Arts Commission Award, the North Carolina Folklore Society’s Tommy Jarrell Award, and an Indy Award. Alice has appeared on more than 20 recordings, including projects with many traditional musicians such as Tommy Jarrell, Enoch Rutherford, Otis Burris, Luther Davis and Matokie Slaughter; with Tom Sauber and Brad Leftwich as Tom, Brad & Alice, with the Harmony Sisters, the Herald Angels, Beverly Smith, and with Anna R-g and Elizabeth LaPrelle. With her in-depth knowledge of mountain music, she has produced or written liner notes for a dozen more. She also co-produced and appeared in two documentary films.

Published in 2016

Alice Gerrard

On the third Saturday of every June at Grayson Highlands State Park in Mouth of Wilson, Virginia, the Wayne C. Henderson Music Festival and Guitar Competition features some of the region’s best traditional musicians. The event takes its name from National Heritage Award recipient Wayne C. Henderson, a musician and instrument maker who lives in nearby Rugby, Virginia. Henderson’s top-notch finger-picking is a source of great pleasure and pride to his friends, family, and neighbors in Grayson County, Virginia. Wayne and many of his musical friends are featured performers at the festival, with bluegrass and old-time music dominating the program. The Wayne C. Henderson Music Festival and Guitar Competition was established in 1995 to express appreciation for this living legend. A portion of the proceeds from the festival are placed into a scholarship fund to aid local young musicians in continuing their educations. More than $100,000 has been awarded through the festival.

Published in 2014

The Wayne C. Henderson Festival

For more than thirty years, Cindy has pursued her passion for Bluegrass Music as an award winning broadcaster, producer, promoter, singer, musician, writer, photographer and MC. Her national radio show, “Knee-Deep In Bluegrass”, went into syndication in 2003 with distribution by the John Boy & Billy Radio Network. Now heard weekly in nearly a hundred radio markets, Cindy uses her knowledge of the music and enthusiasm to entertain and educate the listeners of her show. Cindy was elected to the Board of Directors of the International Bluegrass Music Association for two terms and serves as chair of the IBMA Membership Committee. She was producer of the 2008, 2009 and 2010 IBMA Awards Show at the Ryman Auditorium in Nashville, TN. Cindy has been involved with MerleFest since its beginning in 1988 and started serving as MC in 1990. Her MC work has taken her to a variety of stages and venues over the years.

Published in 2012

Cindy Baucom

“B” Townes, a native of Danville, VA, began his career at Wilkes Community College as a Horticulture Instructor. Through his efforts, a million dollar fundraising campaign for the WCC Gardens was launched in 1985 with construction and endowments exceeding all goals. As an outgrowth of the garden campaign, he developed the idea of MerleFest which is one of the foremost music events in the country. The festival now draws over 75,000 participants over 4 days from all over the world and has a local economic impact from $12 to $15 million.

Published in 2010

"B" Townes IV

Ralph Rinzler grew up in Passaic, New Jersey. He was a performer, festival administrator, scholar, writer and tireless advocate for grass roots music. Through his work at the Newport Folk Foundation and at the Smithsonian he spent many hours preserving, documenting, and presenting traditional arts. The Smithsonian named its Folkway Collection, The Ralph Rinzler Folklife Archives and Collection. Each year a memorial concert is held in his honor at the Festival of American Folklife performed on the National Mall in Washington, D.C.

Published in 2008

Ralph Rinzler

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