Traveled the new highway being built through the middle of West Virginia, Route 48 or better known as Corridor H to this year’s Vandalia Gathering in Charleston, WV. This year’s event was a “scaled down” as the West Virginia Division of Culture and History decided to take many of the events that generally occur and…
Author: jaf
FOOTMAD Jam Session
Bring together a bunch of fiddlers, throw in several banjos and guitars, back those up with 3 basses, add in a sweet autoharp … and what do you get?… FOOTMAD! We traveled a few miles out of town to play in a Sunday jam session sponsored by a local organization called the Kanawha Valley Friends…
Flying and Music
Growing up in our home flying was another part of out lives. Just like jumping into the car for a long drive, flying was just another way for us to get around as our father had his pilot’s license. This weekend we got to relive some of our best childhood memories as we attended a…
Appalachian String Band Festival – 2012
We attended the music festival that is held in Clifftop, WV. It is an international gathering of musicians with contests, concerts, workshops, square dances, camping and a hymn-sing. This was the first time that all of us had gone to this event and talk about “jumping in feet first.” This music festival is like no…
Rehearsal Dinner
We were very pleased and honored with the invitation to play some traditional Old Time music for the rehearsal dinner for our niece Anne and her husband (to be) John. Those that came to the event were many professional performers who were kind enough to listen and enjoy the tunes we played. We played lots of…
Summer of Music
It has been since October of 2011 that we had all us for a music session. We took this opportunity to get ready for the big trip to the Appalachian String Band Festival. Not all of us have attended and this would be our first year to stay the nights and even try out hand…
Vandalia 2012
The “Vandalia Gathering” is an annual event held on the grounds of the West Virginia capital complex. This festival is intended to exhibit the traditions and many influences of West Virginia folk life including music, dance, crafts, and food. Many of us have been coming to this event but this will be the first time…
Getting Better & Learning More Songs
A quiet weekend in early March was a good reason to get in some more play time. The weekend focused on learning some new songs including those written by brother David and included the song “Bill Cheatham” a song that was performed at the Appalachian String Band Festival traditional contest. This tune has an interesting…
Thanksgiving 2011
We believe the primary purpose of playing music is a means to bring family and friends together. This Thanksgiving was not just a time to spend with many members of our family and some new friends but also included participation in the morning 3K run called the “Turkey Trot” and a few of us were able…
Family music gathering!
We were all able to gather in our home town to have a family music jam. This included our older bother and his wife trying out the Autoharp, Psaltry, and Hammered Dulcimer. It was an adventurous weekend as everyone had to learn many of the nuances of playing in a jam and playing in a larger…