Author: jaf

What a difference a year makes. Our experience at the Appalachian String Band Festival in Clifftop, WV was vastly different from 2012. This was the second time for all of us being more comfortable with this community of Old Time music players at this venue. We decided to camp this year which allowed us greater…

An open house was held to celebrate the wedding of John’s daughter Emily to Fred.   Wedding took place the day after the open house and many of John’s friends and our family were able to attend.  Of course, we had a jam session that exposed many to the sounds of Old Time music.   We played…

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…

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…

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…

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…

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…

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…

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…

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…