Time After Old Time

Right before the school year began, I had the opportunity to attend the world’s oldest and largest Old Fiddler’s convention in Galax, Va. This year’s bluegrass and Old Time music festival was the 76^th annual, and like every year before it was held in Felts Park, in the center of a tiny Appalachian foothills town.

I’ve always been a fan of toe-tappin’ music of any kind, and bluegrass has been in my home for many years, especially since my younger brothers started to learn to play the fiddle from an Old Time fiddling enthusiast. But going to this convention opened my eyes to the culture that creates bluegrass.  Like all musical scenes, old time fiddle draws deeply from its geographical home, which is centered in the area between Pilot Mountain, N.C. and Galax.

Old Time music is unique in that by definition, the songs played must be part of the canon of recognizable tunes that have existed for centuries. Thus for Old Time musicians, the concept of authenticity is skewed. It’s not about creating a new tune from the 12 available tones; it’s about displaying your skill and personality through your performance of a familiar old tune.

I hadn’t really learned to appreciate this aspect of Old Time music until arriving in Galax – seeing hundreds of RVs and tents packed into a 28-acre athletic park with every spare inch turned into a temporary home. Checked table cloths covered picnic tables surrounded by folding chairs encircling portable charcoal grills. We didn’t have cell service, which meant we had to rely on primitive communication methods and planning – imagine that – only adding to the feeling of stepping back in time.

As I walked up and down the cozy aisles with my brothers as they looked for their teacher, the chilly air was filled with banjo, fiddle, dobro, guitar and dulcimer music blended with scratchy voices singing lyrics that have been passed down through generations. From overhearing my brothers’ lessons I recognized many of the tunes, and was able to appreciate the variations in style and instrumentation among the different jam sessions scattered through the park.

Although I was only able to stay for two days of the festival and thus only saw the youth competition, which my brothers competed in, and the mandolin and dobro competitions, I gleaned a lot about this musical scene that I never appreciated before. For starters, the very fact that at the world’s largest old time fiddle convention there is a youth competition for those under age 14 impressed me. Youngsters of any skill level stood up on the same stage that fiddle masters and world-class old time and bluegrass bands would take later in the week. The audience, although only a fraction of the size it would be later in the week, still paid the same respects to the novice banjo players as it would to a veteran who had played on the back porch for 30 years.

This level playing field and sense of equal opportunity for all old time music lovers was really heart-warming, and telling about the music. Galax demonstrated that every old time artist has something to bring to the table to enhance the musical tradition, be it is the barest plucking of a basic tune from a banjo or a medley bowed at breakneck pace on a fiddle.

Surrounded by plaid, overalls, long scruffy beards and chewing tobacco, it was hard to believe anything about this scene could have looked any different 30 years ago. And for that matter I doubt it will look any different in 30 years. The town will hopefully eventually get cell service and the McDonalds’ might also be joined by a Wendy’s, but the music will stay the same.