By Laura Boosinger, Executive Director, Madison County Arts Council<\/p>\n
For centuries, folks have followed the French Broad River into Madison County to hear the finest in traditional music. Cecil Sharp found ballad singers in Hot Springs, Bascom Lamar Lunsford searched the hills and hollers for banjo players and buck dancers, and anyone having a house party or a barn dance came here to hunt for a fiddler to liven up the festivities.<\/p>\n
This tradition continues every spring when our finest fiddlers come together for a concert to benefit the Madison County Arts Council. On March 12, old favorites and new faces will join together in two jam-packed performances of old-time tunes, Bluegrass classics, sweet harmonies, and family togetherness. The Fiddlers of Madison County will be in concert at 3 p.m. and again at 7:30 p.m. on Saturday, March 12, at the Madison County Arts Council in downtown Marshall.<\/p>\n
This year, we will honor master fiddler Arvil Freeman. We have missed Arvil the last two years and want to give him the opportunity to step forward and shine. Arvil will be accompanied by The Midnight Plowboys who have been playing with him for more than four decades.<\/p>\n
Brian Hunter, founder of The Midnight Plowboys, recalls: \u201cIn the early 1950s, Arvil Freeman became a teen sensation while fiddling with The Sauceman Brothers on WCYB radio in Bristol, Virginia. The station was just across the state line from Arvil\u2019s home in Madison County, and the signal could be heard over much of the North Carolina mountains. And ever since those days, Arvil\u2019s unique long-bow style and focused attack have made him the undisputed \u2018bull of the woods\u2019 among Western North Carolina traditional mountain fiddlers!\u201d<\/p>\n
Mike Hunter, well known as the mandolin player at Bill Stanleys BBQ and Bluegrass, began learning from Arvil at a young age. \u201cI first met Arvil at jam sessions at Ralph Lewis\u2019 house. I was about 18 at the time and I had a lot to learn. Arvil would always pull me aside after the group was finished picking and work with me one-on-one, showing me what I\u2019d done wrong, going over the notes I\u2019d missed, etc. I didn\u2019t ask him to do this. He just did it because he wanted to help me. Nobody else spent the time with me that Arvil did, and consequently I learned more from Arvil over the years than from anyone else.\u201d<\/p>\n
Arvil\u2019s impact on the fiddling community will be showcased at this event, as several of his students will also be on hand. Among these are Kathryn Parham Brickey, Emma McDowell Best, and 12-year-old fiddler Lillian Chase. Also featured on the program will be Roger Howell, Ralph Lewis and The Sons of Ralph with Susi Gott, and The Owen Family Band.<\/p>\n
Ticket sales are already brisk and last year was standing room only. So early ticket purchase is suggested.<\/p>\n