Aug. 9, 2018
CLIFFTOP, W.Va. – The 29th annual Appalachian String Band Music Festival at Camp Washington-Carver in Clifftop, Fayette County, wrapped up on Sunday, Aug. 5, 2018. Twenty-one musicians, 12 bands and 11 dancers from California to Maine took home a total of $7,500 in prize money. Seven of the winners are from West Virginia, including Jim Mullins, St. Albans, Kanawha County, third place senior banjo; Tessa Dillon, St. Albans, Kanawha County, third place fiddle; Big Possum String Band, St. Albans, Kanawha County, first place Traditional Band; Joseph Riley, Hillsboro, Pocahontas County, first place Youth Traditional Band; Luke Snuffer, Beckley, Raleigh County, second place Flatfoot – 15 years of age and younger; Lucas Bryant, Huntington, Cabell County, third place Flatfoot – 15 years of age and younger; and Will Roboski, Elkins, Randolph County, third place Flatfoot – 60 and older.
More than 3,000 musicians, dancers, fans and friends representing all 50 states and 10 countries attended the West Virginia Department of Arts, Culture and History’s five-day-event that features some of the world’s finest string-band musicians and flat-foot dancers. Contests were held in four traditional categories – fiddle, banjo, string band and flat-foot dance – plus one neo-traditional string band category.
The contest winners were:
Youth Banjo
1st Place: ($100) – Nora Brown – Brooklyn, N.Y.
2nd Place: ($50) – Silas Riley – Hillsboro, Va.
Banjo
1st Place: ($400) – Cathy Fink – Silver Springs, Md.
2nd Place: ($200) – Carl Jones – Galax, Va.
3rd Place: ($150) – Nora Brown – Brooklyn, N.Y.
4th Place: ($100) – Cameron DeWhitt – Hillsboro, Ore.
5th Place: ($50) – Brad Kolodner – Baltimore, Md.
Senior Banjo
1st Place: ($200) Cathy Fink – Silver Springs, Md.
2nd Place: ($100) Carl Jones – Galax, Va.
3rd Place: ($50) Jim Mullins – Saint Albans, W.Va.
Youth Fiddle
1st Place: ($100) – Aila Wildman – N/A
2nd Place: ($50) – Lillian Chase – Weaverville, N.C.
3rd Place: ($25) – Kai Grosklos – Columbus, Ohio
Fiddle
1st Place: ($400) – Henry Barnes – Washington Court House, Ohio
2nd Place: ($200) – Amy Alvey – Coto De Caza, Calif.
3rd Place: ($150) – Tessa Dillon – Saint Albans, W.Va.
4th Place: ($100) – Joseph Decosimo – Durham, N.C.
5th Place: ($50) – Erynn Marshall – Galax, Va.
Senior Fiddle
1st Place: ($200) – Betty Vornbrack – Hillsville, Va.
2nd Place: ($100) – Pete Vigour – Crozet, Va.
3rd Place: ($50) – Barb Kuhns – Medway, Ohio
Youth Neo-Traditional Band
1st Place: ($300) – Ithingtons – Ithaca, N.Y.
Neo-Traditional Band
1st Place: ($700) – Take Two – Charlottesville, Va.
2nd Place: ($400) - Mama’s Broke – Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada
3rd Place: ($300) – The Ken & Brad Kolodner Trio – Baltimore, Md.
4th Place: ($200) – Gray Scale – Pittsburgh, Pa.
5th Place: ($100) – Billy & The Blow Ground – Nellysford, Va.
Best New Composition Song
No monetary award – Hay Fever – N/A
Best New Composition Tune
No monetary award – The Ken & Brad Kolodner Trio – Baltimore, Md.
Youth Traditional Band
1st Place: ($300) Joseph Riley, Hillsboro, W.Va.
Traditional Band
1st Place: ($700) Big Possum Stringband – St. Albans, W.Va.
2nd Place: ($400) Steam Machine – Minneapolis, Minn.
3rd Place: ($300) Hoot & Holler – Coto de Caza, Calif.
4th Place: ($200) Big Foot – Asheville, N.C.
5th Place: ($100) The Moose Whisperers – Weaverville, N.C.
Old-Time Flat-Foot Dance – 15 years of age and younger
1st Place: ($75) Audrey Sementilli – Albany, Ohio
2nd Place: ($50) Luke Snuffer – Beckley, W.Va.
3rd Place: ($25) Lucas Bryant – Huntington, W.Va.
Old-Time Flat-Foot Dance – 16 years of age through 40
1st Place: ($75) Becky Hill – Ashland City, Tenn.
2nd Place: ($50) Aaron Ratcliffe – Boone, N.C.
3rd Place: ($25) Will Roboski – Elkins, W.Va.
Old-Time Flat-Foot Dance – 41 years of age through 59
1st Place: ($75) Ben Lieb – Concord, Calif.
2nd Place: ($50) Emily Hammond – Alexandria, Va.
Old-Time Flat-Foot Dance – 60 years of age and older
1st Place: ($75) Gordy Hinners – Banner Elk, N.C.
2nd Place: ($50) Rodney Sutton – Marshall, N.C.
3rd Place: ($25) Jan Scopel – Arnold, Md.
Grand Champion Old-Time Flat-Foot Dance Winner
($100) Gordy Hinners – Banner Elk, N.C.
For more information about the 29th annual Appalachian String Band Music Festival, contact Andrea Nelson, public information specialist for the department, at (304) 558-0220.
A beautiful retreat listed in the National Register of Historic Places and operated by the West Virginia Department of Arts, Culture and History, Camp Washington-Carver serves as the state’s mountain cultural arts center. The facility nurtures the cultural heritage embodied in the site since its dedication in 1942 as a 4-H and agricultural extension camp for West Virginia’s African Americans. The camp is located in Fayette County next to Babcock State Park, just off Rt. 60 (Midland Trail) on Rt. 41.
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