MUSIC IN THE AIR AT THE CHARLIE POOLE MUSIC FESTIVAL

Music was in the air at the Charlie Poole Music Festival---little groups were everywhere, on the porches, under a tent here or under a tree there, and the air was throbbing with the notes of fiddle and banjo, guitar and song. Early in the morning on Saturday, there were lots of kids roaming the grounds, waiting for their turn to compete. By Saturday afternoon about 150 names were registered in the dozen different categories for the adult competition, and the atmosphere grew even more exciting.

All this followed the Friday evening concert at the Eden Fairgrounds, where an enthusiastic crowd heard an exhilarating variety of country, bluegrass, old time, blues, even ragtime played by one group after another. Two of them featured New York artists, the East River String Band and The Wiyos, the latter especially well received when they moved down from the stage and played with the audience close around, as they said they were used to, from having started on the streets of New York.

The contests came to an electrifying end with the competition for the $500 grand prize for old time three-finger style banjo playing, and then the awarding of more than 50 other prizes of cash or rosettes. Winners are listed below:

Youth Division

1st—Jared Boyd, Laurel Fork, VA
2nd—Hannah Patterson, Ridgeway, VA
3rd—Tommy Cuozzi, Ruffin, NC
4th—Zane Foust, Greensboro, NC

Flatpick Guitar

1st—Steve Kilby, Mouth of Wilson, VA
2nd—Jesse Smathers, Eden, NC
3rd—Sam McDougle, New York, NY
4th—Lynwood Lunsford, Cascade, VA
5th—Joey Doss, Stoneville, NC

Fingerstyle Guitar

1st—Rich Hartness, Greensboro, NC
2nd—Bill Adams, Charlottesville, VA
3rd—Peter Winne, Charlottesville, VA
4th—Clifford Orange, Blacksburg, VA
5th—Randy Johnson, Greensboro, NC

Bluegrass Fiddle

1st—Adam Hurt, Kernersville, NC
2nd—Deb Gitlin, Walkertown, NC
3rd—Sam McDougle, New York, NY
4th—Ellen Vigour, White Hall, VA
5th—Jerry Correll, Elk Creek, VA

Old Time Fiddle

1st—Adam Hurt, Kernersville, NC
2nd—Jerry Correll, Elk Creek, VA
3rd—Deb Gitlin, Walkertown, NC
4th—Tolly Tollefson, Greensboro, NC
5th—Rich Hartness, Greensboro, NC

Clawhammer Banjo

1st—Adam Hurt, Kernersville, NC
2nd—Brien Fain, Mt. Airy, NC
3rd—Susan Sterngold, Suffern, NY
4th—Terry Burtyk, Durham, NC
5th—Kevin Fore, Low Gap, NC

Bluegrass Banjo

1st—Matthew Turman, Eden, NC
2nd—Jason Johnson, Ruffin, NC
3rd—Cutch Tuttle, Staunton, VA
4th—Ronald Smith, Reidsville, NC

Duet Singing

1st—Emily and Cory Johnson-Erday, Greensboro, NC
2nd—Ed Norman and Tim Wells, Durham, NC
3rd—Jordan Roberson and Joey Doss, Eden, NC
4th—Rich Hartness and Tolly Tollefson, Greensboro, NC
5th—Jesse Smathers and Guy Ferguson, Eden, NC

Bluegrass Band

1st—Dusty Ridge, Eden, NC
2nd—Eden’s Road, Eden, NC
3rd—Skyline Drive, Ridgeway, VA
4th—Hounddog Hill, Staunton, VA
5th—Maudlin Brothers, Durham, NC

Old Time Band

1st—Virginia Carolina Ramblers, Low Gap, NC
2nd—Ubiquitones, Kernersville, NC
3rd—Grayson County Daredevils, Elk Creek, VA
4th—Appalachian Americans, Pinnacle, NC
5th—Bull City String Band, Durham, NC

Poole Song

1st—Wayne Seymour, Wentworth, NC
2nd—Robert Stowe, Stoneville, NC
3rd—Randy Johnson, Greensboro, NC
4th—Pete Winne, Charlottesville, VA
5th—Bill Adams, Charlottesville, VA


Grand Prize—Three-Finger Banjo

Greg Adams, Germantown, MD

This project received sponsorship support from the Grassroots Arts Program of the Rockingham County Arts Council and the North Carolina Arts Council.