Sunday 6 August 2017

Fiddle-dee-dee

"Open your mouth and let the moonshine in" with a healthy dose of fiddles, banjos, dulcimers, guitars, oh, and the spoons if you have a set! The Appalachian music scene is alive and well at Floyd, Galax and all points in between.

Street music with overalls, fiddles and 'flatfoot' dancing 
On Fridays outside the Floyd Country Store people gather informally in the street to play music and dance 'flatfoot' (think tap shoes and dungarees).

Inside, for a nominal fee, you can mix with the locals for a two-step, square dance, or more toe-tapping hillbilly fun.





Because 'Grandma's rules' apply (no alcohol, no swearing, no bad behaviour), all ages can have a good time - from the 8 year olds tapping away, to the 88 year old band member who stood up to play dulcimer and banjo for nearly 2 hours without a break.

8 to 88 years having fun at Floyd Country Store
The nearby Blue Ridge Music Centre contains a potted history of the influences on local music including instruments and musical styles from Africa, Germany, Ireland. Here are some things we found out today:

*the banjo is derived from a 3 or 4 string African instrument made from a gourd

*'hillbilly' music stems from a 1924 band called the Hill Billies

* Bill Monroe's Bluegrass Boys, dressed in overalls, led to what we call bluegrass music.

Bring your fiddle to Galax

If you want to hear the best fiddle payers around, be at Galax Virginia (population 7042) and join around 500 RV-driving, Appalachian music-loving country folk for the 82nd Fiddlers Convention.

If you have your fiddle, take it along. You could win $20,000USD.


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