The Thirteenth Annual Henry Reed Memorial Fiddlers Convention was held at the Newport Recreation Center in Newport, VA on June 12-13, 2015. This festival honors the life and music of local old-time fiddler Henry Reed and is proud to have grown into it’s thirteenth year! The Henry Reed Memorial Fiddlers Convention is an official Crooked Road Affiliated Festival.
Update: The list of winners has been added below! Thanks to all that participated.
Friday’s activities began at 5 PM. The Reed Family Band with Alan Jabbour kicked things off, followed by the Giles Mountain String Band. You then got the featured bluegrass band The Gold Rush and the featured old-time band Crooked Road Ramblers. Individual and band competitions were held starting at 3:45 PM on Saturday. Alan Jabbour offered a 2-day fiddle workshop from 10-noon on Friday and Saturday morning.
WNRV was on-site again this year to cover all the hours of great live music from the festival on both days.
Admission is $8 per person per day on Friday and Saturday, or $15 for the weekend. All contestants pay $15 admission and they can get a festival t-shirt or $10 back after they compete. No pre-registration is needed, you register on-site.
Gates opened 9 AM on Thursday, there is no admission fee on Thursday. Thursday-Saturday night camping is an additional $10 per person per night (rough) and $15 per person per night (electric, limited number available).
More information on the festival is available at the Henry Reed Convention Facebook page. Contact us if you have any questions about the festival.
Congratulations to all the 2015 Winners and thanks to all that participated!
| Old-Time Fiddle 1. Steve Kruger 2. Tessa Dillon 3. George Aschmann 4. Betty Vornbrock 5. Bill Blevins |
Old-Time Banjo 1. Steve Kruger 2. Russ Boyd 3. Chip Arnold 4. Hunter Walker 5. Mike Harrison |
Old-Time Guitar 1. Jon Benfield 2. Billy Cornette |
| Mandolin* 1. Rick Hall 2. Paul Boone 3. Addison Dobbs |
Banjo-Fiddle Duet 1. Ron Mullennex/Betty Vornbrock 2. Gabriel Skogland/Tessa Dillon 3. Steve McCumsey/Lieselotte Heil 4. Ginger Wagner/Paul Herling |
Bluegrass Banjo 1. Lane Robertson 2. Nessie Hunt 3. Mike Crawford 4. Jacob Right 5. Kenny Hamblin |
| Bluegrass Guitar 1. Brandon Hilton 2. Rick Hall 3. Jon Benfield 4. Sam Albert |
Folk Song 1. Jina Gillis-Rosencrans 2. Tom Rosencrans 3. Fred Benfield 4. Lieselotte Heil 5. Lon Reid |
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| Dulcimer 1. Hunter Walker 2. David Parks 3. Matt Peyton 4. Tim Thornton 5. Chuck Richardson |
Bass 1. J.W. Meade 2. Ron Truman |
Dance* 1. Danny Williby 2. Judy Atkinson 3. BK Hodges |
| Bluegrass Band 1. Blue Connection 2. Blue Rock’n Grass |
Old-time Band 1. The Diggers 2. Craig County Critters 3. Ridge and Valley String Band 4. Reed Island Rounders 5. Tone Tied |
WNRV will partner with the Henry Reed festival again in 2015 to offer a special combined advertising deal. New WNRV customers that take a full-page advertisement in the official Henry Reed festival booklet may be eligible for a discount for their WNRV advertising. Contact WNRV to get details on how we can help you promote your group or business while supporting the local community.
Here is information for the Eighth, Ninth, Tenth, Eleventh, and Twelfth Annual Henry Reed Memorial Fiddlers Convention. A few T-shirts and program booklets from previous years are still available for purchase. Let us know if you are interested in getting these great souvenirs from previous years. Get yours while there are still some left!