The Fifteenth Annual Henry Reed Memorial Fiddlers Convention was held at the Newport Recreation Center in Newport, VA on June 9-10, 2017. This festival honors the life and music of local old-time fiddler Henry Reed and is proud to have grown into it’s fifteenth year! The Henry Reed Memorial Fiddlers Convention is an official Crooked Road Affiliated Festival.
Friday’s activities began at 6 PM. The Reed Family Band kicked things off, followed by 2 sets each from the featured bands Blue Rockin’ Grass and The Diggers. Individual competitions started at 3 PM on Saturday, followed by the band competitions.
WNRV will be 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 (includes admission for the weekend) and they can get a festival t-shirt or $10 back after they compete. No pre-registration is needed, you register on-site.
The competition categories are banjo (bluegrass and old-time), fiddle (bluegrass and old-time), guitar (bluegrass and old-time), banjo-fiddle duet, mandolin, dulcimer, bass, folk song, dance, bluegrass band and old-time band.
Gates open noon on Thursday, admission is free 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).
Vendors spots are available for $35. This is for the entire weekend and includes admission and camping for 2 people.
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 2017 Winners and thanks to all that participated!
| Old-Time Fiddle 1. Henry Barnes 2. Rebekah Graham 3. Steve Kruger 4. Adrian Sheperd-Powell 5. Kathleen O’Connell |
Old-Time Banjo 1. Matt Peyton 2. Russ Boyd 3. Mick Leffew 4. Kevin Beddingfield 5. Mac McCumsey |
Old-Time Guitar 1. Jon Benfield 2. Dennis McKim 3. Bud Hinson 4. Bob Stepno |
| Mandolin* 1. Rick Hall 2. Abe Goorskey 3. Bob Stepno 4. Jeff Getz 5. Dennis McKim |
Banjo-Fiddle Duet 1. Ben Silcox/Nessie Hunt 2. Gary Webb/Rebekah Graham 3. Jeff Norman/Emily Reisinger 4. Mac McCumsey/Adrian Sheperd-Powell 5. Jeff Getz/Paul Smith |
Bluegrass Fiddle 1. Rebekah Graham 2. Henry Barnes 3. Doug Merritt 4. Steve Kruger |
| Bluegrass Banjo 1. Gary Webb 2. Nessie Hunt |
Bluegrass Guitar 1. Rick Hall 2. Brandon Hilton 3. Scott Patrick 4. Jon Benfield |
Folk Song 1. Lieselotte Heil 2. Scott Patrick 3. Fred Benfield 4. Russ Boyd 5. Mark Ralston |
| Dulcimer 1. Matt Peyton 2. Linda Ray |
Bass 1. Ben Silcox 2. Tim Meade |
Adult Dance 1. Pat Harrison 2. Leslie Givens 3. B.K. Hodges 4. Linda Ray |
| Old-time Band 1. Pickled Beats 2. Little Stony Nighthawks 3. Ugly Mountain Boys & Gal 4. Happy Hollow Stringband 5. Boiling Frogs |
Bluegrass Band 1. Foggy Mountain 4 |
Youth Dance 1. Jesse Hunt 2. Kevin Beddingfield |
WNRV partnered with the Henry Reed festival again in 2017 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, Twelfth, Thirteenth, and Forteenth 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!