The Sixteenth Annual Henry Reed Memorial Fiddlers Convention will be held at the Newport Recreation Center in Newport, VA on June 8-9, 2018. This festival honors the life and music of local old-time fiddler Henry Reed and is proud to have grown into it’s sixteenth year! The Henry Reed Memorial Fiddlers Convention is an official Crooked Road Affiliated Festival.
Friday’s activities will begin at 5 PM. The Reed Family Band always kicks things off, followed by 2 sets each from the featured bluegrass band Route 8 Ramblers and the featured old-time band Sutphin & Levy. Individual competitions will start at 3 PM on Saturday, followed by the band competitions.
The workshop is back this year! Bertram Levy, a founding member of the legendary Hollow Rock String Band with Alan Jabbor, will offer a 2-day banjo workshop 10 AM – noon on Friday and Saturday.
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 2018 Winners and thanks to all that competed!
| Old-Time Fiddle 1. Henry Barnes 2. Tessa Dillon 3. Kathleen O’Connell 4. Chris Magrath 5. Bill Wellington |
Old-Time Banjo 1. Chris McGrath 2. Russ Boyd 3. Bob Stepno 4. Jim Anderson 5. Jeff Norman |
Old-Time Guitar 1. Mike Harrison 2. Jon Benfield 3. Bob Stepno 4. Liam Kelly 5. Evan Collins |
| Mandolin* 1. Rick Hall 2. Bob Stepno 3. Kevin Beddingfield |
Banjo-Fiddle Duet 1. Liam Kelly/Jen Barton 2. Carl Baron/Steve Powell 3. Tessa Dillon/Henry Barnes 4. Ginger Wagner/Paul Herling 5. Jeff Norman/Emily Reisinger |
Bluegrass Fiddle 1. Henry Barnes 2. Paul Herling |
| Bluegrass Banjo 1. Garland Finn 2. Caden Glover 3. Stefan Kraft |
Bluegrass Guitar 1. Rich Hall 2. Samuel Albert 3. Jon Benfield 4. Stefan Kraft 5. Nathan Sheetz |
Folk Song 1. Lieselotte Heil 2. Tim Thornton 3. Ginger Wagner 4. Jon Benfield 5. Fred Benfield |
| Dulcimer 1. Tim Thornton |
Bass 1. Liam Kelly 2. Keith Thomas |
Dobro 1. Jerry Shorb 2. Estelle O’Donnell |
| Dance 1. Jen Barton 2. Pat Harrison 3. Tessa Dillon 4. Liselotte Heil 5. BK Hodges |
Old-time Band 1. Washtones 2. Happy Hollow String Band 3. Narrows Jam Band 4. Never No More String Band 5. Squirrel Spur Rounders |
WNRV will partner with the Henry Reed festival again in 2018 to offer a special combined advertising deal. New WNRV customers that take a 1 year package may be eligible for a discount for a full-page advertisement in the official Henry Reed festival booklet. 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, Forteenth, and Fifteenth 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!