7th Annual Elliott County Fiddler’s Convention aimed to inspire the youth

Violet and the Newsroom were one of the many bands that played Friday night at the 7th annual Elliott County Fiddler’s Convention. The first day consisted mostly of jams, until dusk when bands started taking stage.

John Ryster is a luthier, or instrument maker, and the organizer of the convention. He said the two days of music are an opportunity to share and pass down the culture.

“Festivals like this get people to hear it. There’s kids running around and they get to grow up hearing it and it may be something they want to learn and that’s how you keep a tradition alive, you know? It’s older folks teaching younger folks,” Ryster said.

Organizers said while no one was turned away at the entrance for lack of funds, the $10 a night entry fee helped break even on the costs involved in running the festival each year.

Unsurprisingly, many of the event’s attendees are involved in old-time music community. Tommy Case, another skilled luthier, was there selling fiddles he made. He said the culture’s flame is only burning  brighter.

“I think it’s still growing and will grow even more. Just like the internet and YouTube and all the instructional information you get if you want to be a musician, or a cook or whatever,” Case said. “If you want to be a luthier you can find videos by famous makers in Italy that demonstrate the different steps and so forth.”

Case said that having a real mentor does however help in the initial developing of one’s craftsmanship.

“When I do an apprenticeship, I feel like what I am doing is giving people the confidence and the foundation, you know, to tackle one. And once they learn how to do it, once they learn how to do all the steps, they can refine it by reading or going to the internet and looking how other people do different steps in the process,” Case said.

On Saturday there were youth and adult competitions for banjo, fiddle, and dulcimer pickers, respectively. Ryster said following these individual events there was a string band competition.

“That one is always really fun. It’s usually thrown together bands, these are not people who play together regularly. People get together and play a couple tunes. So, that’s always a fun time,” Ryster said.

Ryster said following these string bands, two artists played sets representing a style of banjo playing unique to Eastern Kentucky.

“There’s a certain way you play with your right hand, you kind of strum up and down a lot rather than the regular claw hammer that most people associate with old-time music,” Ryster said.

Another luthier in attendance, Casey Meikle, drove all the way from Nashville to attend the convention for the first time. He said festivals like these are all about connecting people, familiar faces and new ones alike.

“Maybe you will win a ribbon, maybe you won’t, but you are going to have a good time with your friends you know? Play music with your friends and cook food, camp out. It’s been a great joy of my life for the past 25 years or so,” Meikle said.

Ryster said he plans to host the next Elliott County Fiddler’s Convention in October again.

All photos credited to Alex Standifer.