This Weekend the 5th Annual Surry Old Time Fiddlers Convention Takes Place

The 5^th annual Surry Old Time Fiddlers Convention rounds out the month of March with award-winning musicians, free workshops, great food, and lots of dance. There'll also be luthier displays, band competitions, and great live performances by Mountain Park Old Time Band, Slate Mountain Ramblers and Back-Step. Back-Step members bassist Buck Buckner and fiddler Nick McMillian are co-organizers.

Today in the show we sample from the band's recording. Nick McMillian is a first place (fiddle) winner at both Mt. Airy and Galax, VA fiddlers conventions. He was joined in talking to David Ford by Co-Organizer Buck Buckner. Buck plays bass in Back Step, and he's chairman of the Surry County Planning Board. This year's Surry Old Time Fiddlers Convention is Friday, March 28 – 29, 2014 at Surry Community College, Dobson, NC. Friday night's dance will feature Back-Step along with Mountain Park Old Time Band, and Slate Mountain Ramblers. On Saturday it'll be competitions with a Master Artist Awards given to outstanding local musicians.  They're open to old and young alike keeping this cultural style of dance and music thriving into the future. There'll be free workshops on Saturday too, with renowned Galax style fiddler Eddie Bond, award-winning guitarist Chester McMillian, dancer Mark Handy, and NPR's own Paul Brown will offer a banjo workshop.