The Whitetop Mountain Band
The Whitetop Mountain Band is a family-based band from the highest mountains of Virginia. Whitetop, Virginia is an area rich in the old time music tradition; this band has deep roots in mountain music. The members have done much to preserve the Whitetop regions style of old time fiddling and banjo picking and are legendary musicians and teachers of the style. The band is currently led by Emily Spencer, who was a founding member of the group in the 1970s. Contact by phone at 276-579-4322.
Watkins & Small
Based in the Blue Ridge Mountains of Southwest Virginia, Ashlee Watkins & Andrew Small evoke a golden era when old-time, bluegrass and country music shared a stage every Saturday night. The duo seamlessly blends overlooked gems of the past with original material, captivating audiences around the globe with their stirring harmonies and tastefully classic stylings. Ashlee and Andrew have a steadily growing collection of ribbons from fiddlers’ conventions around the region, and their string band, The Alum Ridge Boys & Ashlee, took home first place old-time band at the 85th Annual Galax Old Fiddlers’ Convention. As songwriters, they have been featured in the IBMA Songwriter Showcase and won first prize in the 29th Annual MerleFest Chris Austin Songwriting Contest. In 2022, the duo released their debut album, Dear Companion.
Randy Wilson
Randy Wilson is a fifth generation eastern Kentuckian who worked for the Hindman Settlement School for 30 years doing songs, stories, and dances in the elementary schools. He plays traditional and original tunes on banjo, guitar, autoharp, and mountain dulcimer. Mr. Wilson has played in many festivals across the country- Appalshop’s Seedtime on the Cumberland, Hindman Settlement School’s Family Folk Week, The Great American Dulcimer Festival at Pine Mountain State Park, The Smithsonian Festival of Folk Music on the national mall, cultural exchange festivals with native peoples of Alaska and Puerto Rican folks in the Bronx, NYC. Included are concerts and cultural exchanges at the University of Rome, Rome, Italy and a recent tour of music in Japan.
For twenty years Mr. Wilson produced Kid’s Radio for WMMT at the Appalshop in Whitesburg, Ky, airing children’s voices and oral histories from across the region. He made numerous recordings with students in addition to his own recordings- albums from children’s music to blues to Christmas songs.
