CLIFFTOP, W.Va. – The 32nd annual Appalachian String Band Music Festival at Camp Washington-Carver in Clifftop, Fayette County, wrapped up on Sunday, Aug. 6, 2023. Twenty musicians, ten bands and nine dancers from 11 states took home a total of $9,625 in prize money.
Seven of the winners are from West Virginia, including Chance McCoy, Greenville, Monroe County, first place banjo and third place fiddle; Tessa Dillon, Greenville, Monroe County, second place fiddle; Robert Smakula, Montrose, Randolph County, third place senior banjo and second place senior fiddle; Edwin McCoy, Greenville, Monroe County, first place youth banjo; Liam Farley, Chapmanville, Logan County, first place youth fiddle; The McCoys, Greenville, Monroe County, first place traditional band; and The Shoats, Morgantown, Monongalia County, first place neo-traditional band.
Musicians, dancers, fans and friends representing all states and 12 countries have attended the West Virginia Department of Arts, Culture and History’s five-day event that features some of the world’s finest string-band musicians and flat-foot dancers. Contests were held in four traditional categories – fiddle, banjo, string band and flat-foot dance – plus one neo-traditional string band category.
The contest winners were:
Youth Banjo
1st Place: ($100) – Edwin McCoy, Greenville, W.Va.
2nd Place: ($75) – Margo MacSweeney, Floyd, Va.
3rd Place: ($50) – River Riley, Mills River, N.C.
Open Banjo
1st Place: ($400) – Chance McCoy, Greenville, W.Va.
2nd Place: ($200) – Frank Evans, Madison, Tenn.
3rd Place: ($150) – Bradley Kolodner, Baltimore, Md.
4th Place: ($100) – Hanna Traynham, Vilas, N.C.
5th Place: ($50) – Margaret Shar, East Hampton, Mass.
Senior Banjo
1st Place: ($200) – Mark Rast, Lancaster, Pa.
2nd Place: ($100) – Pete Vigour, Crozet, Va.
3rd Place: ($50) – Robert Smakula, Montrose, W.Va.
Youth Fiddle
1st Place: ($100) – Liam Farley, Chapmanville, W.Va.
2nd Place: ($75) – Owen Hoopes, N/A
3rd Place: ($50) – Micah A. John, Jamaica Plain, Mass.
Open Fiddle
1st Place: ($400) – Andrew Srubas, Minneapolis, Minn.
2nd Place: ($200) – Tessa Dillon, St. Albans, W.Va.
3rd Place: ($150) – Chance McCoy, Greenville, W.Va.
4th Place: ($100) – Rhys Jones, N/A
5th Place: ($50) – Jason Cade, Athens, Ga.
Senior Fiddle
1st Place: ($200) – Christopher Germain, Abington, Pa.
2nd Place: ($100) – Robert Smakula, Montrose, W.Va.
3rd Place: ($50) – Mac Traynham, Willis, Va.
Youth Neo-Traditional Band
No monetary award – The Ithaca Floyd Exchange, N/A
Neo-Traditional Band
1st Place: ($1,000) – The Shoats, Morgantown, W.Va.
2nd Place: ($750) –Blue Ridge Gathering, Knoxville, Tenn.
3rd Place: ($500) – Super Critter, Hillsville, Va.
4th Place: ($400) – The Oats Al Dente, Rockingham, Va.
5th Place: ($300) – Tall Poppy String Band, Madison, Tenn.
Youth Traditional Band
No monetary award – The Old Time Rowdies, Floyd, Va.
Best New Composition Song
No monetary award – Blue Ridge Gathering, Knoxville, Tenn.
Best New Composition Tune
No monetary award – The Double Dole String band, N/A
Traditional Band
1st Place: ($1,000) – The McCoys, Greenville, W.Va.
2nd Place: ($750) – The Alum Ridge Boys and Ashlee, Floyd, Va.
3rd Place: ($500) – Golden Shoals, Madison, Tenn.
4th Place: ($400) – The Whipper Snappers, Floyd, Va.
5th Place: ($300) – Wide Timed & the Clip Choppers, Seattle, Wash.
Youth Old-Time Flat-Foot Dance
1st Place: ($100) – Ola Moeckel, Floyd, Va.
2nd Place: ($75) – Margo MacSweeney, Floyd, Va.
3rd Place: ($50) – Misha MacSweeney, Floyd, Va.
Open Old-Time Flat-Foot Dance
1st Place: ($100) – Nathan Vargo, Pittsburgh, Pa.
2nd Place: ($75) – Emolyn Liden, Asheville, N.C.
3rd Place: ($50) – Gina Dilg, Radford, Va.
Senior Old-Time Flat-Foot Dance
1st Place: ($100) – Ruth Alpert, Santa Barbara, Calif.
2nd Place: ($75) – Rodney Sutton, Asheville, N.C.
3rd Place: ($50) – Jan Scopel, Arnold, Md.
Grand Champion Old-Time Flat-Foot Dance Winner
($100) – Ruth Alpert, Santa Barbara, Calif.
For more information about the 32nd annual Appalachian String Band Music Festival, contact Andrea Nelson, public information specialist for the department, at Andrea.E.Nelson@wv.gov.
A beautiful retreat listed in the National Register of Historic Places and operated by the West Virginia Department of Arts, Culture and History, Camp Washington-Carver serves as the state’s mountain cultural arts center. The facility nurtures the cultural heritage embodied in the site since its dedication in 1942 as a 4-H and agricultural extension camp for West Virginia’s African Americans. The camp is located in Fayette County next to Babcock State Park, just off Rt. 60 (Midland Trail) on Rt. 41.