September From The Editor​

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I hope everyone enjoyed Clifftop and Galax! 

Clifftop contest results are widely discussed on social media, but the official results have still not been posted. I’ll link them in the Clifftop event box on the Calendar Page when available.

There are two more area festivals that will finish out 2026 in September and the first week of October.

Several Knoxville area players are attending, and asked me to remind everyone about the September 17-19 Hoppin' John Fiddlers’ Convention in Pittsboro, NC. And on September 30-October 3 the 59th annual Tennessee Valley Fiddlers Convention will kick off in Athens, AL,  just south of the Tennessee state line.

 

Thank You!

Thanks to everyone who came out for the History Fair in downtown Knoxville on August 15th. We had a great Old Time jam in the street under the trees in Krutch Park! I stayed and attended the presentation on Cumberland Plateau Tennessee fiddling by Joseph Decosimo and Bobby Fulcher. They were joined by Tammie McCarroll Burroughs, who told lots of stories about the McCarroll family of fiddlers and the Roane County Ramblers.  I put a couple of photos on the Contact page photo slider, including the square dance.

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The Myth Of “The Natural”

We hear time and time again about “naturally gifted” musicians. Is it a learning process that got them to this point? Are they born with something special in their DNA? Our favorite banjo playing neurologist Josh Turknett recently interviewed ace flatpicker Bryan Sutton for his Performance Neurology Podcast and the Doc explains in plain language the processes we all use to learn not only music, but all skills. 

Good news-there is hope for all of us! Bad news-there is no shortcut! 

 

Worth A Listen

Here are some albums/videos that you might enjoy!

"Active listening is the cornerstone of musicianship"

Streak O’ Lean (2004)

Pete Sutherland

Drunken Billy Goat (2009)

Queen City String Band

Babes In The Woods (2013)

Snow Hill Strings

Honey Bee (2025)

John Grimm

All originals-John plays all instruments

The Red Mules -Old Time Music (2023)

re-issue of 1992 cassette

Jeff, Rick, and Susie Goehring

Snappin’ Bug Stringband

Mark Tamsula & Richard Withers

Shady Lane (2024)

George Jackson & Brad Kolodner

Livin’ Reeltime, Thinkin’ Old Time (2004)

Reeltime Travelers

YouTube playlist

The Renegades (2015)

I Need To Find (1995)

James Leva, Carol E. Jones, June Drucker, Richie Stearns

Mud Between The Toes (2019)

The Allegheny Hellbenders

Sweet Nell (2001)

Tom Adler & Co.

Camp Dude (2025)

New Chattanooga

Live jams from Clifftop

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Until next month,

Mark

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