Ellen Stroud, Executive Director of the Carter Family Fold, has announced during the 2026 World of Bluegrass a yearlong celebration of the 100th anniversary of the 1927 Bristol Sessions starting in 2027, including two contests commemorating the Carter Family. Maybelle, Sarah and A.P. Carter made their first recordings as the Carter Family at the Bristol Sessions in 1927. This was a landmark moment in mountain music, and next year the Carter Family Fold will celebrate those songs.
“Today we’re announcing Carter Family Fold 2027, a yearlong celebration of the 100th anniversary of the Bristol Sessions. In addition to special artists playing at the Fold throughout the season, today we’re launching two international competitions,” said Ellen Stroud.
The two competitions will span the first half of the year. The Storytelling and Music Competition will take place from January 27 to April 27, and the finalists will be invited to perform at The Carter Fold in August as part of its annual Carter Fold Festival. This competition will commemorate what the Carter Family is best known for: collecting, arranging, and performing traditional folk tunes, ballads, and gospel songs from Southwest Virginia. Just as A.P. Carter wrote the Cyclone of Rye Cove based on his real experiences helping a community devastated by a storm, the Carter Family Fold is asking contestants to write about their own hometown. “We’re asking musicians around the world to do the same for their own communities: write original music that tells your community’s story, inspired by the sounds of the Carter Family on traditional instruments,” Ellen Stroud said.
Secondly, the Pickin’ Porch Photo Competition will run from March 27 to May 27, and celebrates the tradition of people sharing and playing their music outside their home. The Carter Family Fold invites participants to decorate their porch and invite friends over to play music, or decorate a music venue as an old-time pickin’ porch. To enter, just snap a photo of the moment, and members of the public will have a chance to vote on their favorite porch. Winners will receive tickets to the Carter Family Fold’s 2027 anniversary event. Fans, photographers, and musicians can sign up for contest details and important dates on their website.
“People come from all over the world to Hiltons, Virginia, to visit the Carter Family Fold because of the living legacy of A.P., Sarah and Maybelle. These two international competitions will allow everyone to be a part of that legacy,” said Stroud. “Whether you tell your community’s story through song or show us your own pick and porch tradition, all year we’ll collect songs, stories, and pictures from near and far. We can’t wait to see what the world sends home to Hiltons.”
