The past weekend at the Chesterfield County Fairgrounds, the Virginia State Bluegrass Championship Contest was hosted by the Virginia Folk Music Association. Prizes were awarded for bands, vocalists, and instrumentalists alike.
Bragging rights for top band go to Josh Grigsby & County Line, from Virginia’s northern neck region. The band’s three vocalists also took the top spots in the Male Vocalist category, and Josh’s wife Crystal might have placed in Female Vocalist had the category not had to be cancelled for lack of necessary registration.
In addition to Josh on guitar, County Line consists of Chris Westcott on guitar, Frankie Ballowe on mandolin, Robert Kidd on bass, and Judge Parker on banjo, with Crystal singing harmony. In 2014 they were winners of the band competition at the Bluegrass by the Bay Festival in Gloucester, Virginia.
Their debut album, Changes In The Tide, has been recently released and plans are being set now to start work on a second, tentatively titled Ruby Lane Memories.
You can learn more about the group online or on Facebook.
The Virginia State Bluegrass Championships have been held since 1947 when they were sanctioned by the Governor as the official state competition. All entrants must be legal residents of Virginia, and substantial cash prizes are awarded to the top three finishers in 8 categories.
The final results for 2015 are as follows:
Bluegrass Band
- Josh Grigsby and County Line
- Changing Lanes
- This Time Last Year
Male Vocalist
- Josh Grigsby
- Chris Westcott
- Judge Parker
Guitar
- Jeremiah Gilmer
- Avery Welter
- Dennis Elliott
Banjo
- Charlie Payne
- Jeremiah Gilmer
- Ethan Edwards
Fiddle
- Avery Welter
- Blake Brewington
- Devona Cristobal
Mandolin
- Jeremiah Gilmer
- Ethan Edwards
- Frankie Ballowe
Dobro
- Travis Chambers
- J.W. Carpenter
- Devona Cristobal
Information about the 2016 Virginia State Bluegrass Championship will be posted soon online. The competitions are always held in early October.
