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Dance competition at the 2024 Highfalls Fiddlers’ Convention – photo © G Nicholas Hancock
Nick Hancock has shared this gallery of images he took during last weekend’s Highfalls Fiddlers’ Convention in Robbins, NC.
Thanks Nick!
Youth Band winners The Terry Family at ’24 Highfalls Fiddlers’ Convention – photo © G. Nicholas Hancock
The 2024 Highfalls Fiddlers’ Convention, held in central North Carolina at North Moore High School in Robbins, is now history. Cash prizes included $500 for first place adult band, $150 for first place youth band, and $50 for each first place individual category in both youth and adult divisions. There were also special awards for outstanding youth and adult performances plus the annual Theron Caviness (memorial) Best Banjo Award presented to one youth and one adult banjoist.
A qualified panel of judges that included Caroline Owens, Skyline Records recording artist and two-time IBMA-nominated Momentum Vocalist of Year, and the husband-wife team of Danny and Eva Casstevens, music instructor and multi-instrumentalists, selected the following winners.
Youth
Band
Fiddle
Banjo
Guitar
Mandolin
Bass
Vocal
Harmony Singing:
Miscellaneous
Most Outstanding Youth Performance
Theron Caviness Best Banjo Award (Youth)
Adult
Band
Fiddle
Banjo
Guitar
Mandolin
Bass
Dobro
Vocal
Piano
Dance:
Outstanding Adult Performance
Theron Caviness Best Banjo Award (Adult)
Promoter, Miranda Smith, concluded, “It was great to have a convention run smoothly after working out the kinks for running our first one last year. I loved seeing everyone and listening to great music. Everyone volunteering, judging, or working sound was such a joy to work with. It couldn’t have been a better experience.”
Smith’s crew of volunteers were primarily friends that she made while performing in the band at NC State, plus two friends that flew in from out-of-state that she met when making a bike trip across the US. Audio was provided by Old Mill Sound of Mount Airy, NC.
Everyone is already looking forward to next year!
All photos © G. Nicholas Hancock
Established in 1921, the Highfalls Fiddlers’ Convention, held in North Moore High School’s auditorium in Robbins, NC, returns this Saturday, April 6. Following the local talent contest’s three-year pause due to the global pandemic, Highfalls School decided to no longer sponsor the annual event in 2023.
Just when it looked like the popular bluegrass event was about to face extinction, a young NC State student and Robbins resident, Miranda Smith, stepped up to the plate and took on the task. Gathering the support from family, friends, and local musicians, Smith brought new life to the convention.
Recently, the Musically Sound named Highfalls as one of the Top 12 Fiddlers’ Conventions in the Southeast.
Cash prizes include $500 for first place adult band, $150 for first place youth band, and $50 for each first place individual category in both youth and adult divisions.
Now an NC State graduate, Smith is aware of her almamater’s competition in March madness on Saturday. “We’re going to make sure to set up a TV for the NCSU game so no one skips to stay home and watch.”
The acoustic talent competition boasts qualified judges.
Smith shared…
“Our judges for the Highfalls Annual Fiddlers’ Convention are Caroline Owens, and Danny and Eva Casstevens. We are honored to have such skillful performers listening to our talented musicians!
Caroline Owens is a two-time IBMA Momentum Vocalist nominee, and a current 2024 SPBGMA nominee for Female Vocalist of the Year. She is a recording artist for Skyline Records of Nashville, TN, and has received critical acclaim from the Bluegrass industry’s top professionals.
Danny and Eva both are multi-instrumentalists, with Danny playing practically all stringed instruments. He is an award-winning guitarist, and he teaches guitar, mandolin, fiddle, and Scruggs-style banjo at The Guitar Center in Winston-Salem, NC. Eva is an avid mandolin player who is currently into collecting short-scale guitars.”
Highfalls Fiddlers’ Convention will be held in the auditorium at North Moore High School in Robbins, NC. Doors open at 4:00 p.m. with band and individual registrations from 4:30-6:00 p.m. Youth Competition begins at 6:00 p.m. with Adult Competition following. Admission is $10 and anyone 18 and under gets in for free. Concessions, including BBQ, will be available.
For more information visit Highfalls Annual Fiddler’s Convention Facebook page.
Here’s a link to a video on last year’s event:
The Allred Family at the 2023 Seagrove Fiddlers’ Convention – photo © G. Nicholas Hancock
Three long-running central North Carolina fiddlers’ convention will return this spring with a number of improvements.
This Saturday, on March 2, the 97th Annual Star Fiddlers’ Convention recommences. Sponsored by the Halcyon Woman’s Club, they are expanding their youth division (ages 15 and under) into seven individual categories (fiddle, banjo, guitar, mandolin, bass, dobro, and vocal) with prizes for first, second, and third place. The local bluegrass talent contest will be held in its original location, Star Elementary School, located at 302 South Main Street in Star, NC. Doors open at 4:00 p.m. Registration is from 5:00-6:45 p.m. with a lottery drawing for performance order at 5:45. All acts registering after 5:45 will compete in the order of their registration. Competition begins an hour earlier than last year at 6:00 p.m. Over $1,500 will be awarded in cash prizes.
Two weeks later, on March 16, the 69th Annual Seagrove Fiddlers’ Convention returns to Seagrove Elementary School, 528 Old Plank Road in Seagrove, NC. Promoter, Maxton Byrd, and his committee have worked diligently to make this year’s event bigger and better. Thanks to corporate sponsor, Covanta, Blue Ridge Sound of Morganton will provide quality audio for the event. Blue Ridge specializes in bluegrass and acoustic music amplification providing sound for bluegrass festivals such as ones held at Denton FarmPark, Big Lick, and Camp Springs. Bluegrass Ridge TV hosts (Nu-Blu’s Daniel and Carolyn Routh) will be on-site to film interviews and portions of the event for an upcoming episode.
Prize money has increased to $2,150 in cash awards. The talent contest has been expanded to include a full set of youth awards that mirror the adult ones. Also, a new category has been added to competition: harmony singing. Registration is from 5:00-6:45 p.m., with youth competition beginning at 6:00 p.m.
On April 6, the 2024 Highfalls Fiddlers’ Convention will be back. First band prize is $500. First place individual prizes, both youth and adult, are $50 each. The competition will be held at North Moore High School, 1504 N Moore Road in Robbins, NC. Miranda Smith is the promoter. Registration is from 4:30-6:00 p.m. Competition begins at 6:00 p.m.
Admission to each convention is $10 for adults, $5 for children 6-12, free for children under age 6, cash only. All three contests offer concessions and the order of performances will be determined by a lottery drawing prior to competition.
First place band, Passin’ Thru (Rodney Haywood, CH Lineberry, Jim Damron, Dwayne Runyon)
After a three-year hiatus due to COVID, the 85th annual Highfalls Fiddlers’ Convention returned to the North Moore High School auditorium in Robbins, NC. Under the leadership of new promoter, Miranda Smith, along her committee, the annual acoustic talent show was brought back after its former hosts, Highfalls Elementary School, decided to focus their fundraising efforts in another direction.
Smith, a 22-year-old NC State student explained her involvement. “I’m just someone who used to attend (the event) as a kid while I was (a student) at Highfalls/North Moore.”
Hating to see the annual bluegrass competition cease, Miranda stepped up to the plate, rolled up her sleeves, and went to work. Her efforts paid off.
MC for the event, Big T Lassiter, announced from stage, “They ran out of arm bands (at the ticket booth). We have had over 600 in attendance.”
Winners for this year’s competition were:
Band
Fiddle
Banjo
Mandolin
Guitar
Bass
Dobro
Vocal
Dancers
Judges’ Choice Award
Most Outstanding Adult
Youth winners:
Guitar
Banjo
Mandolin
Vocal
Outstanding Youth Performance
Theron Caviness Memorial Best Banjo Award
Theron Caviness (who passed away in 2019 at age 94) was remembered when his banjo-picking son, Elton, took the stage and presented Ritter the second annual Theron Caviness Best Banjo Player Award. Ritter was also the recipient of the memorial at the last convention held in 2019. The young banjoist was awarded a plaque and $100.
The elder Caviness first attended Highfalls Fiddlers’ Convention as a listener in 1937. He learned to play music on a homemade four string banjo with a cat skin head, and formed a band with his brother, uncle, and cousin. They called themselves the Red Star Boys and began competing at area fiddlers’ conventions. Over the next 25 years, Theron, a Moore County native, picked banjo. After developing arithritis, he switched to bass fiddle and continued to compete, even winning the first bass prize at the Highfalls Convention in 2017 at age 92.
His son, Elton, who performed for years with his dad in their band, Solid Rock Bluegrass, referenced his father’s legacy. “He has been an inspiration to many people, especially those that started playing music at an early age. He was always complimenting their talent and encouraging them to stick with their instrument, practice hard, and one day reap the benefits.”
Plans are already underway for the 86th annual Highfalls Fiddlers’ Convention next year. It will return to its original date, the second weekend in March, between Star and Seagrove’s talent competitions, all located in central North Carolina.
