Music & Arts

HILLSVILLE — Drama arising from the idea to observe the 100th anniversary of the 1912 courthouse shootout with a play isn't unexpected, says playwright Frank Levering. But he still feels the story needs to be told.
Questions remain about where a play would be held and who would participate in the observance about the violent confrontation between members of the Allen family and Carroll officials.

State and local officials gathered in front of thousands at the Galax Old Fiddlers' Convention on Saturday night to celebrate the new addition of a permanent stage constructed in Felts Park in honor of the event's 75th anniversary.

There's no short answer to explain how “hillbillies” invented American music, local music historian Joe Wilson told a crowd at Chestnut Creek School of the Arts during the first of several lectures at the school.
It's “all the pieces of the truth that fit together” — and about an hour of lecture time — that allows him to tell the story of where hillbilly music came from.

It's good management, hard-working people and tons of planning that ensures the world's oldest and largest fiddlers' convention grows each year, as thousands of people pack Felts Park in Galax.