Reigning fiddle champ praises annual event

Published 5:45 am Thursday, October 5, 2017

Before she entered school, Maddie Denton was already better with a fiddle than a pencil.

This third-generation fiddle player recalls the tears in her grandfather’s eyes when she played the beloved tunes his arthritic hands could no longer cross with a bow. He must have smiled from fiddler heaven when the 23-year-old captured the Fiddle Champion title at last year’s Tennessee Valley Old Time Fiddlers Convention.

“I have been going to that competition since I was a little girl, and winning was such a bucket list experience for me,” Denton said. A couple of years ago, she bested her own mom in a junior/senior competition – though perhaps Dad offered an advantage as her backup guitar player.

At this year’s convention, the old-time music revolves around family and community, just as it did with the Denton family last year. Called the “Granddaddy of Mid-South Fiddler’s Conventions” for its role in reviving interest in old-time music, the event attracts around 200 competitors in 18 categories.

Musicians start on Friday evening with a harmonica competition. The following sessions include mandolin, dobro, dulcimer and old-time banjo. The two-day series of contests also honors non-instrumental talents with singing and buck dancing competitions.

The finale on Saturday evening pits the two top players in a fiddle-off. The Tennessee Valley Old Time Fiddle champion takes home a trophy and $1,200. Nearly $12,000 in prize money will be awarded throughout the convention, guaranteeing a weekend of hearing top talent.

Convention origins

Held at Athens State University, the convention holds true to the tradition of fiddlers’ competitions — to raise money for schools. So far, it has donated $500,000 for scholarships and school projects.

“In the 1920s and 1930s, in rural areas, schools led hand-to-mouth existences,” said Joyce Cauthen, author of “With Fiddle and Well-Rosined Bow, a History of Old-Time Fiddling in Alabama.” “Often, the state only had enough money for three or four months of school. Local people would hold fiddlers’ contests to raise money to keep schools going for a full nine months.”

The original convention started in 1924, when an enterprising school principal launched it for cultural and fundraising purposes. The Depression killed the original event, which lay dormant until Sam McCracken decided to pull his violin out of the attic and play for friends and family. In 1966, McCracken’s living room was filled with enthusiasts who decided it was time to renew the convention. Besides, there was an old schoolhouse they wanted to repair.

From the beginning, the Athens event led the way in producing challenging contests and filling auditoriums. For the 50th anniversary, more than 15,000 people gathered around the outdoor stage. Hundreds of musicians circled in clusters, picking a favorite tune. The group members could range from ages 8 to 80 — an extended family that unites from year to year for the sheer joy of making music together or total strangers who hopped in for a riff or two.

Sense of community

For old-time fans, it’s the sense of community that brings them back year-after-year. In Denton’s grandfather’s time, a fiddle player was the equivalent of a party. Friday night after work, people would gather in a home, push back the furniture, roll up the rug and dance into the night.

The old tunes defy age, and bands of old and young harmonize along the musical notes of traditional songs. Like so many others, Denton learned to play by ear and prefers picking up songs through listening rather than reading notes from a scale.

“It’s the old way, jamming and learning from others,” she said. “It’s people coming together.”

To win, the fiddler is required to play two speeds, with a fast-paced breakdown and a slow waltz. Denton’s secret to success is working on her waltzes, smoothing out her double-stops (playing two notes at once) until she ekes out every beautiful sound.

“I like to play double stops, because you are harmonizing with yourself,” she said.

Along with the competitors, the convention also features evening headliners. Legends such as Riders in the Sky, Norman Blake and Tim Graves and the Farm Hands have performed in recent years. Dailey & Vincent headline this year.

Festivities for this year’s 51st annual convention kick off at 7 p.m. tonight with a free concert by Mark Kuykendall, Bobby Hicks and Asheville Bluegrass on the Alabama Farmers Cooperative Main Stage.

Tickets for Friday and Saturday are $15 for each day or $20 for a two-day pass. Children under 12 are admitted free with a paid adult. For more information, visit www.tvotfc.org.