Keeping On The ‘Carter’ Side

Annual Carter Family Memorial Festival To Feature Music, Food, Crafts, More

MACES SPRING, Va. – Like the traditional tunes collected by her grandfather, Rita Forrester carries on, always trying to “Keep On the Sunny Side.”
Especially on the first weekend of August.
In Scott County, Va., that weekend marks The Carter Family Memorial Festival. Annually, it’s held in commemoration of Aug. 1-2, 1927 – the dates when the original Carter Family first recorded music in downtown Bristol.
Forrester’s maternal grandparents, A.P. and Sara Carter, made up two-thirds of the original Carter Family trio.
Forrester’s late mother, Janette Carter, began the memorial festival as a way of remembering the 1930s-era work of the original Carter Family, noted by music historians as one of early country music’s most influential groups.
And now?
It’s up to Forrester and an army of volunteers to keep the tradition going.
“And the biggest thing this year? The most important? It’s just to celebrate that we’re still having a festival at 35 years,” Forrester said.

‘SHIFTING GEARS’
Held at the Carter Family Fold at Maces Spring, near Hiltons, the event features a few old favorites, like Big Country Bluegrass, Grayson Highland Band and Great Smoky Mountain Cloggers.
But, this year, there’s also a big star – Dan Tyminski, a singer long known as a sideman for Alison Krauss & Union Station and the voice behind actor George Clooney in the movie “O’Brother, Where Art Thou?”
Tyminski scored a big hit a few years ago reviving “I Am a Man of Constant Sorrow,” a traditional tune long associated with the work of The Stanley Brothers.
Today, Tyminski’s band includes longtime Union Station associate Barry Bales plus former Union Station and Mountain Heart member Adam Steffey.
“We’re shifting gears, bringing in a different name,” Forrester said. “It’s in the hopes of improving the festival, opening it up a little bit and making it a bigger draw.”
What’s also different: The festival has actually lowered its admission price by a few dollars this year.
“If you’ve never been to one of the annual festivals or the Fold itself, we encourage you to stop on by, do some dancing,” Forrester said. “After only a few minutes, you will surely agree that the music and traditions of Appalachia are by no means fading away. They’re stronger than ever.”

FAVORITES RETURN
Beginning on July 31, the festival showcases a performance by the Whitetop Mountain Band, featuring the incomparable Martha Spencer, an electrifying performer who is known to buck dance almost on a whim.
Based at Whitetop, Va., this band clings to a rich tradition of old-time music – with members playing banjo and fiddles on blues, classic country, honky tonk, traditional bluegrass, old-timey ballads and four-part mountain gospel songs.
Performers for more than three decades, the Whitetop Mountain Band includes fiddler Thornton Spencer; his wife Emily, playing old-fashioned clawhammer banjo; and the couple’s daughter Martha Spencer, who plays everything from guitar to fiddle to banjo. Rounding out the band is Jackson Cunningham on mandolin, guitar and vocals and Debbie Bramer on bass.
Also returning to the festival this year is Lorrie Carter-Bennett, the singing daughter of Anita Carter and granddaughter of “Mother” Maybelle Carter, an original member of The Carter Family.
Known for her crystal clear vocals, Carter-Bennett performed as young as age 14 with The Carter Sisters – Helen, Anita and June – as well as with June’s husband, Johnny Cash.
Today, Carter-Bennett performs – and will return to this year’s festival – with Ronnie Williams, a close friend of Maybelle Carter. Williams plays guitar and autoharp and is known for her reverent performances on Carter Family standards like “Gold, Watch and Chain.”
Also coming to the Carter Fold stage is “Lonesome” Will Mullins, who grew up near Clintwood, Va., and now performs regularly with The Virginia Playboys.
Mullins presents a show jam-packed with hard driving bluegrass, old time clawhammer banjo and gospel.

CRAFTS AND FOOD
Besides music, the festival also features crafters and a quilt raffle.
Food, meanwhile, ranges from soup beans, cornbread, chicken and funnel cakes to soft-serve ice cream.
This year, the festival is dedicated to the memory of Ernie Myers, a longtime volunteer at the Carter Fold; and Barbara Poole, who played bass with Larry Sigmon at many Carter Fold shows.

IF YOU GO: FESTIVAL DETAILS
What: 35th Annual Carter Family Memorial Music Festival
Where: Carter Fold, Maces Spring, Va., near Hiltons, just off State Route 614 (A.P. Carter Highway).
When: July 31, music starts at 6 p.m.; Aug. 1, music starts at 3 p.m. Crafts open at 3 p.m. July 31; and noon on Aug. 1.
How much: $10 adults Friday; $20 adults Saturday; $25 both days. $2 per day for children age 6-11; free for children under age 6. Tickets are sold at the gate only.
Details: Seating is available for more than 800 inside the Carter Fold building. Those coming late in the day may want to bring along a blanket and/or lawn chair for outside seating.
Info: (276) 645-0035 or (276) 386-3027
Web: http://www.carterfamilyfold.org

CARTER FAMILY MUSIC FESTIVAL SCHEDULE – FRIDAY, JULY 31
6-7 p.m.: Lorrie Carter-Bennett, Kathy Louvin and Ronnie Williams
7-8 p.m.: Lonesome Will Mullins and the Virginia Playboys
8-9 p.m.: Whitetop Mountain Band
9:15-9:30 p.m.: Lorrie Carter-Bennett, Kathy Louvin and Ronnie Williams
9:30-10:30 p.m.: Lonesome Will Mullins and the Virginia Playboys
10:30-11:30 p.m.: Whitetop Mountain Band

SATURDAY, AUG. 1
3-4 p.m.: Lorrie Carter-Bennett, Kathy Louvin and Ronnie Williams
4-5 p.m.: Grayson Highland Band
5-6 p.m.: Big Country Bluegrass and Great Smoky Mountain Cloggers
6-7 p.m.: Supper break
7-7:30 p.m.: Lorrie Carter-Bennett, Kathy Louvin and Ronnie Williams
7:30-8 p.m.: Grayson Highland Band and Great Smoky Mountain Cloggers
8-8:30 p.m.: Big Country Bluegrass
8:30-10 p.m.: Dan Tyminski Band
10-10:45 p.m.: Grayson Highland Band
10:45-11:30 p.m.: Big Country Bluegrass