Tennessee Festivals - July 2009

July 10 -July 18, 2009

Fun Fest

Kingsport, Tennessee

Multiple family activities including sports, kids events, major artist concerts, hot air balloon rally
423-392-8806

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July 10 -July 12, 2009

Uncle Dave Macon Days

Murfreesboro, Tennessee

Old time music and dance competitions. National championships buck dance, clogging, old time banjo.
615-893-4953

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July 12, 2009

Half Moon Festival

Ten Mile, Tennessee

A showcase of the area's best musical talent.
865-717-0584

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July 24 -July 26, 2009

Tomato Festival

Rutledge, Tennessee

Grainger County Tomato Wars, Mater Madness 5K, Art & History Exposition, antique agricultural equipment
423-231-5954

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July 25 -July 26, 2009

James D Vaughan Festival

Lawrenceburg, Tennessee

The Perrys, Inspirations, Gold City, Dove Brothers, Chuck Wagon Gang
Estimated attendees-2000 931-629-1216

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July 25 -July 26, 2009

Save the Music Bluegrass & Arts

LaFollette, Tennessee

Major Preformers, arts and crafts, to help support Campbell County Marching Band
423-563-8651

The Collector: Pure Country

• Sheila Gibson Stoodley
• Robb Report
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• A five-string custom banjo, one of three that Gibson made in 1940 for country music performer Uncle Dave Macon.
  
• Its Owner
• George Gruhn has owned and operated Gruhn Guitars in downtown Nash­ville, Tenn., since 1970, selling vintage guitars, banjos, mandolins, ukuleles, and other stringed instruments. In addition to scores of Martins, Rickenbackers, Fender Stratocasters and Telecasters, and Gibson Flying Vs and Les Pauls, Gruhn has acquired and sold the 1928 L-5 guitar with which Maybelle Carter performed during the bulk of her career with the Carter Family, a Gibson Everly Brothers acoustic model that Elvis Presley used at Graceland, and several guitars that Johnny Cash owned, including a prototype Johnny Cash signature Martin guitar that the musician played during his later years.
• Its Significance
• This banjo belongs to a trio that Uncle Dave Macon, one of the first stars of the Grand Ole Opry radio program, commissioned from Gibson in 1940 and continued to play until his death in 1952. “He generally traveled with three,” says Gruhn, explaining that Macon would pretune each to a different key. Mother-of-pearl fleurs-de-lis on the fingerboard distinguish this banjo from the other two. It also has an open-back design that enabled Macon to perform the twirling tricks that were a highlight of his act. Gruhn owns a print of a 1941 photo, taken by a Life magazine photographer, that shows Macon spinning the banjo hand over hand. “Macon could swing it like a pendulum and hit notes as it passed,” he says. “He was a real showman. [Macon offered] the old-time sound with a bit of vaudeville flash thrown in.”
• After Macon died, the banjo passed to David “Stringbean” Akeman, who would become one of the original cast members of the television show Hee Haw. (Gruhn says it is unclear how Akeman came into possession of the instrument.) In 1963, Akeman recorded an album of Macon songs and posed with the banjo for the cover photo.
• Akeman met a tragic end in 1973, when he and his wife were murdered at their home near Nashville by burglars seeking the roll of cash that he reputedly kept at hand. “He frequently carried money on him, in his bib overalls,” Gruhn says, recalling how he had seen Akeman reveal stashes containing tens of thousands of dollars. “He was a country guy who didn’t believe in banks. He didn’t want to let it out of his sight.” The criminals, who never found Akeman’s money, were apprehended quickly and convicted. In 1996, a man who was renting the Akemans’ cabin discovered $20,000 hidden behind a brick in the chimney, but the bills had rotted and could not be redeemed.
• Read the entire story in the Robb Report.

The Top 10 facts about Uncle Dave Macon

1. Uncle Dave Macon was a charter member and the first superstar of the Grand Ole Opry when it began airing on WSM radio in Nashville in 1925. He was one of the most colorful personalities in the history of music. Many banjo players consider him a major influence.

2. Uncle Dave, who was born in Warren County, was well over the age of 50 before he starting playing the banjo professionally. He continued to perform until he died in 1952 at the age of 81 in Readyville. He was inducted posthumously into the County Music Hall of Fame in 1966.

3. Uncle Dave was an extremely skilled banjo player. Music historians have identified at least 19 different picking styles on his records. Macon is considered a skilled songwriter, master showman and outrageous comedian. He blended the content of Highland folk songs with the musical stylings of the blues and the energy of vaudeville from Tin Pan Alley.

4. Macon was a master of musical sleight of hand and this showmanship was a staple of his performances. He would flip his banjo in the air in the midst of picking and a singing and catch it without a break in the music. With his banjo planted on the floor, Macon would strum the instrument with his Derby hat while walking around the banjo.

Read the rest of the list in the The Murfreesboro Post