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Dock Boggs Festival Comes Home to UVa-Wise Sept. 9
August 22, 2000
Thirty-two years ago a young student at The University of Virginia's College at Wise engaged in a study of local culture and music discovered two rare mountain gems.
A small music festival was arranged on campus in December, 1969, to showcase the talents of Moran Lee "Dock" Boggs, a soulful singer and unique banjo player, and Kate Peters O'Neil Sturgill, a ballad singer and songwriter.
The Dock Boggs Festival, first held at the College's picnic grounds, has become legendary in the region and across the country. Staged at the Wise County Fairgrounds since 1986, the Dock Boggs Festival returns home to the UVa-Wise campus this year.
The 32nd Dock Boggs Festival will be held Saturday, Sept. 9, from noon until 8 p.m. on McCraray Field at UVa-Wise. Admission is free but donations to Appalachian Traditions, Inc., the non-profit corporation dedicated to the preservation, promotion and perpetuation of traditional Appalachian culture, will be accepted.
Featured performers include The Dowden Sisters, The Rodgers Family, The Wire Kwire, and the Lonesome Pine Cloggers. Joseph C. "Papa Joe" Smiddy, the College's first chancellor and a popular traditional musician, also will perform.
The Dowden Sisters will encourage the audience to join in their renditions of old-time traditional music, featuring three-part harmony and fiddle, banjo and guitar playing. The sisters, who live outside Asheville, N.C., won first-place in the old-time string band category at Uncle Dave Macon Days in Murfreesboro, Tenn., and placed fifth at the 1999 Mt. Airy Fiddlers' Convention.
The Rodgers Family of Greeneville, Tenn., has performed with many nationally known bands such as Doyle Lawson and Quicksilver, The Stevens Sisters, Mac Wiseman, and The Lewis Family. Fouteen-year-old Dyana and 11-year-old Nikki, both gifted musicians who play several instruments, join their parents, Steve and Cindy Rodgers, on stage.
The Wire Kwire, a Tri-Cities based hammered dulcimer group, presents an intriguing, eclectic mix of musical styles. Tammie Davis, Ellen Matthews and Linda Waltner all have classical music backgrounds yet each has a healthy regard for American folk and vocal traditions. Featured instruments include the hammered dulcimer, guitar, banjo, viola, fiddle and upright bass. The trio's tight vocal harmonies enhance the unusual blend of acoustic instruments.
The Lonesome Pine Cloggers have been dancing together since 1993. Regular performers at the Dock Boggs Festival, the Wise Fall Fling and Mountain Empire Community College's Home Craft Days, The Lonesome Pine Cloggers dance to a wide variety of music from bluegrass to rock. Team members live in Wise and Dickenson counties and the city of Norton.
The Dock Boggs Festival is sponsored by Appalachian Traditions, Inc. and co-sponsored by The University of Virginia's College at Wise, with partial funding from the Virginia Commission for the Arts. A complete schedule of events follows:
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12:00-12:30 |
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Scott County Boys |
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4:00-4:30 |
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Dr. Joe Smiddy |
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12:35-1:05 |
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Bluegrass Favorites |
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4:30-5:15 |
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The Dowden Sisters |
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1:05-1:50 |
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Rodgers Family |
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5:15-5:30 |
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Cake Walk |
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1:50-2:20 |
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South Mountain Boys |
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5:30-6:15 |
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Wire Kwire |
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2:20-2:35 |
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Cake Walk |
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6:15-6:45 |
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Lonesome Pine Cloggers |
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2:35-3:05 |
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Grassy Ridge |
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6:45-7:15 |
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Bluegrass Circle |
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3:05-3:25 |
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Lonesome Pine Cloggers |
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7:15-8:00 |
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Brickey Brothers |
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3:30-4:00 |
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The Shed House Gang |
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*Schedule subject to change |
For more information, contact the Office of College Relations at 540-328-0130.
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