FAYETTEVILLE, W.Va. — An over 25-year West Virginia musical tradition gets underway in the New River Gorge area Wednesday night at Camp Washington-Carver.
The Appalachian String Band Music Festival, or simply just “Clifftop,” first began in 1990 as a gathering for string band and old time musicians from around the country and the world.
“This basically is a mountaintop gathering for old time musicians, their friends and family,” said contest coordinator Bobby Taylor. “People come from all over the United States and many foreign countries.”
Taylor said that people had been camping out at the festival since last Friday, and since its inception, it had grown exponentially, far beyond the Mountain State.
“It’s where this special type of heritage music is preserved and passed on to future generations,” he said. “In my time, working since 1990 as the contest coordinator, I’ve watched it grow into a small little gathering into thousands of people.”
The music festival will be a blend of more traditional Appalachian music, with a more modern category as well, said Taylor.
“We have a traditional band category, where you need to keep the tunes to the tradition. Then we have a neo-traditional which is very good for young people, because it allows them to have a firm foundation in the tradition, but explore and add additional styles of music.”
There are also old-time fiddle and banjo contests.
“The greatest players in the world are here in this contest I feel. There’s just a standard of excellence that is unparalleled,” Taylor said.
The festival gets underway Wednesday night with the square dance.