Published: June 13, 2009 07:34 pm      

Henry Reed’s old time music legacy lives on in Giles County

GLEN LYN, Va. — Throughout his lifetime, Henry Reed enjoyed playing his fiddle tunes at barn dances in Giles County, Va., and surrounding areas, but on Friday night, through the day and long into the night on Saturday, the memories of Reed’s legacy echoed through the mountains of his native stomping grounds for the 7th Annual Henry Reed Fiddlers’ Convention.

The convention itself is the brain child of Chris Via, a Reed family member through marriage, but perhaps more importantly, the present day fiddle player with the Reed Family Band, a group of musicians that work to master the music and keep the Henry Reed sound flowing through the New River Valley and beyond.

“We had a big crowd for the concert Friday night and more overnight campers than we’ve ever had before,” Via said. “You ought to be here at nightfall when the bands start playing. That’s when it all takes place.”

By day, Via handled the logistical challenges of putting on a music festival that attracts musicians and music lovers from near and far. With the help of a few Reed family members and friends, Via and the volunteers maintain an atmosphere that is obviously inspired by the Henry Reed legacy, but seasoned with traditional southwestern Virginia hospitality.

“We could have gone to a lot of other places this weekend, but we came up here to Glen Lyn,” Glen Zuhlke, guitar and harmonica player of the Old Time Kitchen Band from Galax, Va., said. “The New River is just about a mile and one-half away from home. We could have jumped in and just floated up here.”

Zuhlke, his wife, Nellie Zuhlke, the autoharp player with the Kitchen Band, and their fiddle player, 82-year-old and proud of it, Gladys Musser were just sitting around their camp, waiting for someone to come along to jam with.

“We got the name when several of us used to hang around in Blanche Nichols’ kitchen and play music,” Nellie Zuhlke said. “We could play anything we wanted.”

“Anything from about 1900 to around 1950,” Glen Zuhlke said.

“”I’m just trying to play the fiddle,” Musser said before dragging the bow across her fiddle, and instantly submerging herself in the melodic sound of the strings.

“She didn’t start playing until she was in her 60s,” Nellie Zuhlke said as Musser played on. “She does pretty good.”

Glen Zuhlke said he enjoys coming to the Henry Reed Fiddlers’ Convention. “We have eight people in the band,” he said. “Not everyone came here today. The rest of the band is around here someplace, probably playing with some other people somewhere.

“This is just a nice place to be,” he said.

Dr. Alan Jabbour, Appalachian music folklorist and former head of the folk music wing of the Library of Congress, was conducting a fiddle-playing workshop at the Glen Lyn Community Park Saturday morning. Jabbour recorded Henry Reed in 1966-’67, and preserved the distinct fiddle sound prior to Reed’s death on June 16, 1968. Jabbour is an expert fiddle player in his own right, and remains devoted to the survival of Reed’s style of playing and his musical legacy.

The Glen Lyn community park was filled with well-attended activities Saturday with a car show and a tractor-pull. It was the kind of people-filled venue that would attract a fiddle player who loved to play for barn dances ... a fiddle player like Henry Reed.

– Contact Bill Archer at barcher@bdtonline.com