2026 ASHE COUNTY BLUEGRASS AND OLD TIME FIDDLERS CONVENTION
Ashe County Arts Council is committed to preserving and honoring the musical heritage of our community, and the best way to do that is a super weekend of music! Any proceeds from the Fiddlers Convention are used to support the Junior Appalachian Musicians Program or JAM. JAM provides instruction at the Ashe Civic Center in fiddle, banjo and guitar for students in grades 3-8.
The 55th annual Fiddlers Convention will be held July 24-25, rain or shine. The weekend will be filled with individual instrumental and band competitions with $4350 in prize money for the winners, a Friday evening concert, food, and good times for musicians and audience members alike.
What we’re excited to announce for 2026:
The Fiddlers Convention will kick off with a Thursday evening square dance and a Friday evening concert with the Blue Ridge Opry! Please note some of the locations have changed for 2026.
Quick Links
Schedule at a Glance
Square Dance
Date: Thursday, July 23, 7-9 pm
Location: Ashe Arts Center
with the Big Ivy Stringband and caller Clarke Williams
Free with donations gratefully accepted
The Blue Ridge Opry
Date: Friday, July 24, 7:30 PM
Location: Ashe Civic Center
Tickets: $20 Adult, $7.50 Student
Please note the ticket price includes Saturday entry to the Fiddlers Convention.
Live Radio Show and COMPETITIONS
Date: Saturday, July 25
Location: Ashe Park
Tickets for Saturday only are $10
About the Judges
Maddy Mullany grew up outside Albuquerque, New Mexico, playing old time fiddle with her family and calling square dances. Since moving to western North Carolina in 2012, she has won ribbons in many local fiddle contests and played with several bands including Jenny and the Hog Drovers. Maddy’s fiddling is heavily influenced by players from the Asheville region including Marcus Martin and Osey Helton. She now performs in a duo with Clarke Williams and teaches fiddle at several JAM (Junior Appalachian Musicians) programs in the WNC area.
Kilby Spencer is an award winning fiddle player in both old-time and bluegrass styles as well as a sought after guitar player. He has been playing old-time music for most of his life, learning from his parents, Thornton and Emily Spencer, who have been performing in the Whitetop Mountain Band for over 40 years. Kilby has also collected and digitized rare local recordings for many years and serves on the board of the Field Recorder’s Collective, who mission is to preserve and release rare field and home recordings. Kilby also formed his own award winning band over ten years ago, The Crooked Road Ramblers, who have played many prestigious venues such as The National Folk Festival, The Richmond Folk Festival, and Floydfest.
Andrew Walker is a banjo and fiddle player living in Chapel Hill, NC. He is infatuated with the music of northwest NC and southwest Virginia, including that of Stella and Taylor Kimble, Uncle Norm Edmonds, Tommy Jarrell, Kahle Brewer, Wade Ward, Frank Blevins, the Shelor Family, Babe Spangler, Charlie Higgins, G.B. Grayson, and Dorothy Rorick. He is also a huge fan of Charlie Poole-style music. Andrew has performed at the Blue Ridge Folk Life Festival in Ferrum, Virginia, as well as in Colombia, South America (with the Spiral Cut Stringband). Andrew currently teaches at UNC Chapel Hill as an assistant professor of History.
About the Emcee
Dale Morris has had a long running history with old time and bluegrass music. He grew up in the Blue Ridge Mountains and started playing music in 1974. After many years playing and then judging contests, Dale was asked to serve as an emcee at fiddlers’ conventions and bluegrass festivals. He emcees at most of the annual conventions held in SW Virginia and NW North Carolina nowadays, and he has been the master of ceremonies at the Ashe County Fiddlers since 2014.