On Sunday, September 1^st, the 21^st Annual Papa Joe Smiddy Mountain Music Festival will honor the memory and legacy of Dr. Joseph “Papa Joe” Smiddy. The event is presented by the Cove Ridge Center Foundation. It will be held in the amphitheater at Natural Tunnel State Park in Duffield, VA starting at 5 PM.

There will be no admission charge to this year’s festival thanks to the generosity of our sponsors. Attendees may give a donation to the Cove Ridge Foundation to support its Scholarship Fund.

This annual gathering seeks to promote the musical heritage of the area’s Appalachian Mountain culture and honors the tireless work of Papa Joe,” who promoted the music of our region for many decades. In addition to being an accomplished old-time banjo player, entertainer, and educator, Smiddy was Chancellor Emeritus at the University of Virginia’s College at Wise. This year’s performers will be Dr. Joe Smiddy & Reedy Creek, the Empty Bottle String Band, Twin Taters, an old time student band from the ETSU Bluegrass, Old-Time, and Roots Music program, Dan Carty’s Basement Band, and Fiddlin’ Red and the Bluegrass Harvesters.

Dr. Joe Smiddy & Reedy Creek​ have played together for more than four decades. Reflecting the broad musical tastes of Papa Joe, the band plays a variety of old-time music and original songs. Papa Joe started ​“Pickin’ in the Park,”​ the summer Sunday afternoon get-togethers at Natural Tunnel designed to encourage children and families to play music.

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