Faith, Folklore, and Friends

We first attended Uncle Dave Macon Days in Murfreesboro, Tennessee in 2000, on a day trip with our friends, Willy and Carolyn May.  We really enjoyed it, and have been back many times since then.  The festival is always the second weekend in July, and it is always hot. Some years, it storms and pours down on the beautiful people at this beautiful outdoor festival. This is Russell Moore of IIIrd Tyme Out, my favorite bluegrass band (this week).  They are the best! About 30,000 of us are drawn here to historic Cannonsburgh Village, which is part of Murfreesboro's Parks and Recreation system.  The Southest Tourism Society recently named this music festival as on of the top 20 events in the Southeast. There is always plenty of food for sale, but it is okay to bring your own. Go ahead and put it on your calendar for next year. I'm pretty sure it will be hot, so come prepared!

Key Underwood loved his coon dogs.  He and his beloved dog, Troop, hunted together for fifteen years before Troop died.  Mr. Underwood wanted to honor his friend by doing something special. On Labor Day in 1937, Mr. Underwood buried Troop near a popular spot in the woods where hunters gathered to listen to their dogs run and swap stories.  Other hunters began burying their dogs near Troop's grave, and the area became known as the Key Underwood Coon Dog Memorial Graveyard. The graveyard contains 185 coon dog graves today.  Here's a sampling of headstones identifying  the dear deceased dogs. In a 1985 interview with writer/columnist Rheta Grimsly Johnson, Mr. Underwood stated that a California woman had contacted him wanting to know why he wouldn't allow other kinds of dogs to be buried  in the graveyard.  His response:  You must not know much about coon hunters and their do...

Last weekend marked the 37th year that folks have been gathering to celebrate Uncle Dave Macon and his contributions to music.  It started as an afternoon of banjo picking at the Rutherford County Courthouse in Murfreesboro, Tennessee, and has become one of the top events in the Southeast. Now, the festival meets at historic Cannonsburgh Village in downtown Murfreesboro. This year's Heritage Award winner went to Dailey and Vincent.   Dailey and Vincent have won three consecutive IBMA awards for Entertainer of the Year and three awards for Vocal Group of the Year.  Both have been playing and singing traditional music since they were children. There was lots of fiddlin' and banjo pickin', and lots of people laid back watching. There was practice for competition in a quiet spot, and jammin' under the shade trees. There were clogging and buck-dancing competitions, in addition to banjo and other competitio...