Join us at the Ashe Park on July 25-26, 2025, for the annual Fiddlers Convention. Focused on honoring the Old Time and Bluegrass music of the mountains – and the musicians who make it. The Convention will be held at Ashe County Park in Jefferson offering camping, food cooked on site, and individual and band competitions – featuring great music and cash prizes!
Friday Night Concert Schedule
5:45 PM –
Ashe County Junior Appalachian Musicians
6:15 PM –
Sassafrass
7:30 PM–
New Ballard’s Branch Bogtrotters
Tickets are available for purchase at the gate, cash or check only, no cards! If you purchased your tickets online they are available at the gate at Will Call.
$10 day pass, $15 weekend
Children 12 and under free with paying adult.
Veterans, First Responders and Law Enforcement Free Entry!
The New Ballard’s Branch Bogtrotters have been playing old-time mountain music around Galax, Virginia, since 1986. They take their name from both a small stream that runs through Galax and the original Bogtrotters of the 1920s—a legendary old-time band featuring Uncle Eck Dunford, Wade Ward, Crocket Ward, Fields Ward, and “Doctor” Davis. The original group won the very first Old Fiddler’s Convention in Galax in 1935, and Doctor Davis helped keep the tradition alive for years.
Today’s Bogtrotters include guitarist Dennis Hall, fiddler and vocalist Eddie Bond, bassist and vocalist Bonnie Bond, banjo player Josh Ellis, and mandolinist Caroline Noel Beverley. Still known locally as “The Bogtrotters,” the band is a mainstay at area square dances and fiddlers’ conventions, where they’ve won countless old-time band contests and frequently provide music for dance competitions. Their performances have also reached national stages, including the Smithsonian Folk Festival, Kennedy Center, Chicago Folk Festival, and many others.
Sassafras is a North Carolina-based bluegrass band rooted in the Foothills of the Blue Ridge Mountains. Inspired by the traditional sounds of Bill Monroe and Flatt & Scruggs, the band also explores progressive Newgrass and blends in elements of country, folk, western swing, and original songs. Known for their versatility and musicianship, Sassafras band members have shared the stage and studio with artists such as Doc Watson, Tony Rice, Jerry Douglas, Mark O’Connor, Mac Wiseman, Kruger Brothers, and many others.
Sassafras has performed at top festivals and venues across the U.S. and abroad, including MerleFest, Walnut Valley Festival, Song of the Mountains, and IBMA, as well as events in the UK, France, Germany, Japan, and New Zealand. Whether on a local stage or an international tour, Sassafras continues to honor bluegrass traditions while carving out a sound all their own.
