Fiddlin' Around

Eliza and I met her parents in Tennessee for the 4th of July--the 37th annual Smithville Fiddlers' Jamboree. Eliza's parents stumbled upon it years ago on one of their road trips and wanted to return, so we flew in and met them in Nashville.

The jamboree brings together guitarists and banjo players and mandolin players and cloggers and buck dancers and all sorts of things. There's the stage with the formal competition and then lots going on elsewhee in town, under the shade trees, with the "shade tree pickers".

Clogging is sort of a cross between Irish step dancing and tap dancing. There doesn't appear to be a dress code:



This guy was an absolute entertainer, such charm:



And here bluegrass meets...punk...?



Meanwhile, the politicians work the crowd offering fans (it was Very Hot and Steamy):



And under the shade trees, musicians and dancers who have been meeting here for years jammed:





Including the dogs:



One of the coolest instruments was the washboard and brass thimble:





And Eliza's mom inquired about the boston butt sandwich (apparently it's pulled pork):



Meanwhile, back on the main stage, there was the novelty competition. These girls were adorable:



And this lady did a rif (sp?) on stereotypical crazy southerners:



And yet again, we don't know what the heck happened with the photos of Moi! Because, of course, it's all about Moi! And Eliza really did take pictures of Moi. Or so she says.... Personally, I think Eliza's technical prowess stinks--although she puts it down to the poor interface and functionality of her new camera (she's all about "interface" and "functionality"...).