30th Wayne C. Henderson Music Festival and Guitar Competition ends on a high note
By Donna Davis
Over the river and through the woods is a land of horses, Virginia’s two tallest mountains, and ambivalent cell phone signals. There are waterfalls, the Appalachian trail and a town with a name that sounds like it belongs to a vivacious talker: Mouth of Wilson. But on the third Saturday of June, for three decades, Grayson Highlands State Park has been filled with more than the sounds of nature.
Luthier Wayne Henderson doesn’t require an introduction in most picking circles. His reputation for building the finest guitars for 60 years (he is on number 931 or so) precedes him. The story of Eric Clapton ordering one of his guitars – and Henderson requiring Clapton to pick it up himself – is the stuff of legends. It’s documented in the book “Clapton's Guitar: Watching Wayne Henderson Build the Perfect Instrument” by Allen St. John.
The festival, however, has never been about celebrating his skill – though musicians can’t help but gush – but about paying it forward to an up-and-coming generation of pickers through scholarships and recognizing talent in the guitar competition. The festival has raised a half million dollars for the cause. This year a record $84,000 was distributed in scholarships.
But master of ceremonies Otto Konrad, sporting a pink suit that became the butt of his own jokes when filling time, said the words that faithful followers knew were coming, but dreaded to hear: “Welcome to the 30th and final Wayne C. Henderson Music Festival and Guitar Competition.”
Coordinating the guitar competition, Bob DiSanto proclaimed, “This has been a tremendous festival and today will be the best one ever.”
One way scholarship funds are raised is by raffling a coveted Wayne Henderson guitar. This year’s instrument was OM size made from Hawaian Koa wood and European spruce, Henderson explained. “I still whittle out that neck with my pocketknife. This is number 925.”
Volunteers circulated through the crowd carrying the guitar and a bucket, selling tickets for $50 each. There was no shortage of takers willing to donate to a worthy scholarship fund and win a chance at the prized guitar. At the end of the day $45,000 in tickets had been sold, exceeding the goal.
The guitar competition included 20 contestants and was conducted with “blind judging.” Each player was given a number, and judges could not see them perform. Judges chose the top 5 to go on to a second round, where each guitarist played two songs.
Certain tunes were popular, including “Alabama Jubilee,” “Whiskey Before Breakfast,” “Little Rock Getaway” and “Blackberry Blossom,” performed by multiple contestants. Performers were allowed to play alone or to have an accompanist. Most chose to have one, either a rhythm guitar, mandolin, or upright bass. One competitor chose a challenging tune not often expected from a guitar: Stars and Stripes Forever. Yes, the march by John Philip Sousa.
The guitar competition winner, who came in 2nd place last year, was Eric Hardin of West Jefferson, NC. Traditional, old time and bluegrass music JAM (Junior Appalachian Musician) teacher of the year was awarded to Jim Lloyd.
Presley Barker, who won the Wayne Henderson guitar competition when he was just 12, opened the featured performances.
South Pacific slack guitarist L.T. Smooth confided to the audience that he is “30 years sober”...the same length of time the festival has been going. His mission is compatible with Hendersons’s: “to build a legacy, build something we can pass on to the next generation.”
“Wayne you’re a beautiful soul…we need more of you around,” Smooth said.
After explaining about slide guitar style and playing original music, including a song he wrote about Henderson that he said he finished 30 minutes before coming on stage, Smooth performed the iconic “Somewhere Over the Rainbow / What a Wonderful World” arrangement made famous by Israel Kamakawiwoʻole. Through the magic of music that knows no borders, for a moment in time, the rainbow nestled peacefully between Mount Rogers and Whitetop in a wonderful world whittled out by Wayne.
The Gibson Brothers took to the stage for their third Wayne Henderson festival, absent their longtime bassist, Mike Barber, who was out due to a medical emergency, but joined by mandolin/guitar player Cody Kilby.
“There’s no place I’d rather be right now,” Leigh Gibson told the audience, “and you can’t always say that.”
As Eric switched from guitar to banjo, Leigh joked, “Eric is going to get out the 5-string. He’s a fine banjo picker,” turning to his brother, adding “but we’re at a guitar event….they’ll run you off.”
The Kruger Brothers opened with their trademark bluegrass-meets-the-symphony style, followed by favorites including “Carolina in the Fall,” “”Don’t Think Twice, It’s All Right” and “Fields of Gold.”
“We met Wayne, and it was life changing,” “ Uwe Kruger said, “It was the first time I played a good guitar.”
The last entry on the schedule was titled simply, “Wayne Henderson and Friends.” Henderson opened with his joke that is familiar to those who know him: “I live in Rugby, right here off the mountain, which has a population of 7. People ask if it’s always 7. When a baby is born, somebody leaves town.”
Joined on stage by his friends Jimmy Edmonds on fiddle, Herb Key on guitar, Josh Scott on upright bass, and Randy Greers on mandolin, Henderson said, “Over the 30 years we’ve had this festival, I’ve been able to trade guitars and get some pretty special people to play here. Like Vince Gill, Ricky Skaggs, Rosanne Cash, and Gillian Welch. And we’ve got one here today: Brad Paisley.”
As Paisley strode onto stage wearing his trademark white cowboy hat, he greeted the audience with, “How much more in the middle of nowhere does it get than this?”
“All right guys…we’ve never played together before….this is gonna be good,” Paisley said, before reminding the audience through his command of the fretboard that he was an apt choice for a guitar festival. After a song or two he joked that he just fired his regular band and asked what they were doing for the next couple of months.
“This is the medicine I needed,” Paisley said. “It’s a Saturday night…let’s bring the Opry here.”
Henderson asked his bass player, Josh Scott, how it felt to be playing with a big star.
“I play with a big star all the time: Wayne Henderson,” Scott said. “But it felt good to play with another big star.”
Music festivals are branded with moments that play like notes on a page. Like when Henderson was joined on stage by his daughter Jane and granddaughter Mathilda to play “Freight Train.” Like when the stage was overflowing with young scholarship recipients. Like when everyone who owns a Wayne Henderson guitar crowded to the front, some holding their instruments high in the air, posing for a photo.
Henderson quipped, “I’m 77 and Herb’s 87. We always say Herb doesn’t look 87, but we can remember when he did.”
While the rigors of the festival are more than he wants to keep tackling, Henderson said he plans to make it to guitar #1000….and pledges to find a way to keep the scholarship support going.
Turning to Henderson, Paisley addressed him as “the most important acoustic builder of our lifetime.”
“You could be playing anywhere,” Henderson replied, “You were gentleman enough to come to the middle of nowhere which is somewhere right now.”
Donna Davis is a North Carolina writer and columnist who covers music communities, events and players.
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