Asheville Shindig showcases 4 girl fiddlers, ages 10-13

Girls just want to have fun. And Western North Carolina has a new wave of girls choosing to play traditional fiddle styles.

The girls profiled here — Bailee Brandon, Rhiannon Ramsey, Lillian Chase and Carly Mae Buckner — are talented, bright, intently focused and remarkably poised on stage. With varied interests, personalities and backgrounds, the four come together through fiddle as examples of a new generation, having fun while exploring their mountain culture.

Bailee Brandon

“It’s like a generation thing,” Bailee Brandon said. “That’s not the only reason I play, but I thought it would be fun to play an instrument like, well, Grover, Uncle Bryan, my granddad. It’s a legacy thing.”

An outgoing 10-year-old entering the fifth grade at Sand Hill Venable Elementary, Bailee’s enthusiasm is infectious as she talks about fiddler Grover Sutton, a great-grandfather she never met. Grandfather Jerry Sutton is an accomplished musician and often accompanies her on guitar. Uncle Bryan Sutton is an internationally known Grammy winner. While mom Leesa Sutton Brandon has little time for fiddling around these days, she grew up playing fiddle.

“I played with my family pretty regularly through high school,” Leesa Sutton Brandon said. “I think we were the Pisgah Pickers, there have been many incarnations of that band.” She recalls their weekly job playing at the Pisgah View Ranch, and traveling regionally to play festivals.

“I am very thankful that I had a family that valued music instruction; it was just who we were,” she said. “I remember Sunday lunches at my grandparents; we couldn’t wait to get the food out of the way so the fiddles could come out.”

Attending family jam sessions like Mrs. Hyatt’s on Thursday nights, Parham’s on Friday night and Shindig on the Green on Saturday nights in the summer were a major part of life; of those, only Shindig remains. What mattered most were community, family and fun, things Leesa shares now with her daughter.

Bailee’s dad Byron Brandon and grandmother Carol Sutton pitch in as chauffeur and practice crew. Also studying piano, Bailee studies fiddle with professional musician Josh Goforth, a faculty member at the Academy of the Arts at First Baptist Church in Asheville. It’s a good fit.

“I think I’ve met new people from fiddle. I met Lillian on Saturday for the first time and we played together,” Bailee said. “I’ve played with Carly Mae and Rhiannon. I couldn’t imagine being at Shindig and not having anything to do. I imagined myself playing. I am glad I am now, because it’s fun.”

Rhiannon Ramsey

“My parents were watching David Holt interview Arvil Freeman on TV and I fell in love with it and ever since then I wanted to play the fiddle,” 12-year-old Rhiannon Ramsey said. “I asked for a fiddle when I was 4 and I got a fiddle when I was 4 or 5 for Christmas.”

Rhiannon is the second of seven children. Older sister Rochelle plays guitar and sings at church and has played with Rhiannon at the N.C. Mountain State Fair. Next are Lorelai, Layla and Lochlain; twin brothers Gage and Laynon are the youngest.

“We have lots of instruments in the home in case they show interest,” said mom Haley Ramsey, who home-schools all the children except Rochelle, who attends Madison High School. Neither she nor husband Jeremy Ramsey plays music, but the Ramsey family is musical and Jeremy’s father, brother and sisters all play by ear, in the traditional way.

“We called around a bit and most people don’t teach kids that young,” Haley Ramsey said. “We found Natalya Weinstein who did take young students and she stayed with Natalya for two years, and went to Arvil when she was 8.

“Rhiannon is very responsible. She crochets and likes to cook, and she’s serious but can also be silly and playful,” Haley said.

The family has a banjo, upright bass and mandolin — and Rhiannon can play them all. Haley Ramsey is from Asheville but grew up near Swannanoa, where the family lived until they moved to Madison to be near family.

“They were in a charter school in Swannanoa but now are home-schooled so they have both experiences,” Haley said. “It’s sweet because even though my other children aren’t as committed to playing, she’ll take her fiddle and teach her little brothers and sisters to play. It has opened their eyes to my heritage.”

Technically proficient at an early age, Rhiannon performs most regularly with adult musicians.

“It’s fun,” she said. “It’s kind of weird but then it’s fun. I just like all of it, performing, playing.” Among her favorites are regional music rules. “Arvil of course, Bobby Hicks, Roger Howell.”

It’s not all music; she lights up talking about her animals. “My animals are three sheep and then a great Pyrenees,” said Rhiannon, who bottle-fed the sheep. “I paid for them and take care of them myself. The sheep live in the pasture above the house. We have cows, chickens, horses.”

“I think it’s been exciting for everyone to see her perform,” Haley said. “It’s a commitment, the lessons and shows, but it’s probably not as hard as three or four ball games a week.”

Carly Mae Buckner

“I like working out complex tunes and practicing them,” 13-year-old fiddler Carly Mae Buckner said. “I enjoy being able to play with my mom and dad, that I have something I can do just with them. Some kids don’t have anything they do with their parents.”

Dad George Buckner is an accomplished musician, and they listen to records together. He points out “licks” and she tries to play them. Her favorite fiddlers to listen to are Benny Martin, Blaine Sprouse and Howdy Forrester. Playing since she was 6, her first lessons were from Natalya Weinstein and six months later she went to study with Arvil Freeman.

“I thought playing by ear was fun; I wasn’t interested in learning other methods,” Carly Mae said. “I enjoyed being able to be around such a great fiddle player and I was glad he accepted me. I had fun playing by ear, more that reading music; that was like school.”

Parents Brooke and George played around the house and sing gospel music together. Carly Mae says her dad always plays the banjo, and she can’t remember a time with no music in the home. The Buckners live on a family farm near Weaverville, where Carly Mae is in the eighth grade at North Buncombe Middle School. Younger sister Lilly Buckner plays piano and mandolin; both girls have danced on a clogging team.

“I participated in the strings program, playing double bass,” said Carly Mae. “That was different, learning to play bass clef, that was interesting.”

“My family has played this music so long and has been in the area so long that I wanted to learn this music,” Carly Mae said. “I think before you learn another genre or way to play that, you should play the music where you are from.”

A pretty, intelligent girl with long blond hair and a bright smile, she enjoys going out to jam with musicians of all ages and performs professionally with her parents onstage. Some career highlights so far are playing at MerleFest in 2015 as part of the Acoustic Kids program, playing at Raymond Fairchild’s Maggie Valley Opry House and playing with Sons of Ralph at the stage dedication ceremony to Ralph Lewis in Jack of the Wood.

Lillian Chase

“At first I was scared on stage, but at our music school, as soon as you start playing, there’s a recital and you have to prepare and get up in front of people,” said 11-year-old Lillian Chase, who loves both classical and mountain music. “Classical — it’s really different; there are more restrictions. You can’t change anything; you are reading it from music. Fiddle, the point is to make it your own and make it different.”

Her sister Sara Nell Chase is 9 and also plays violin.

Parents Laura and Don Chase saw Lillian’s interest in violin early on. At age 4 she could pick out the sounds in a song. At age 6, Lillian began lessons in traditional and classical violin with Dr. Gina Caldwell at the Joyful Noise music school in Weaverville, not far from their home.

With Joyful Noise, Lillian performed three years in a row at Shindig on the Green and in 2014 was invited to perform solo and loved it. Last Christmas, her parents gave her two lessons with Arvil Freeman; his student since January, she continues to study classical music with Caldwell. What does she like most about fiddle?

“I think just being able to play and go into another world and not think about anything else,” said Lillian. “It’s really different from school. It’s fun to learn music and challenge myself and make other people happy.” In the sixth grade at North Windy Ridge, she will enter the strings program and take double bass this year.

The four girls have all met each other playing together at Shindig on the Green, the Mountain Dance and Folk Festival or the Bascom Lamar Lunsford Festival. Lillian has also studied with Michael Ismerio, considers Roger Howell a mentor and after meeting and studying with nationally known fiddler Bruce Molsky at the Swannanoa Gathering, traveled north this summer with her whole family to study with Molsky in Maine.

“I laugh about how this unfolded in our life; other kids love rock stars and Lillian loves fiddlers,” Laura Chase said. “It was our summer vacation; Maine is gorgeous. I love my kids having an interest as they enter their teenage years.”

Carol Rifkin writes about Appalachian culture for the Citizen-Times. Email her at CMRifkin@gmail.com.

IF YOU GO

The last Shindig of the Green for 2015 is 7-10 p.m. Sept. 5 in Roger McGuire Green at Pack Square Park downtown. Admission is free; bring folding chairs or blankets to sit on. To learn more, call 828-258-6101, ext. 345, or visit www.folkheritage.org.