Description

The Roan Mountain Hilltoppers are a world-famous old-time band from the heart of the Blue Ridge Mountains. The Birchfield family members learned the old tunes and ballads from their father and uncles and continue to play in a style popular in the early 1900s. This 1986 concert at the Brandywine Friends of Old Time Music features Joe on fiddle with his brother Creed on banjo and his son Bill on guitar. Bill’s wife Janice Birchfield plays washtub bass. As Janice said, “We play the way our family always has: straight, traditional sounds.” Their music has been called mesmerizing, raw, rapid-fire, and trance-inducing. The surviving members of the original Hilltopper band continue to play in the same hard-driving East-Tennessee style, making the band a favorite among dancers.

See also: FRC1002 – Roan Mountain Hilltoppers In Concert (DVD)

Additional Notes: A 1982 Interview with Joe Birchfield