Twin Creeks String Band
Saturday, September 21st, 2019, at 7:30 p.m., the Carter Family Fold in Hiltons, Virginia, will present a concert by the Twin Creeks String Band – an old time band formerly known as the Dry Hill Draggers. Admission to the concert is $10 for adults, $2 for children 6 to 11, under age 6 free. Tickets are available at the door. Doors open at 6:00 p.m.
In the late 1970s, some neighbors and friends started gathering to play old time music which had been passed down from generations before. Most of these gatherings were in the Dryhill and Ferrum areas of Franklin County, Virginia. One day while playing music and having some fun some of the musicians were falling behind, and Edgar Crowe said since they were dragging behind on their timing, he was going to call the group the “Dry Hill Draggers.” So in 1981, the band Dry Hill Draggers established by Jimmy Boyd and brother, Billy Boyd, along with other band members – Carl Scott, Murphy Shively and Bob Trammel – began playing together professionally at festivals and events. The name Dry Hill Draggers stuck for over thirty years.
The Draggers cut their first album in 1982. It was called Knockin’ Around With the Ole Time Sound. In 1983 the album There Will Come a Time came out followed up with Budded Roses a couple of years later. The next album, Pallet on Your Floor, was followed by Don’t Get Trouble in Your Mind. Several years passed without any studio work, but in 2009, a CD was released called Take a Drink on Me. In 2011, which marked the 30thyear anniversary for the band, a CD was recorded and released with some of the band’s favorite songs from all past eight recordings entitled 30thYear Anniversary.
Throughout the years, band members have come and gone and some have passed away, but the tradition and heritage is still going strong today to keep the old time sound of the mountains alive. Also, throughout the years, the band has traveled around the east coast from New York to Alabama playing. In 1982, they had the privilege of playing at the World’s Fair in Knoxville, Tennessee. The Dry Hill Draggers played at several fiddlers’ conventions over the years capturing numerous awards and first place finishes. That included a second place finish in the Ole Time Band category at the 2011 Galax Fiddlers’ Convention.
The group’s members today are still carrying on the old time sound. Banjo player Jimmy Boyd and his brother Billy Boyd started the official Dry Hill Draggers band in 1981. Over thirty years later, some of the Draggers’ members formed the Twin Creeks String Band. Members of Twin Creeks are Jared Boyd, grandson of Jimmy Boyd, a third generation claw-hammer banjo player; his dad Stacy Boyd on upright bass; on guitar and vocals Jason Hambrick; and Chris Prillaman on fiddle.
Twin Creeks String Band has a the driving old-time beat that is irresistible to dancers. Wherever there’s good old time music, you can find Twin Creeks. They are popular at the Blue Ridge Folklife Festival and the Galax Old Fiddlers’ Convention. The Fold audience knows them well, and Carter Fold is thrilled to Twin Creeks String Band return to the Fold.
If old time is what you like, the Twin Creeks String Band will deliver. Flat-footers and two-steppers are welcome to come out and shake a leg with Twin Creeks. The group is known for their knock-down, hard-driving beat, and there will be lots of fiddle tunes and some rare old time tunes that aren’t often heard commercially today. Don’t forget your dancing shoes, and get ready for some old time, mountain family fun! Bring along all your family and friends. For more information on the group, check them out on both Facebook and YouTube.
Carter Family Memorial Music Center is a nonprofit, rural arts organization established to preserve traditional, acoustic mountain music. The center is a family-friendly, drug and alcohol free venue. In addition to the performance area, we also maintain the Carter Family Museum and the A.P. Carter birthplace cabin – each are historic landmarks. The cabin and museum are open Saturdays at 6 p.m. until show time at 7:30 p.m. and they both reopen at our intermission. For more information on the center, go to our site on the internet – www.carterfamilyfold.org/. Partial program funding is provided by the Virginia Commission for the Arts,the National Endowment for the Arts, and by the Virginia Tourism Corporation. To access recorded information on shows coming up at the Fold, call 276-386-6054. We’re on Facebook – page Carter Fold – and Twitter – @carterfoldinfo. To speak to a Fold volunteer staff member, call 276-594-0676. If we don’t answer you right away, we will get back to you in 24 hours. The Center is only open Saturday nights, and we are run by volunteer staff – one of few true rural arts organizations in the U.S.
