The Upcountry Banjo Company

06/06/2026

Batteaux and Banjos is just two weeks away! Come out and see us June 20-22, 2026 at James River State Park near Gladstone, Virginia. This is shaping up to a very special event with an exciting lineup of period musicians featuring Carson Hudson, Mark Weems, Clifton Hicks, Carl Anderton, John Allin, Knox Phillippe, Bryan Gordy, Cam Smith and more. It is a real honor not only to host such talent but to share a stage with them. In honor of the 250th anniversary of American independence, this year’s theme is Fourth of July, 1851, America’s 75th anniversary, and we have some special events in store relating to that you won’t want to miss. Clip from Batteaux and Banjos 2024. See this year’s schedule below.

Saturday June 20

9AM-5PM Period activities/demonstrations

10AM-2PM Music
10:00 Carson Hudson
10:45 Knox Phillippe
11:00 Nate Worden
11:15 Gordy and Smith
11:45 Pentecost, Weems, and Wheary
12:30 Clifton Hicks
1:15-2:00 Anderton and Allin

2PM Fourth of July 1851 — America’s 75th Anniversary.

7PM Concert and Dance

Sunday June 21

9 AM Period church service by the river

10AM Hymn Sing

11AM-5PM Period activities/demonstrations

3PM Period Music Performance

Monday June 23

9AM-2PM Living History open to public, period music performance times TBA.

05/21/2026

05/21/2026

Very grateful to Rotary Club of Simpsonville for the good work they do and having me as a guest speaker yesterday. It was a pleasure and a privilege to share my banjos and music!

05/21/2026

Minstrel style “rabbit ear” tackhead banjo with cherry neck and French Polish I am currently building for a customer.

05/16/2026

“Sugar in the Gourd” old time fiddle tune. Earliest references go back to the 1830s. At least a half dozen tunes have been associated with the title. This is the most common and widespread and belongs to the Natchez Under the Hill/Zip Coon/Turkey in the Straw tune family. Sugar in the Gourd is among the most frequently mentioned tunes in minstrel lyrics and lists of fiddlers’ repertoires from the antebellum period.

Performed in the historic Marbury Methodist Church on 4/24/26 as part of a school program at Confederate Memorial Park in Marbury, Alabama. The park was originally a home for crippled and indigent veterans and their widows after the war. Today it is the final resting place for many of its original residents and home to a first rate museum and reconstructed Confederate barracks for living history programs.

With Bryan Gordy ​⁠on banjo.

05/03/2026

“De Ole Jim River” or “Twill Neber Do to Gib it up So” — a popular song of the 1840s attributed to Dan Emmett of the Virginia Minstrels, possibly has folk roots reaching back farther. The song is told from the perspective of a determined black boatman transporting to***co down the James River despite boatwreck. Performed at Eppington Plantation in Chesterfield County, Virginia 5/2/26. Eppington, built in 1768, was the home of Francis Eppes VI, brother in law and best friend of Thomas Jefferson who was a frequent visitor at the house.

04/30/2026

Video of this past Saturday’s concert at Confederate Memorial Park is now up on YouTube. "Southern Sounds 1861-1865: Music of the Homefront and Camp" — A live concert featuring music popular in the South during the War Between the States, from old time fiddle tunes to minstrel songs, parlor ballads, shape note hymns, Southern patriotic anthems, and banjo breakdowns. Performed in historic Marbury Methodist Church at Confederate Memorial Park in Marbury, Alabama, April 25, 2026.

1 like. "Southern Sounds 1861-1865: Music of Homefront & Camp — Live Concert at Confederate Memorial Park"

04/29/2026

Living History Friends, there's still time to sign up for this year's Batteaux and Banjos, June 20-22, 2026, but we only have room for a few more participants and registration closes this Friday, May 1.

Batteaux and Banjos is a semi-immersive, public-oriented living history program held at beautiful James River State Park in the heart of the Old Dominion. We are looking for dedicated interpreters to portray rural Virginians circa 1850 with the highest standards of authenticity. Bring your period trades, games, and pastimes to demonstrate, and, of course, your period musical instruments! Batteaux and Banjos is a great event for the whole family in a safe and relaxing setting which will transport you back to the nineteenth century.

In honor of the 250th anniversary of American Independence, this year's theme is America's 75th anniversary, Independence Day 1851! This, our fifth annual Batteaux and Banjos, is already shaping up to be a memorable event as we host a number of new special guest musicians and the park opens its renovated batteau exhibit featuring a restored full-scale replica of the distinctive river craft which was once the lifeblood of Virginia's to***co trade.

As always, we will have our traditional pig roast and free barbecue dinner for all registered participants on Saturday, Sunday's "camp meeting" scenario revolves around our period church service by the river and hymn sing. Lastly, be sure to stick around Monday to watch the batteaux as the James River Batteau Festival arrives at our site.

To register, please follow the link to our website below. Be sure to review all guidelines and fill out the form under the “REGISTER” tab to reserve your place. For the site to record your entry, you must fill all spaces and click "Submit" at the bottom of the page. *If this is your first Batteaux and Banjos or SCAR event, we may contact you to request pictures of your impression.* Numbers are limited. Registration closes May 1. We look forward to seeing many new and old faces on the river this June!

To register as one of our living history interpreters, please fill out the form below. A Barbecue Dinner will be provided for all registered participants on Saturday free of charge, however, we welcome donations to help offset costs. Donations may be made via PayPal ([email protected]), by m...

04/27/2026

“Wolves a’ Howling” old Alabama fiddle tune. Barrow Wheary on fiddle, Bryan Gordy on banjo, Caroline Wheary on jawbone. Performed in the Old Marbury Methodist Church building at Confederate Memorial Park, Alabama.