Plans for the 36th annual Berks Country Early Bird Fiddle Festival are finalized and this year we are excited to again be part of the 2018 Berks Country Fest: An Americana Music Jamboree!
This free event will again highlight bluegrass, Celtic, and folk music on stage and in the field at the Berks County Heritage Center, 1102 Red Bridge Road, Reading, Bern Township, on Saturday, June 9, from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m.
The Concert Schedule is as follows:
10:00 a.m. – Welcome10:05 to 10:50 a.m. – Kick Off with Matt Miskie, Vocal and Guitar Music
11:00 to 11:45 a.m. – The Werner Family, Traditional and Gospel Bluegrass
11:50 to 12:45 p.m. – OPEN STAGE (10 minute spots)
12:50 to 1:30 p.m. – Full Circle Music Society, Acoustic Music
1:35 to 3:30 p.m. – Fiddle Contest (register 10 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. by the stage)
Cash prizes awarded in each age group – 10 and under; 11 to 18; and 19 and over; and three honorable mention prizes
Best of Show Winner – Plaque sponsored by Mountain Folk Scholarship Fund
Best Berks Country Tune on Fiddle – plaque presented for best farming, farm animal, or nature-related fiddle tune, sponsored by Berks Country, weekly magazine of the Reading Eagle.
3:35 to 4:15 p.m. – Butch Imhoff, Acoustic Music
4:20 to 5:10 p.m. -Buffalo Mountain Grass, Autumn and Canyon Moore
5:30 to 7:00 p.m. -Concert: “East Side” Dave Kline and The Mountain Folk Band
“East Side” Dave Kline & the Mountain Folk Band: Based in Pennsylvania and performing since 1989 as a five-piece bluegrass band, the award-winning band’s repertoire includes original material, sing-a-long material, traditional material and music from Appalachian to Alpine music styles. Bluegrass, folk, mountain, acoustic music, and songs about the great outdoors are all part of the band’s repertoire. With bandleader Dave Kline, the band has performed throughout the Mid-Atlantic USA and in Europe. Dave is also the producer & host of the weekly Mountain Folk radio & web show and the writer of the weekly Mountain Folklore column in Berks Country Magazine, Reading Eagle Newspaper. In order to help support and nurture the love of music in Berks County, the Mountain Folk Scholarship Fund has been established through the Reading Musical Foundation as a source of funding for students seeking to learn how to play an acoustic guitar or banjo.
Though musical performances are the central focus of the fiddle festival, there are a variety of children’s activities in the Half-Circle Kids’ Tent/Music Craft Tent, Acoustic Road Show offers a quick guitar workshop, and the Reading Musical Foundation (RMF) Operation Replay with their collection of musical instruments. Festival goers are asked to donate an instrument to RMF, if possible, for children’s musical education.
Food and refreshments will be available. Attendees are urged to bring chairs and blankets and are reminded that pets and alcohol are not allowed.
The Early Bird Fiddle Festival is presented by the Berks County Parks and Recreation Department, and is sponsored by Meadowood Music, the CD Exchange, Robert Kain’s Country String Shop, the Reading Musical Foundation, the Mountain Folk Scholarship Fund, and the Berks Country weekly magazine of the Reading Eagle.
