Fiddle
Fiddle 1 Beginning: Ben Davis is a hard driving fiddler from Knapps Creek in Pocahontas County West Virginia. He started playing at age nine and came under the influences of legendary fiddlers Junior Spencer and Jake Krack. Ben won the 2015 Vandalia youth fiddle contest and has high place finishes in the adult division of the same. He also has taken 2nd and 3rd place at the Fly In Festival contest in Huntington WV. Ben is currently the old time fiddling sound behind the band Mud Hole Control, who grabbed a place at the Galax Old Time Fiddlers Contest in 2022.
Fiddle 2, Intermediate: Tessa McCoy, from Saint Albans, W.V., a 7-time West Virginia state fiddle champion. Known for her hard-driving and intricate style, she's learned from and played extensively with Bobby Taylor, Jake Krack and Dave Bing. In fall 2024, she appeared on the Grand Ole Opry, showcasing her fiddling as Traditional Grand Master Fiddle Champion. She’s appeared on NPR’s Mountain Stage and has also been featured in Fiddler Magazine.
Fiddle 3, Intermediate/Advance: Jake Krack, from Nicut, West Virginia, started playing the fiddle at the age of six. He has spent over fifteen years studying and apprenticing with West Virginia master old-time fiddlers Melvin Wine, Lester McCumbers, and Bobby Taylor. He has performed and taught workshops at venues such as the Smithsonian Folklife Festival, Chicago Folk Festival, Merlefest, and the Detroit Festival of the Arts. Jake has won fiddle contests at Vandalia, Appalachian String Band Festival, Galax Old-time Fiddlers Convention, Mt. Airy Fiddlers Convention, Ed Haley fiddle contest, and the Henry Reed Fiddlers Gathering. He currently is the fiddler with The Bing Brothers. Jake serves as the Director of Operations of the Board of Allegheny Echoes.
Fiddle 4 Intermediate/Advance: Dave Bing began playing guitar when he was five years old, banjo in his mid-teens and fiddle soon after. He was lucky to have learned from several different old time fiddlers with various styles and incorporated these styles into what has become his own. Dave has taught and performed old time music internationally and does annual fiddle and banjo workshops in Spain and England. His style of teaching focuses on rhythmic bowing techniques, different methods, dynamics, and timing that makes an old time fiddle tune more interesting to listen to and fun to play. Dave performed with his brothers for over 25 years and organized and performed with the groups Gandydancer and High Ridge Ramblers. He now lives with his wife on a farm in central West Virginia and builds fiddles.