This all-day Festival features a wide variety of music, crafts and storytelling traditions, as well as student art, food and beverages, and a festival t-shirt. Old-time musicians and string bands in the region play throughout the day, along with musicians and actors who were influenced by Campbell County native Howard "Louie Bluie" Armstrong. For details of the 2007 event, see Festival Highlights below and click on the links in the lefthand column.
The Festival will have two music stages. The Community Stage will showcase local Campbell County musicians playing fiddle, banjo, mandolin, dobro, guitar and other instruments. And the Armstrong Stage will feature old time musicians and string bands from communities in the shadow of the Cumberland Mountains. Charlie Collins, one of the original members of Roy Acuff’s Smoky Mountain Boys and a regular on the Grand Ole Opry, will be the featured performer. Musicians who knew and played with Armstrong or whose music is influenced by Armstrong’s “mountain jazz” style will provide an evening program.
Old Fiddler's Convention
From 1913 to 1940 LaFollette hosted the longest running fiddle contest in the South. The Louie Bluie Music and Arts Festival features the fiddling kinfolks and admirers of those early competitors.
Tennessee Jamboree Reunion
Veterans of this great Campbell County stage and radio show will reunite for another Jamboree, including Red Harrison, Fred Longmire, Dean Huddleston and L. C. Edwards.
Campbell County Radio Celebration
Radio broadcasting from Campbell County has led East Tennessee in the presentation of grassroots music, through the work of WLAF and WDVX. Tony Lawson, Bill Waddell, and Alex Leach will be on hand for music and memories.
Music Styles Workshop
Musicians, including those who knew and played with Louie Bluie, will share their insights into the ways that music giants such as Armstrong influenced them and various styles of music.
Craft Village
Festival-goers will have an opportunity to purchase locally-made items from fine artisans and crafters -- and watch crafts demonstrations as well.
Premier of Original Play about Howard Armstrong
Carpetbag Theatre, an African-American actors' ensemble based in Knoxville, Tennessee, will be presenting excerpts from their upcoming dramatic production based on the life of Howard Armstrong. The play was written by Carpetbag's artistic director, Linda Parris-Bailey, who knew Armstrong.
Black Community Reunion
In conjunction with the Louie Bluie Music & Arts Festival, a Homecoming and Reunion will be held June 8 for 200-plus members of the black community who lived in the LaFollette area and attended the segregated black high school (where Howard Armstrong went to school) during the 1940s, 50s, and 60s.
Storytelling
The festival's Folklife Stage will feature local storytellers sharing tales of life in Campbell County, Tennessee and the transition from a coal mining community to an area known today for Norris Lake and mountain recreation opportunities. These storytellers will include attendees of the “Colored High School Reunion” who will share their stories of the
African-American community in the coal and iron days of LaFollette, Tennessee, during the 1930’s and 1940’s.
Youth Art Exhibit
The exhibit will feature art and stories created by local middle school students who participated in the Howard Armstrong Youth Arts and Music Project in their spring semester.
Regional Food Fare
A variety of food vendors will be serving up pizza, hot dogs, hamburgers, sandwiches and an array of Southern cooking, East Tennessee style.
What to Bring
Folding Chair or Blanket... Hat... Suntan Lotion... Money for crafts, drinks, food, festival t-shirt and donations to the festival... No Coolers, Please... Pets are best left at home!
