Wartrace MusicFest called a success

Despite people coming in Saturday afternoon a little slower than expected, attendance soared at the Wartrace MusicFest in comparison to last year, with many in the crowd anticipating festival headliner Marty Stuart's performance.

The crowd takes in the sounds of The Creek at the Wartrace MusicFest Friday night. (T-G Photo by John Philleo) [Click to enlarge] [Order this photo]

"It took the crowd a long time to get there, but people were rolling in all day," said Laura Gentry, Wartrace city recorder. "I think the rain might have had something to do with that ... but Marty drew in a good crowd."

A crowd of about 600 people made it in time to see Stuart's Saturday evening performance.

"Marty was Marty," said Don Gallagher, mayor of Wartrace. "I think he really enjoyed himself and put on a great show."

While tabulations are not yet complete, Gallagher feels sure Wartrace has "kept its head above water," despite the high expense of organizing the festival.

"We had some big time acts this year," said Gallagher. "They gave us some good deals but bringing in acts like them [Marty Stuart and Cherryholmes] is not cheap."

Gallagher said many people weren't too familiar with Cherryholmes prior to hearing them play Friday night. But the family band, consisting of Jere, Sandy Lee, Cia Leigh, Molly Kate, B.J. and Skip, won the hearts of many new fans by the end of the night.

Saturday's activities began at 10 a.m. at the Walking Horse Hotel with the J.W. Gallagher Memorial Guitar Contest, which was won by Roy Curry, of Chattanooga.

The grand prize was a custom-made G-55 hand-crafted Gallagher guitar valued at $4,200, which was designed by Stephen Gallagher, Don's son, in memory of his grandfather, J.W. Gallagher, who founded Gallagher Guitars in 1965.

The second-place prize of $200 and 52 sets of GHS guitar strings went to Tyler Grant, of Nashville.

"Tyler is a former flat pick and finger style national champion and was also the last fiddle player for Bill Monroe," said Gallagher.

The third-place prize of $100 was claimed by Robert Bowlin, of Cobden, Ill.

Gallagher said the competition was filled with seasoned performers, including one man who flew in from Colorado for the competition.

"He flew in for the contest and flew right out Saturday afternoon to be back in Colorado for a show there that night, and he didn't even make the top five," said Gallagher. "That's how good the competition was."

Gallagher said Wartrace advertised this year more than ever, which helped draw in more spectators and competitors. But the best advertisement is good old fashioned word of mouth.

He hopes word of this year's event will spread and make next year an even better event.

"This event is great for Wartrace and the county," said Gallagher. "It's a building process, but all of the elements are coming together quite nicely."