Snyder Family Band
| Featuring Samantha & Zeb Snyder |
Bluegrass, Gospel & More
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| Copyright Snyder Family Band |
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Annie Jenkins, Media Contact
(336)727-0697 or 816-4916
Nine Year Old Wins Top Award at Fiddler’s Grove Festival
Nine year old Samantha Snyder of Lexington, NC came away Saturday night, May 24th,
with the prestigious Fiddler of the Festival award at the 84th Ole Time Fiddler’s and Bluegrass
Festival at Fiddler’s Grove, Union Grove, NC. Following a full day of competition and playoffs
among a gifted mixture of self-taught as well as formally-trained musicians, Samantha, the
Junior Bluegrass Fiddle champion, outplayed the winners of the other fiddle categories: Senior
Bluegrass, Junior Old Time, Senior Old Time, and Certified Old Time.
Samantha is the youngest musician ever to win the coveted title, which has been won previously
by such noted fiddlers as J. P. Fraley, Ralph Blizard, Robin Warren, and Josh Goforth. This
fact is even more significant because Samantha has been playing bluegrass fiddle for only two
years, and did not place in her category at Fiddler’s Grove in 2007.
Beginning as a Suzuki violin student at age 3, Samantha decided to switch to bluegrass two years
ago at age 7. Along with her father, Bud, on bass fiddle, and her equally talented 12 year old
brother, Zeb, 2008 Junior Guitar Champion at Fiddler’s Grove, Samantha plays in the Snyder
Family Band. Attending Saturday morning jam sessions at The Cook Shack in Union Grove was
the impetus for her switching from classical violin to bluegrass fiddle. She relates that
“improvising is fun,” and that bluegrass allows her to do that, whereas classical violin does not.
Asked for her thoughts while she was on stage at Fiddler’s Grove during the final competition,
Samantha responded that she did not think she would win, so she just wanted to do her best.
She further commented, “I feel really happy when I play,” and that enthusiasm was evident to
everyone “in the Grove” on Saturday night.
Does Samantha plan to go back to Union Grove and the Fiddler’s Grove Festival next year? This
polite, well-spoken, self-possessed, home-schooled youngster answered definitively “Yes, ma’am.”
Fiddler’s Grove Ole Time Fiddler’s and Bluegrass Festival is recognized as the oldest fiddler’s
competition in North America, and was designated a Local Legacy by the Library of Congress in
2000. Many of the great icons of traditional American music have played on the stages here,
and this nine-year-old fiddler may be added one day to that roster.
Annie Jenkins, Media Contact
(336)727-0697 or 816-4916
Nine Year Old Wins Top Award at Fiddler’s Grove Festival
Nine year old Samantha Snyder of Lexington, NC came away Saturday night, May 24th,
with the prestigious Fiddler of the Festival award at the 84th Ole Time Fiddler’s and Bluegrass
Festival at Fiddler’s Grove, Union Grove, NC. Following a full day of competition and playoffs
among a gifted mixture of self-taught as well as formally-trained musicians, Samantha, the
Junior Bluegrass Fiddle champion, outplayed the winners of the other fiddle categories: Senior
Bluegrass, Junior Old Time, Senior Old Time, and Certified Old Time.
Samantha is the youngest musician ever to win the coveted title, which has been won previously
by such noted fiddlers as J. P. Fraley, Ralph Blizard, Robin Warren, and Josh Goforth. This
fact is even more significant because Samantha has been playing bluegrass fiddle for only two
years, and did not place in her category at Fiddler’s Grove in 2007.
Beginning as a Suzuki violin student at age 3, Samantha decided to switch to bluegrass two years
ago at age 7. Along with her father, Bud, on bass fiddle, and her equally talented 12 year old
brother, Zeb, 2008 Junior Guitar Champion at Fiddler’s Grove, Samantha plays in the Snyder
Family Band. Attending Saturday morning jam sessions at The Cook Shack in Union Grove was
the impetus for her switching from classical violin to bluegrass fiddle. She relates that
“improvising is fun,” and that bluegrass allows her to do that, whereas classical violin does not.
Asked for her thoughts while she was on stage at Fiddler’s Grove during the final competition,
Samantha responded that she did not think she would win, so she just wanted to do her best.
She further commented, “I feel really happy when I play,” and that enthusiasm was evident to
everyone “in the Grove” on Saturday night.
Does Samantha plan to go back to Union Grove and the Fiddler’s Grove Festival next year? This
polite, well-spoken, self-possessed, home-schooled youngster answered definitively “Yes, ma’am.”
Fiddler’s Grove Ole Time Fiddler’s and Bluegrass Festival is recognized as the oldest fiddler’s
competition in North America, and was designated a Local Legacy by the Library of Congress in
2000. Many of the great icons of traditional American music have played on the stages here,
and this nine-year-old fiddler may be added one day to that roster.