The West Virginia State Division of Culture and History says Buddy Griffin will receive the Vandalia Award at the 35th Vandalia Gathering on Friday. The 7:00 PM ceremony will be held at the Culture Center on the state Capitol grounds. Griffin and his Glenville State Bluegrass Band are scheduled to play.
Griffin played professionally, performing around the country with bluegrass legend Bill Monroe, The Goins Brothers John Hartford and Mother Maybelle Carter. He played with The Dillards during the 1970s and performed on the "Grand Ol Opry," "Mountain Stage" and "A Prairie Home Companion."
In the 1970s and 1980s, Griffin performed on more than 150 commercially available recordings on such labels as Rounder, Rebel, Old Homestead, Folkways, Vetco and Screengems. In 1980 he, along with his parents, performed as featured artists in the internationally distributed documentary Keep On The Sunny Side, which highlighted the historic Carter Family.
During his 40-plus year career, his music nominations and awards have included the Most-Promising Bluegrass Fiddler nomination in 1975; the Branson, Mo., Old-Time Fiddle Champion in 1990; the Branson Fiddler of the Year nomination in 1992; and the Branson Mandolin Player of the Year award in 1992. His live stage appearances have included the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts; the Winnipeg, Canada Folk Festival; the Mariposa, Canada Folk Festival; the Festival of the United States in Louisville; the Gold Coast in Las Vegas, and the Cristy Lane Theatre and the Albert E. Brumley Music Show, both in Branson, Mo. Radio and television broadcasts include the Grade Ole Opry, the Ernest Tubb Midnight Jamboree, Garrison Keillor’s A Prairie Home Companion, Mountain Stage and a TV Land Television special with Andy Griffith for the dedication of a statue of Griffith in Mount Airy, N.C.
In March 1996, Griffin and his parents won the highly coveted Host’s Favorite Award on A Prarie Home Companion. Between 1995 and 2003, Griffin developed and operated an old-time radio-style creative writing and production workshop for universities, colleges and secondary schools. The program, Radio’s Golden Memories, was developed in conjunction with the WFMT Fine Arts Network in Chicago, and was designed to be an exercise in creative radio writing and production while preserving the artistic heritage of early radio broadcasting in America.
In 1997, Griffin returned home to West Virginia, where he founded the nation’s first degree program in bluegrass music at Glenville State College. Currently he serves as director of cultural events and head of the bluegrass music program at the school. He also has produced more than 250 original Mountain Air syndicated radio programs for the college. He spends his spare time working in his own recording, publishing and production company, Braxton Records, which has released 16 acoustic music albums on cassette or CD in the past few years.
For more information about the Vandalia Gathering and the Vandalia Award, contact Caryn Gresham, deputy commissioner for the Division, at (304) 558-0220.
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