Evie Andrus and Friends will headline the Union County Heritage Festival on the Emily Link Gazebo Main Stage on October 7.
Andrus has been performing her unique style of fiddle playing since she was six years old. Her family band, Family Ties, toured around North and South Dakota, Minnesota and Canada throughout her high school years. But it was her passion for bluegrass that brought her to East Tennessee after she encountered an East Tennessee Bluegrass act called Blue Moon Rising.
That encounter triggered a move to Johnson City and a scholarship to East Tennessee State University to eventually graduate from the Bluegrass, Old Time and County Music Program. At ETSU she learned from master fiddler Tater Tate of the Bluegrass Boys.
Currently she is a graduate student at UT Knoxville and studying ethnomusicology. She is also one of the star performers at the Hatfield and McCoy Dinner Feud and co-founder and president of the East Tennessee Bluegrass Association. Andrus released an album of original tunes in May 2022, called Evie’s Great Adventure. She is regarded as one of the best fiddlers in East Tennessee and can be found performing along with her friends at 11:15 and 12:30 at the Heritage Festival.
A variety of other bluegrass and county bands complete the main stage lineup. Opening the Festival will be Jack Hatfield and True Blue at 10:15 a.m.
Following Andrus and Friends will be Tennessee Brushfire, a local band featuring fiddler Wayne Goforth at 1:00.
Sleepy-Eyed John's Band returns with its ole time country tunes and maybe the cloggers at 2 p.m. At 2:45, the Luttrell Fiddle Club will entertain.
At 3 p.m. the acclaimed fiddle contest for amateur fiddlers will begin. Prizes for the fiddle contest are $300 for first place, $200 for second place, and $100 for third place. The festival committee would love to have enough performers to have a second category for under 14 years.
The Heritage Festival also boasts a Country Gospel Tent.
At 10:45 a.m., the opening act will be Southern Spirit, a lively duo who performs many original country and old time gospel songs. Chris Hooper’s roots are in Sharps Chapel while Shandy Glover hails from Knoxville.
Following at 11:45 comes Richard and Linda Nicely, followed by Steve DeVault, Darrell Williams, and Friends at 12:45. Local gospel group from Luttrell, The Merritts, perform at 1:45.
Rounding out the afternoon and literally filling the Gospel Stage will be Ronnie Kitts and the Gospel Strings.
Find a seat or bring your own to clap your hands, tap your toes and enjoy the music of today and yesteryear as the festival committee conjures up a musical experience of this year’s theme, “Going to Grandma’s.”
The music lineup is available at www.historicunioncounty.com.