Coke Ovens Bluegrass Festival in Dunlap
One of the best little bluegrass festivals in Southeast Tennessee will take place June 3-4 at the historic Dunlap Coke Ovens Park & Museum in Dunlap, Tenn.
The two-day Dunlap Coke Ovens Bluegrass Festival is in its 30th year of celebrating traditional bluegrass music of the Sequatchie Valley and Southeast Tennessee.
This year’s lineup of regional musicians includes: the Cumberland Band, Fox Mtn. Express, Blutastic Fangrass, Avery Trace, Cannon Creek, Mountain Roads, Hot Biscuits, Avery Trace, Valley Grass and Fredonia B.G.
"We are trying to uphold the acoustic string music tradition of the Sequatchie Valley," said Ed Brown, a musician with The Cumberland Band and a member of the Sequatchie Valley Historical Association, which plans and facilitates the event. "The amphitheater at the Dunlap Coke Ovens Park and Museum has exceptional sound."
Performances begin Friday, June 3, at 6 p.m. (CST) and Saturday, June 4, at 1 p.m. (CST) at the park’s main amphitheater, which is constructed from old railroad timbers.
On Saturday, Jackie Miller will lead a fiddle workshop from 10-11:30 a.m. (CST). Jam sessions will take place Thursday, June 2, at 6 p.m. (CST) and all day Saturday.
A donation of $4 is requested on Friday and a $6 donation is requested on Saturday.
Audience members should bring lawn chairs and blankets to enjoy the sounds of the fiddle, mandolin, banjo, guitar and bass in the park’s historic woodland setting.
During the event, visitors are encouraged to explore the 88-acre Dunlap Cove Ovens Park and Museum, which preserves the remains of 268 beehive coke ovens that were part of a former coal mining operation that dates back to 1899. The park’s museum houses the largest collection of regional historic coal mining photographs in the state of Tennessee and features hundreds of mining artifacts, as well as historical objects common to the early settlers of Sequatchie County and Dunlap.
The Coke Ovens Bluegrass Festival is a family-friendly event. Pets and alcohol are not allowed. Camping spaces are provided on a first-come-first-served basis.
For more information, visit www.CokeOvens.org or call 309-0069 or 949-2294.
Ed Brown of the Cumberland Band on Fredonia Mountain