The 12th annual Georgia String Band Festival will be held at the Harris Arts Center, 212 S. Wall St. in Calhoun, Ga., on Friday-Saturday, April 27-28.
The convention will tune up with a performance by The Down Hill Strugglers on Friday at 7 p.m. Tickets are $20.
The Down Hill Strugglers are Eli Smith, Jackson Lynch and Walker Shepard. Although based in Brooklyn, N.Y., their music is Southern Appalachian. Their distinctive sound is based on American folk music with Scots-Irish and African influences.
The group was featured on the Coen Brothers’ film “Inside Llewyn Davis,” produced by T Bone Burnett. Their album “Lone Prairie” was a collection of songs based on old-time Southern music of the 1920s-30s, including “Come Over and See Me Sometime,” inspired by the Georgia Yellow Hammers of Calhoun.
The Gordon County Fiddlers’ Convention is Saturday with $1,900 in prize money to be awarded in categories of fiddle, banjo, string bands, buck dancing and singing.
Doors open at 11 a.m. at the arts center, registration begins at 12:30 p.m. and competitions start at 1 p.m. Admission for spectators is a $10 wristband.
For more information: 706-629-2599.