By Nicholas Blake

You may have the chance to come as close to meeting them as you ever could at the Pioneer Stage on April 1. From 11 a.m.-1 p.m. that day, Everett Lilly, Jr., the son of the great Everett Lilly who was for a long time the strong off beat in the powerhouse of a group Flatt and Scruggs and The Foggy Mountain Boys, and his son is coming here to meet with the people of Glenville and tell some of his and his father’s stories that they shared alongside one another on the long musical journey they traveled. There will be plenty of coffee and pie for everyone to enjoy while we get to hear some of the wonderful stories from the road.

During the early years of his career, Charley Edwin “Everett” Lilly and his brother, Mitchell “Bea” Lilly, traveled extensively to bring bluegrass music to new audiences. Like many sons of the coalfields, the Lilly brothers worked in the coal mines, but they kept on picking. In 1948, the Lilly brothers — along with Don Stover — appeared on the WWVA Jamboree in Wheeling, and the clear voice radio carried their music to a much broader audience. The two brothers started playing in the 1930s and by 1938, they called their group, The Lonesome Holler Boys. They started out in bluegrass and stayed true to the genre throughout their storied careers. The Lillys and Don Stover moved to Boston, and were based out of that city for a while, but they performed and recorded with other bluegrass greats as well. Everett Lilly played mandolin and recorded with Lester Flatt and Earl Scruggs and Bill Monroe, Doc Watson and other bluegrass greats performed with them in Boston.

Everett Lilly, Jr. will also be hosting a bluegrass jam at the Pioneer Stage that evening at 6 p.m. We encourage everyone to come out and listen to some great traditional mountain music as well as socialize with the musicians and people of the community.