Traditional Voices Group

03/17/2026

RiddleFest 2026: Old Songs, New Voices
Featuring headliner Jake Blount, renowned banjoist and fiddler, who uses early songs from the African diaspora to create new music. Traditional musician and ballad singer William Ritter with his wife Sarah Ogletree will open the evening.

Saturday, October 24. Free seminar at 3pm; concert begins at 7pm. Burnsville Town Center, 6 S. Main St., Burnsville, NC.
Concert admission $20.
Tickets at the door or buy ahead on Eventbrite.com starting September 1.

For further information, contact the Burnsville Town Center at 828-682-7209 or visit www.burnsvilletowncenter.com or www.traditionalvoicesgroup.org

07/15/2025

RiddleFest 2025 features ETSU faculty Roy Andrade and Kalia Yeagle. ETSU Old-Time Ramblers will open the evening.

October 25, 2025
Concert 7-9 PM, $20 at Eventbrite.com or at the door.
Free Seminar 3-4 PM: Andrade & Yeagle present their research on Music of the Appalachian Highlands: Setting the Stage for the Birth of Country Music.

Burnsville Town Center
6 South Main Street, Burnsville NC
(828) 682-7209

10/07/2024

Due to the current disaster-related situation in Burnsville, RiddleFest has been postponed to a future date to be determined. Please check back for schedule updates.

10/18/2023

Georgia blues man Jontavious Willis will headline this year’s RiddleFest on October 21st.

Every generation or so, a young bluesman bursts onto the scene and sends a jolt through the blues community. Jontavious Willis, the 24-year-old singer-songwriter, multi-instrumentalist and Grammy nominee from Greenville, Georgia, delivers timeless music and dynamic vocals, and all types of blues: Delta, Piedmont, Texas, and Gospel. His standout fingerpicking, flat-picking, and slide prowess reflect the roots of country blues.

“Jontavious is a great new voice of the 21st century in the acoustic blues. I love the way he plays,” Taj Mahal, blues artist.

Openers include Sam McKinney with Rhonda Gouge and Keeping Time.

Riddlefest is sponsored by NC Humanities, Town of Burnsville, & Explore Burnsville.

04/07/2023

The Potteries of Trenton Society (POTS) is a non-profit organization dedicated to the study of the industrial ceramic industry of Trenton, New Jersey.

02/13/2023

WBIR-tv, Knoxville TN, ran a story recently on Lesley Riddle.
Remembering African American artists in Appalachia

Black music has been present in East Tennessee since the 1790s. Since then, many artists have contributed to the tapestry of sounds Appalachia is known for.

10/01/2022

RiddleFest 2022 is on October 22nd
Seminar at 3pm and Concert at 7pm
For more information visit:

Saturday, October 22Burnsville Town CenterSeminar 3PM and Concert 7PM RiddleFest is produced annually by Traditional Voices Group as a tribute

06/11/2022

RiddleFest 2022 will be October 22

Traditional Voices Group is pleased to announce our headliners for RiddleFest 2022, which will be held on Saturday, October 22, beginning at 7pm in the Burnsville Town Center, S. Main St., Burnsville, NC. The free seminar is at 3PM.

Detroit blues brothers Rev. Robert Jones, Sr. and Matt Watroba will explore the blues through African American and American Roots music. Jones is an inspirational storyteller and musician celebrating the history, humor and power of American Roots music. Watroba is a veteran performer, teacher, radio host, song writer, community singer, song leader and educator.

Tickets will be available at Eventbrite.com beginning about two months prior to the concert or at the Burnsville Town Center, 828- 682-7209. For more information, visit: www.traditionalvoicesgroup.org
North Carolina Humanities
Explore Burnsville

07/29/2021

Members of Traditional Voices Group and Griffith Chapel Church were on hand in Kingsport TN on June 9, 2021 to help dedicate a marker in honor of Burnsville's own Lesley Riddle. Persons in the video are Lenon Smith, Ray Williamson, Ellen Denker, Margie Haaga and Ossie Parker. Jim Haaga was there, too. He took the video.

The marker is now part of Tennessee Music Pathways, a 1,200 mile, statewide system that designates locations that represent significant contributions to American music. Riddle was recognized for his collaboration with A.P. Carter and the Carter Family in shaping early country music. The two met in Kingsport in 1928. The North Carolina historical marker that honors Riddle is located on the south side of Hwy 19E near Windy Hill Lane just west of the Town of Burnsville, NC.

06/13/2019

This year's RiddleFest on June 22 features Dom Flemons, cofounder of the Carolina Chocolate Drops. Come on out.

On June 13, 1905, old-time musician Lesley Riddle was born in the Silvers Gap community north of Burnsville. Riddle learned to play blues and gospel songs on the guitar after losing most of a leg in an accident at a cement plant. He had to adjust his picking techniques to use only his thumb, index f...

06/07/2018

If you had trouble buying RiddleFest ticket through Eventbrite.com, try again. The problem should be fixed. Sorry for any inconvenience. You can also buy tickets at door with cash or check.