14-Year-Old Hollace Oakes wins Adult Bluegrass Fiddle Contest
By DANIELLE REID
Patriot Publishing
While some people waste their time fiddling around in unproductive activities, 14-year-old Hollace Oakes from Snowville has a specific purpose when she engages in fiddling.
Recently, Oakes surprised the audience at the 89th Old Fiddlers Convention held in Galax, by winning first place in the Adult category Bluegrass Fiddle competion. Oakes’ enthusiastic version of “The Old Brown Country Barn” made her fingers look like they were on fire as they danced across the strings of her fiddle.
This wasn’t Oakes’ only win at this year’s Fiddlers Convention. As a youth, Oakes could compete in one Fiddlers’ adult category, as well as several youth categories. Because she won the Youth Bluegrass Fiddle competition two years prior, she felt it was time to give someone else that opportunity.
This year, Oakes placed fifth in the Youth Bluegrass Mandolin contest, fifth in the Adult Bluegrass Band and fourth in the Youth Bluegrass Band competition.
“Hollace and friend, Berkley Stuart, formed the band, Denim and Plaid, several years ago while competing in a Fiddlers convention in Abingdon. They had 15 minutes to come up with a name for their new band. Hollace was wearing a plaid dress and the boys were wearing denim jeans, so that’s where the name came from,” explained Hollace’s father, Ed Oakes.
While not playing in Fiddle competitions, the rising tenth-grader enrolled in Pulaski County Schools’ Virtual Program, trains for 12-hours each week in Gymnastics doing floor, balance beam, uneven bars and vault. She also plays fiddle every Monday night at the Radford Fiddle and Banjo Jam in the Highlander Hotel’s Bee and Butter Restaurant; and in jam sessions in Floyd.
In music, a jam session refers to an informal, improvisational musical performance where musicians play together without a fixed structure or pre-arranged plan. It’s often characterized by spontaneous musical interplay and exploration, where musicians react to each other’s playing and create something new together.
Oakes is the daughter of Missy and Ed Oakes of Snowville.
Oakes has been featured in Bluegrass Today and has several YouTube performances.
To see more of Hollace Oakes fiddle playing go to: https://www.youtube.com/@HollaceOakes