The Louie Bluie Festival returns to Cove Lake State Park on Saturday, Sept. 30, 2023 for a full day of live music and Appalachian art!

We’re the first inaugural festival partnership with the Tennessee Arts Commission’s Traditional Artists Apprenticeship Program!  They’re back and there’s more of them!

Meet graduates of this apprenticeship program, a key initiative for preserving traditions that are rare or endangered in Tennessee: Jeanette Coe Underwood and Charlotte Underwood (graduates of The Tennessee Arts Commission Folklife Agricultural Arts Program), Tony Branam and Joseph Hensley (luthiers - a craftsperson who builds or repairs string instruments that have a neck and sound box, like fiddles); Marcella Buis and Donald Simonton (carving, inscribing, and elaborately decorating hollow gourds); and Rick Stewart and Brendon Stewart (fifth and sixth generation coopers and descendants of Aex Stewart).

The Festival also features a judged quilt show at the Pavilion and judged high school and middle school age students art in the ArtSpace tent on the grounds; plenty of food and drink options, as well as a large Arts & Crafts venue full of handmade items in the Appalachian tradition.

JAM! - Not your grandmother’s jelly!

Back this year and bigger than before: old time string music at the Cumberland State Scenic Trail (website) Jam Tent! Festival goers are invited to bring their stringed instruments and jam with some of the festival’s performers under a covered tent, led by some incredible talent that will also perform at the Sounds Like Home stage.

Don’t be shy! Bring your instruments and take a seat with the others for as long as you like.  It’s all free – as is the rest of the festival entertainment!

Gates open at 10:00 a.m. Festivities wind down at 6:00 p.m.

Music

A community celebration of Howard "Louie Bluie" Armstrong

The Louie Bluie Music and Arts Festival is a project of the Campbell Culture Coalition, a nonprofit arts agency. It's named in honor of Howard "Louie Bluie" Armstrong (1909-2003), the internationally acclaimed string band musician who grew up in LaFollette in the 1920s and became one of the nation's finest string band musicians, as well as artist, storyteller, and writer.

Quilt and Art Shows

LOUIE BLUIE IS ABOUT … ART!

Remarkable artistic creations are exhibited after pre-show festival judging competitions! Visitors enjoy strolling through the air conditioned Pavilion gallery of quilts by regional artisans, as well as the large ArtSpace tent on the grounds showcasing amazing visual and 3-D art by middle school and high school-age youths!

Arts & Crafts and Food

Featuring quality art and hand-crafted items from regional artisans. Find extraordinary gifts for upcoming holidays, and for other special occasions. No matter what you'll looking for, you'll find it here ... so bring your shopping and gift lists when you come to the Louie Bluie Festival.

The Food Court offers a variety of regional food vendors serving up a mouthwatering array of authentic Southern cooking, East Tennessee style.

Family NATURE-ing

There’s Nothing Quite Like the Outdoors! Kids and their families have a new outdoor area!

President Jimmy Carter said it best: “Like music and art, love of nature is a common language that …transcends … boundaries.” Nature breeds curiosity and reminds us that we are part of something bigger.

This year, Family NATURE-ing invites children of all ages and their families to wander among the hands-on demonstrations of outdoor skills for all genders, ask questions, and learn how to be explorers and friends of the good earth around us.

This Year’s Double Headliners:

Armstrong Legacy Trio and Tribute to the Music of Aretha Franklin

Armstrong Legacy Trio

RALPHE – ORIGINATOR OF FRETLESS, FUSION BASS!

By the time Detroit bassist Ralphe Armstrong was just 20 years old, his touring and recording accomplishments were beyond what the average musician strives a lifetime to achieve. But then, whether he’s playing bass violin or electric bass guitar, Ralphe Armstrong is not your average musician.

Son of legendary visual artist/musician/composer/poet/storyteller Howard “Louie Bluie” Armstrong, Ralphe came from a musical family. His father, a violin virtuoso, was a member of the last known African American string band and was declared a National Treasure by the National Endowment for the Arts; his aunt was a guitar player; his brother played with Miles Davis. But it was Ralphe’s stylish and charismatic uncle, bassist Lee (L.C.) Crockett, who inspired his fascination with the bass when Ralphe was just 7 years old.

In 1974, 16-year-old Ralphe had just finished his musical studies in classical and jazz at Michigan’s Interlochen Arts Academy. He auditioned for and landed a spot with John McLaughlin’s Mahavishnu Orchestra, famously beating out a young Jaco Pastorius. “I got the job because I had a fretless bass,” remembers Ralphe. McLaughlin loved the sound, as did Jaco, who, as the story goes, went home and ripped the frets from his bass.

In the next few years, Ralphe went on to tour and record with an endless list of illustrious names including Aretha Franklin, Frank Zappa and the Mother’s of Invention, Herbie Hancock, Jean-Luc Ponty, Santana and Beatles producer George Martin.

An innovator and originator of fusion fretless bass, Ralphe’s unique and powerful style, as well as his technical mastery, would soon catch the attention of Gibson Guitar Corporation. He was chosen to endorse the company and served as an advisor. He was instrumental in the development of Gibson basses known as the Ripper, G-3, RD Artist and Victory.

In spite of being at the height of his career at the time, Ralphe left touring life for most of 1980s to stay home and raise his children.

These days, with his family grown, Ralphe is back on the international stage playing and recording with an ever impressively diverse cross section of musical genres such as Sting, Roger Daltrey and even Eminem’s group D-12. From jazz to pop and orchestral theater to hip hop, Ralphe has played it all—and always with his signature passion, power and precision.

Tribute to the Music of Aretha Franklin featuring Ralphe Armstrong, and Jeanine Fuller and the True Funk Souldiers

From Aretha Franklin to Stevie Wonder, Funk Brothers and countless others, bassist Ralphe Armstrong has played with some of the greatest Motown musicians of all time.

He also has written a book about working with Aretha Franklin, titled “My Friend the Queen From Her Court Jester, Ralphe Armstrong”, available on Amazon. According to Armstrong, 20% of the proceeds goes to purchase music instruments for kids.

In a CBS interview about his book, Armstrong described Franklin as “one of the most generous persons I ever knew…she looked out for people…people down on their luck.” He said she frequently gave huge tips to musicians who worked with her, citing amounts of $500 to $1000. “We spent a lot of intimate time rehearsing with her.”  

Armstrong said one of his personal favorite memories of Franklin was the time when she was performing with an orchestra at Syracuse University.  “She stopped the orchestra – 30 to 40 people – during the performance!  Then she said, ‘Come out here!’ indicating me. ‘Come out here’, she said again. ‘I want to hear a strong bass.’ So I was able to do a solo!”

Armstrong said his favorite song of Franklin’s is “Freeway of Love” (YouTube)

https://www.cbsnews.com/detroit/news/ralphe-armstrong-speaks-on-music-career-book-dedicated-to-aretha-franklin/

Jeanine Fuller is a seasoned vocalist and performer who delivers stunning, soulful performances with eclectic blends of musical styles. Her musical influences vary from Etta James, Sarah Vaughn, Ella Fitzgerald to Dianne Reeves and Chaka Khan to Stevie Wonder, Michael Jackson and Prince.

THE VOICE! Aretha Franklin is simply astounding!

Aretha Louise Franklin (March 25, 1942 – August 16, 2018) was an American singer, songwriter and pianist. Referred to as the "Queen of Soul", Rolling Stone twice named her as the greatest singer of all time. With global sales of over 75 million records, Franklin is one of the world's best-selling music artists.

Hit songs such as "I Never Loved a Man (The Way I Love You)"; "Respect"; "(You Make Me Feel Like) A Natural Woman";  "Chain of Fools"; "Think"; and "I Say a Little Prayer"; propelled Franklin past her musical peers. 

Her well-known hits also include "Ain't No Way"; "Call Me"; "Don't Play That Song (You Lied)"; "Spanish Harlem"; "Rock Steady"; "Day Dreaming"; "Until You Come Back to Me (That's What I'm Gonna Do)"; "Something He Can Feel"; "Jump to It"; "Freeway of Love"; "Who's Zoomin' Who" and "I Knew You Were Waiting (For Me)" (a duet with George Michael).

Special 2023 Festival Happenings

70th ANNIVERSARY - Tribute to LaFollette’s own WLAF Radio - 1963 - 2023

This year WLAF 1450 celebrates 70 years on the air. WLAF signed on to the airwaves in 1953 in the Piedmont Hotel building, later the Fleet Building. The present studio on North 5th Street was constructed in 1963. Managers over the years include Hillard Mattie, Dick Jones, Elmer Longmire and owner, Bill Waddell. Jim Freeman is current General Manager.

Tribute to the LaFollette Old Time Fiddlers

Launched in 1913 and lasting for over a quarter century, The LaFollette Old Fiddler's Convention was perhaps the longest running and largest event of its kind in the Southeast.

At its peak, the convention boasted dozens of fiddlers and string-bands from Georgia, North Carolina, Kentucky, Alabama, Virginia, and Tennessee. An array of the finest string musicians of the period came to LaFollette to compete for the top prizes. Due to its popularity among locals, the event's organizers were often forced to turn away many in the overflow crowd gathered at the LaFollette High School auditorium.

This special tribute is organized and presented by Bobby Fulcher and has been an integral part of the Louie Bluie Music & Arts Festival since 2007.

Bob Fulcher’s legacy as a public folklorist stretches four decades and is unrivaled in the state of Tennessee. His fieldwork on the Cumberland Plateau, which began in the 1970s, led to the discovery of traditional musicians and singers of extraordinary quality and rarity.

In 1979 Fulcher secured funding from the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) to begin the groundbreaking Tennessee State Parks Folklife Project. Fulcher is the Park Manager of the Cumberland Trail State Scenic Trail. In 2011, he helped found Sandrock Recordings, a music label specializing in traditional music of East Tennessee. His field research brought attention to some of the finest traditional musicians ever known.

As director of the Tennessee State Parks Folklife Project and continuing with the Cumberland Trail Music and Heritage Project, Fulcher has overseen the creation of hundreds of hours of oral history interviews as well as thousands of slides and photographs.

The topics span the full range of Tennessee folklife, including occupational lore, community history and land use, craft and custom, game and ritual, and expressive life, especially music. Today the collection is housed at the Tennessee State Library and Archives and stands as the largest compilation ever made of Tennesseans in their own voices and music.

Date : September 30, 2023

Time : 10:00am - 6:00pm

Location :

Cove Lake State Park

110 Cove Lake Ln

Caryville, TN 37714

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