Down From the Hills Weekend 2015 in pictures

The Down From the Hills festivities ended with a free concert from The Cakewalkers and the Eisenhauer band.

Amelia Hope Eisenhauer, vocalist and fiddle player.

The versatile Eisenhauer Band from Nashville played some traditional bluegrass music but also played an eclectic variety of crowd pleasers ranging from the music of Led Zeppelin, the Rolling Stones, Meridian’s own Jimmie Rogers, Cole Porter, Emmylou Harris, Dolly Parton and many others.

Sophie Taylor, student at New Albany Middle School, sang Dolly Parton’s “Jolene” with the Eisenhauer band.

Down From the Hills Saturday night concert

Down From the Hills concert, Saturday night

Jeffrey Willis and Jean Ashcraft

Jonathan Smith

Listening to the Down from the Hills concert, Saturday night

Saturday mid-morning began the 2015 MS Bluegrass Championship competition.

Enjoying Bluegrass on a beautiful Saturday in New Albany.

Jill Smith, the director of the Union County Heritage Museum, is interviewed by a Columbus television reporter. City marketing and tourism director, Sean Johnson, is in the right background holding balloons. He and Smith worked together planning and managing the Down From The Hills Bluegrass Festival. The museum is the sponsor of the annual event, which showcases performing artists, crafters, and visual artists from around the South.

Glen Tolbert

Glenn Tolbert of Birmingham, AL is well known in well known by bluegrass fans as guitar player but competed in two other events Saturday at the Down From The Hills festival. Dressed in his Liberty bib overalls and black John B. Stetson hat, Tolbert first played the mandolin then the dobro Saturday morning.

Glen Tolbert

Hudson Hickman was heavily involved with planning and management of the 2015 Down From The Hills.

Gary Peters of Nashville was the first competitor in the first contest event: the Youth Mandolin Division. No pressure.

Listening to Bluegrass in New Albany

Down From the Hills Bluegrass competitor

Bluegrass competitors, Down from the Hills

Bluegrass festival visitors

Bluegrass fans and competitors

Comin’ down from the hills for a little Bluegrass fun.

Down from the Hills Bluegrass Championship festival, 2015

Bluegrass Championship judges

Fans and competitors at the Bluegrass Festival

Practicing up for the bluegrass championships

Fun for the kids at the Down from the Hills festival

A good day for a little Bluegrass

Just listnin’ and enjoyin’

Bluegrass Championship competition, New Albany

Festivities began early Saturday morning with the season’s opening of New Albany’s Biscuits and Jam Farmer’s Market.

A nice day to open the New Albany Farmer’s Market

Mary Jennifer Russell (center) and Susan Hickman (right): Russell is owner of Sugarees Bakery of New Albany and the founder, with the Union County Master Gardeners, of the Biscuits & Jam Farmers Market, held Saturday mornings through the summer at the Tallahatchie Bridge.