Tony’s Guide · History & Culture

The Smithville Fiddlers’ Jamboree

You hear it before you see it: a fiddle racing across the courthouse square, the bright snap of a banjo, and shoes keeping time on a stage that has welcomed generations.

Get directions ↗ Official festival site ↗ Tony’s Guide home

Night-stage photograph: Smithville Fiddlers’ Jamboree & Crafts Festival.

A courthouse square becomes a stage

Two days when Smithville sounds like itself

The Jamboree is not a music festival dropped into town. It grew from this place—its families, front porches, churches, craftsmen and the old-time tunes passed from one player to another.

On festival weekend, the streets around the DeKalb County Courthouse fill with fiddlers, dancers, instrument cases, handmade work and people greeting friends they may see only once a year. Competition gives the weekend its shape, but the pleasure is in the details: a child studying an elder’s bowing hand, spontaneous picking offstage, and a crowd that knows when a difficult passage has landed just right.

For visitors, it is an unusually direct encounter with the living musical culture of Middle Tennessee. Come curious, listen closely and leave enough time to wander.

Festival crowd gathered around the Smithville courthouse square — Courthouse Square on Jamboree weekend. Photo: official festival website.

Tony’s take: This is one of the best ways to understand Smithville beyond the lake. Don’t treat it as a quick stop. Pick a few competitions you want to hear, then let the square surprise you.

1972the first Jamboree

Freeto the public since day one

25–30Kestimated two-day attendance today

1 squareat the heart of Smithville

A tradition with a paper trail

From a local idea to a recognized Tennessee tradition

The official festival history traces the idea to Congressman Joe L. Evins, who suggested a celebration of Appalachian music and craft to Berry C. Williams. Williams and James G. “Bobo” Driver turned that idea into the first event on July 1, 1972.

1972714 musicians from 16 states took part, with an estimated audience of 8,000.

1974A juried crafts component joined the music, bringing regional makers into the celebration.

1984A beginner division for children 12 and under was added and named for Bobo Driver.

1997The festival received state and congressional recognition as an official Tennessee and national Jamboree and Crafts Festival.

TodayDozens of music and dance categories keep older forms alive while welcoming new generations.

Historical facts: official festival history and the Congressional Record.

Where it happens

Historic Courthouse Square

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DeKalb County Courthouse
1 Public Square
Smithville, Tennessee 37166

The main stage faces the square in the center of town. The official festival currently lists the next Jamboree for July 1–3, 2027, with a Thursday opening in Evins Park and Friday–Saturday activity on Courthouse Square. Dates and details can change, so confirm the schedule before traveling.

Directions from Little Lake House ↗

Address source: Tennessee Administrative Office of the Courts. Schedule: official Jamboree site.

A living repertoire

What you will hear—and why it matters

The competitions are a working vocabulary of Southern music and dance. They reward skill, but they also preserve distinctive ways of playing and moving that might otherwise be flattened into one broad idea of “country music.”

Fiddler performing at the Smithville Jamboree — A fiddler on the Jamboree stage. Photo: official festival website.

The fiddle at the center

Fiddling is the festival’s heartbeat. Players bring individual tone, bowing and regional style to tunes that have crossed families and county lines for generations. The grand fiddle-off is not simply a finale; it is a public statement that this tradition still belongs on a major stage.

More than one sound

Old-time banjo, bluegrass banjo, mandolin, flat-top guitar, dobro, bands and vocal categories reveal how many traditions meet on the square. Listen for the difference between the rhythmic drive of old-time playing and the instrumental breaks of bluegrass.

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Fiddle & string music

Watch how rhythm, ornament and personality transform a familiar tune. The youngest entrants make the continuity of the tradition visible.

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Buck dancing & clogging

Footwork becomes percussion. Solo buck dancing and group clogging connect music to the social dance traditions that helped carry it forward.

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Square dancing

Calls, formations and live music turn the stage into a community in motion—precise, joyful and unmistakably rooted in place.

Square dancers performing at the Smithville Jamboree — Square dancers at the Jamboree. Photo: official festival website.

Handmade wooden toy trains at the Jamboree crafts festival — Handmade wooden trains in the craft area. Photo: official festival website.

Hands at work

Craft is not a sideshow here

The crafts festival was added in 1974 and has become a second expression of the same idea: knowledge carried by hand. The current program emphasizes juried, handmade work such as pottery, jewelry, woodwork and other regional arts and crafts.

Look beyond the finished object. Ask a maker how the material was chosen, how long the process takes, or what part of the work is most difficult. A thoughtful question often opens the door to the story behind the piece.

Official arts & crafts information ↗

Plan the day well

Tony’s practical festival notes

Next announced festival: July 1–3, 2027Opening activities are listed for Thursday evening in Evins Park, followed by the main courthouse-square program Friday and Saturday. Admission is free. Always check the official schedule before you leave.

Arrive with time to spare

The center of town becomes the event. Build in time to park, walk to the square and find your bearings before a must-see competition begins.

Dress for a Tennessee July

Wear comfortable shoes and bring sun protection and water. Summer heat and sudden rain are both possible; check the forecast that morning.

Use the official schedule

Competition order and special events can change. Save the current schedule on your phone, then choose two or three anchors and explore between them.

Listen beyond the stage

The informal moments matter. Pause where musicians gather, browse the makers carefully and give young performers the same attention as the champions.

Respect competitors and makers

Ask before taking close portraits, keep performance sightlines clear and avoid interrupting a craftsperson who is serving another visitor.

Make Smithville part of the visit

Pair the Jamboree with downtown shopping or another Tony’s Guide history stop—but leave enough room for the festival to be the main event.

Official schedule ↗ Competition rules ↗

Sources and photo credits

Festival details are time-sensitive. Verify dates, times, entry rules and other arrangements with the official organizers before traveling.

Make a weekend of it

Hear the square all day. Come home to the quiet of Center Hill Lake.

The Little Lake House gives you a comfortable home base near Smithville—close enough for the music, peaceful enough to unwind when the last tune ends.

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