Andrew Small is an old-time and bluegrass fiddler based in Floyd, Virginia. He won the open fiddle contest at the Appalachian String Band Music Festival at Clifftop in 2025. He learned the Grayson and Carroll County fiddle style from Eddie Bond through a nine-month Virginia Folklife apprenticeship in 2021 and 2022, and he plays in the Floyd bluegrass band the Alum Ridge Boys and Ashlee.
Why Small matters
Small plays the fiddle music of the Virginia Blue Ridge the way it was played before bluegrass and old-time split into two camps. He learned the regional style from one of its masters, then proved it on the biggest old-time stage in the country. For a picker in the Galax and Mount Airy world, he is a working example of how to hold both traditions at once.
Life and career
Small has competed at the Blue Ridge conventions since at least 2017. He was listed from Elizabeth City, North Carolina, when he placed in the old-time fiddle contest at Galax in 2017. By 2022 he was living in Floyd, Virginia, and that year he placed second in adult old-time fiddle at the Mount Airy Fiddlers Convention.
From 2021 to 2022 he studied under Eddie Bond, an NEA National Heritage Fellow from Grayson County, through the Virginia Folklife Apprenticeship Program. The program paired them to develop Grayson and Carroll County style fiddle playing over a nine-month mentorship. He later served as Artist-in-Residence for the Crooked Road, Virginia’s heritage music trail.
The Alum Ridge Boys and Ashlee, the band he plays in, is a five-piece of fiddle, banjo, mandolin, guitar, and bass based in Floyd. The band has won first place in old-time band at Galax and first place in bluegrass band at Mount Airy, and its banjo player Trevor Holder has won bluegrass banjo at Galax. The band recorded Live at WPAQ II at the Mount Airy radio station and has played the Richmond Folk Festival, La Roche Bluegrass Festival in France, and festivals in Australia and New Zealand. Small also won the bluegrass category of the Chris Austin Songwriting Competition at MerleFest.
In August 2025 he won the open fiddle contest at Clifftop, ahead of Henry Barnes and Joseph Decosimo. A Floyd string band, the New Floyd County Ramblers, won the traditional band contest the same week. In 2026 he placed third in adult old-time fiddle and second in folk song at Mount Airy, and he placed in the old-time fiddle contest at Galax.
Playing style
Small plays the Grayson and Carroll County style that Eddie Bond carries, a dance fiddle style from the counties around Galax. On a tune like Bill Cheatham with his band, the fiddle leads the melody at full speed while the banjo and guitar hold the dance beat. The bowing stays even through the whole tune, and the melody never thins out to make room for tricks.
He also sings, and it shows in his fiddling. His folk song placing at Mount Airy comes from the same place as his fiddle breaks: a plain melody, delivered straight, with the rhythm doing the work.
Influences and legacy
Small’s main teacher is Eddie Bond, the Grayson County fiddler who won old-time fiddle at Galax four times between 2001 and 2014 and holds a National Heritage Fellowship. Through Bond he connects to the dance fiddling of the counties around Galax. His bandmate A.J. Srubas won the Clifftop fiddle contest in 2023, two years before Small did, which makes the Alum Ridge Boys one of the few bands with two Clifftop fiddle champions. He competes each year beside Amy Alvey, Richard Bowman, and the other Galax and Mount Airy regulars, and he follows Erynn Marshall and Tatiana Hargreaves on the roll of Clifftop winners.
Signature tunes and songs
Bill Cheatham Little Annie Florida Blues Coming Down From Roanoke.
Essential recordings
Live at WPAQ II, The Alum Ridge Boys and Ashlee
Awards and honors
Old Fiddlers’ Convention, Galax, old-time fiddle, placed (2017) Virginia Folklife Apprenticeship with Eddie Bond, Grayson and Carroll County style fiddle (2021 to 2022) Mount Airy Fiddlers Convention, adult old-time fiddle, second place (2022) Chris Austin Songwriting Competition at MerleFest, bluegrass category, first place Artist-in-Residence, the Crooked Road Appalachian String Band Music Festival, Clifftop, open fiddle, first place (2025) Mount Airy Fiddlers Convention, adult old-time fiddle, third place, and adult folk song, second place (2026)
Watch and listen
The Alum Ridge Boys and Ashlee play Bill Cheatham. Watch the fiddle hold the melody at full dance tempo.
The band plays Little Annie at the 87th Old Fiddlers’ Convention in Galax. Listen for the fiddle fills between the vocal lines.
What to learn from Small
Learn Bill Cheatham from the band’s video. It is a standard in every jam, and his version shows how to play it as dance music instead of a race: the shuffle stays even and the melody stays whole. The technique to steal is his bowing. He plays a bluegrass break with an old-time dance bow, so the rhythm never drops out when the melody gets busy. Practice the tune with a heavy downbeat on the bow and keep it there through every note.
Sources
2025 contest winners, Appalachian String Band Music Festival (PDF) Announcing the 2021 to 2022 Virginia Folklife Apprenticeship class, Virginia Folklife Program The Alum Ridge Boys and Ashlee official site 2026 Mount Airy Fiddlers Convention results, Bluegrass Today 2022 Mount Airy Fiddlers Convention results, Bluegrass Today 2026 Galax Old Fiddlers Convention results, Bluegrass Today The Trailblazers take top spot at Galax 2017, Bluegrass Today
Related players
See the fiddle players hub and the fiddle guide for more old-time fiddlers. Amy Alvey competes at the same conventions and finished ahead of him at Mount Airy in 2026. Erynn Marshall and Bruce Molsky are earlier Clifftop champions. Tommy Jarrell is the source for much of the Round Peak style played across the state line.