There, guitar player Chester McMillian, who used to play alongside Jarrell, will throw a special birthday bash including cake and old-time music in honor of Jarrell, who was born on March 1, 1901.
McMillian, who works at H&W Trucking, is also a music teacher and will be joined in his performance with three of his students: Dustin Johnson on fiddle, Hannah Hiatt on guitar and Taylor Hiatt on fiddle.
McMillian said playing alongside Jarrell taught him how to perfect his own craft as a musician, which he hopes he passes on to his students. “I’ve been teaching kids for 40 years, I don’t know how many I’ve taught — I have no idea how many,” said McMillian, 66, who teaches students at Oak Grove Baptist Church in the Beulah community of Mount Airy. “I teach old-time music. There are a lot of hymns played in old-time music. I enjoy working with kids, I like teaching them to play and seeing how they come out to be. My guitar style is a little different than others, (which) I developed from playing with Tommy, everybody (couldn’t) play with Tommy — you had to be good to play with Tommy.
“I can’t teach exactly the way Tommy plays — guitar especially — I don’t brag about fiddling, but I can teach it OK,” he added. “I always played with Tommy after I met him in the late 60s; I probably wouldn’t have played as much (if not for him).”
McMillian said his musical talents developed from his father who played banjo, and he continued to grow his own niche when he married into another musically-inclined family, which led him to play with Jarrell.
He said that the way that Jarrell mastered his musicianship is one to be appreciated and celebrated by all generations, and that his legacy should continue to be remembered in order to continue the old-time music tradition.
He also said he hopes the birthday concert encourages people to visit the museum more and see the exhibit featuring Tommy Jarrell and old-time music.
“There are a lot of musicians that don’t get the credit they deserve,” he said. “I wouldn’t have learned if someone wouldn’t have showed me how.
“If you don’t (celebrate), it will soon fade away, somebody has got to keep it going, we have to show the young people,” he added.
The concert is free, but donations are welcomed.
The sixth annual Tommy Jarrell Festival, sponsored by the Surry Arts Council, will run Friday and Saturday. For more information, visit www.surryarts.org or call 786-7998. For more information about the concert, visit www.northcarolinamuseum.org or call the museum at 786-4478.
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