Inclement weather last week canceled a birthday concert celebration for famous-late fiddler Tommy Jarrell, but local old-time music enthusiasts can still enjoy a special belated free birthday celebration for him Sunday at the Mount Airy Museum of Regional History at 2:30 p.m.

There, guitar player Chester McMillian, who used to play alongside Jarrell, will throw a special birthday bash that will include cake and old-time music in honor of Jarrell, who was born on March 1, 1901. Jarrell died in 1975.

McMillian, 66, 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 teaches students at Oak Grove Baptist Church in the Beulah community of Mount Airy. He said 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.

“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 birthday celebration was originally in conjunction with the sixth annual Tommy Jarrell Festival, sponsored by the Surry Arts Council, which was on Feb. 26 and Feb. 27.

For more information about the concert, visit www.northcarolinamuseum.org or call the museum at 786-4478.

Contact Erin C. Perkins at eperkins@mtairynews.com or 719-1952.