Wayne Henderson Music Festival,Inc

06/18/2026

Keep those applications coming!!

Our scholarships are for individuals and organizations for traditional acoustic music education. We award scholarships every year.

05/26/2026

For information on applying for a 2026 Individual or Group scholarship, please see instructions and get applications in the mail prior to the deadline!!

Our scholarships are for individuals and organizations for traditional acoustic music education. We award scholarships every year.

05/15/2026

05/07/2026

Our own Presley Barker! 🎶🔥🎶

03/17/2026

We’re excited to announce that the Christmas in July Festival will kick off with Wayne Henderson & Friends on Friday, July 3rd at 5 pm!

Visit downtown West Jefferson to enjoy live music, festival food, and craft vendors during Christmas in July Festival. We know you’ll love the small town charm and enjoy experiencing Appalachian traditional music at it’s best!

Photo Credit: Remsberg Inc.

02/09/2026

February 21st, we've got bluegrass legend Linda Lay and renowned guitarist Wayne Henderson

Bluegrass singer and bassist Linda Clayman Lay, better known as Linda Lay grew up in Clayman Valley, a small community named after her family outside of Bristol, northeastern Tennessee, right at the border with Virginia. She spent her early years with Janette Carter at the Carter Family Fold near Bristol, Virginia. Linda performed with her family band before starting her own group, Appalachian Trail.

Wayne C. Henderson is an American luthier renowned for crafting handmade, custom acoustic guitars, mandolins, banjos, and fiddles, with his work deeply inspired by pre-World War II C.F. Martin guitars.Born on May 3, 1947, in Grayson County, Virginia, Henderson has lived there his entire life and continues to build instruments in his workshop in Rugby, Virginia.He has been building guitars for over 60 years, and as of 2022, he had constructed nearly nine hundred acoustic guitars, over one hundred mandolins, and several banjos.
Beyond luthiery, Henderson is a celebrated fingerstyle guitarist, known for his unique playing style using a thumbpick and fingerpicks, influenced by his father’s banjo playing and his cousin Estil C. Ball.He has performed at Carnegie Hall, the Smithsonian Institution, and internationally through the United States Information Agency, and has participated in the "Masters of the Steel String Guitar" tour.He has won over 300 ribbons at fiddlers’ conventions and was awarded the National Heritage Fellowship in 1995 by the National Endowment for the Arts

🎫 Tickets: http://thedownhome.com/schedule/https/thedownhometicketspicecom/wayne-henderson-linda-lay

12/31/2025

11/10/2025

Attention all 2025 Scholarship winners: Reimbursement form is located for download at:
www.waynehenderson.org
Please email form to [email protected] or mail to:
PO Box 531
Galx, VA 24323

On the third Saturday of every June the Wayne C. Henderson Music Festival and Guitar Competition features some of the region’s best traditional musicians!

09/18/2025

Saturday September 20!! Y’all need to spend the day in Sparta!

09/10/2025

$41,000 in kids Scholarship awards for 2025 are now posted!! Group winners, your checks are on the way!! Individual winners, please fill out the new reimbursement form in link and mail to PO Box! Congratulations to all!

On the third Saturday of every June the Wayne C. Henderson Music Festival and Guitar Competition features some of the region’s best traditional musicians!