(UPDATED) Families Left Homeless After Fire Destroys Apartment Complex (View videos here)

July 4, 2021
By: Dwayne Page

Several families were left homeless after a fire swept through and destroyed much of Towne’s Edge Village Apartments on Kendra Drive in Smithville Sunday.

All the residents there at the time were safely evacuated.  One source said the fire might have started from a grill but authorities  have not determined the  cause. It remains under investigation.

The 20 unit apartment complex  consists of buildings housing 10 units on either side of the parking lot. The fire started in one of the units and spread to others adjoining it destroying eight  dwellings and heavily damaging two others.  Families lost most or all belongings in the fire. Although they are still livable, several units on the other side of the parking lot received damage from the intense heat which melted siding on the exterior of the building.

Wendy Jenkins and her family lost their home and belongings in the fire. Jenkins told WJLE that she and her husband Cody, a Smithville Police Officer, and their son were home when she smelled smoke and heard a neighbor’s smoke alarm.

“We had just returned from the lake and were trying to change and get ready to go onto other festivities when we started to smell smoke. I was able to hear my neighbors smoke alarm, the constant beeping. Cody ran outside and came back in. He said get out now. He grabbed  his portable radio, because he works for Smithville City Police, and was able to alert central dispatch. Residents were calling as well. When we got out all we saw was smoke rolling out of the top. Within minutes it got so hot and flames starting coming out from everywhere,” said Jenkins.

Sandy Hughes, a representative of the American Red Cross Murfreesboro Chapter, later arrived to render assistance to the families “We have 10 families who have been displaced from the apartments and we are working to do case work for them to give them assistance and community resources”.

The Smithville Volunteer Fire Department was on the scene along with the Smithville Police Department  and  DeKalb EMS.

July 4, 2021
By: Dwayne Page

Justin Branum has claimed the Grand Champion Fiddling Title at the 50th edition of the Smithville Fiddlers Jamboree and Crafts Festival.

The Murfreesboro resident, who also won the Junior Fiddling contest here Saturday night, beat out the Senior Fiddling Champion Gail Johnson of Lavergne in the showdown for the Berry C. Williams Memorial Award.

Branum was the Grand Champion Fiddler of the 2020 Virtual Jamboree.

This is the 10th year in a row (not counting last year’s virtual jamboree) that a Junior Fiddler has beaten the Senior Fiddler for the Grand Championship of the Festival.

Sam Stout, President and Coordinator of the Fiddlers Jamboree presented the award to Branum at the conclusion of the festival which ended at 11:15 p.m. Saturday evening.

By winning the Junior fiddling contest, Branum edged out two other competitors for a right to advance to the fiddle-off

Winners in the Saturday session of the Fiddler’s Jamboree are as follows:

Junior Old-Time Appalachian Flatfoot Dance (Ages up to 39): First Place- Jacob Fennell of Dickson; Second Place- Trenton “Tater” Caruthers of Cookeville; and Third Place Kelsey Gray of White Bluff.

Senior Old-Time Appalachian Flatfoot Dance (Ages 40 & Over): First Place- Anthony Harrell of Mount Juliet; Second Place- Stanley Reece of Gainesboro; and Third Place- Tommie Scruggs, Jr . of Hartsville.

Senior Buck Dancing (Ages 40 & Over): First Place- Danny Campbell of Murfreesboro; Second Place- Anthony Harrell of Mount Juliet; and Third Place-Tammy Scruggs of Lebanon.

Senior Clogging (Ages 40 & Over): First Place-Anthony Harrell of Mount Juliet; Second Place-Terrie Harrell of Mount Juliet; and Third Place- Tammy Scruggs of Lebanon.

Bluegrass Banjo: First Place-Axel Rico of Smithville; Second Place- Trevor Holder of Greenville, South Carolina; and Third Place-Shane Cothran of Franklin.

Junior Fiddlers (Ages 13-39): First Place-Justin Branum of Murfreesboro; Second Place- Tyler Andal of Nashville; and Third Place-Joe Evins Overton of Joelton.

Flat Top Guitar: First Place- Tylar Andal of Nashville; Second Place-Jake Patty of Lexington, Kentucky: and Third Place-Rob Pearcy of Smyrna.

Contest Fiddle (Neil Dudney Memorial Award): First Place- Justin Branum of Murfreesboro; Second Place-Tylar Andal of Nashville; and Third Place- Sarah Harris of Rockvale. The Neil Dudney Award was presented to Branum by two of Dudney’s, grandchildren, Ethan and Brandon Shaw. Dudney, who passed away in October, 2018 served as President and Coordinator of the Fiddlers Jamboree for 16 years until he stepped down in 2008.

Bluegrass Band: First Place- Smithville Fiddlin’ Music Team of Johnson City; Second Place-Mountain Cove Bluegrass Band of Chattanooga; and Third Place-Clearview of Hillham.

Senior Fiddlers ( Ages 40 & Over): First Place- Gail Johnson of Lavergne; Second Place-Thomas Chapman of Falkville, Alabama; and Third Place- Tony Haley of Mount Juilet.

Square Dancing: First Place-Rocky Top Revue of Franklin; Second Place- Harpeth River of Franklin; and Third Place- Foggy Mountain Steppers of Waverly

Winners of the Best Overall Inclusive Dance Award were Zachary Hughes in the category for adults and Sarah Jensen for teens.

July 3, 2021
By: Dwayne Page

Multi-GRAMMY nominated duo Dailey & Vincent, stars of the Grand Ole Opry, wowed a huge crowd with an entertaining concert at the 50th annual Smithville Fiddlers Jamboree and Crafts Festival Saturday after each of them were presented prestigious honors.

Jamie Dailey received the Fiddlers’ Jamboree’s 2021 Blue Blaze Award which is designed to honor an individual or group that keeps the embers of bluegrass music burning for future generations. The Blue Blaze Panel Committee for the Jamboree voted unanimously for Dailey’s nomination for the 2021 award citing his long-running contributions to bluegrass music.

Darrin Vincent, who received the Jamboree’s Blue Blaze Award in 2014, was celebrated by the State of Tennessee with an unveiling of his “Tennessee Music Pathways” marker to be placed on the square in Smithville. Vincent’s wife, children, mother and other family members joined him on stage for the unveiling.

“I feel unworthy but I am so grateful that the state of Tennessee honored me for all the years I have been in music. I want to thank members of my family, many of them were here with me for this occasion today and I want to thank my father too. He passed on about six years ago but he is looking in from Heaven. I was glad that Jamie Dailey was here too because he received that same award two years ago,” Vincent told WJLE after the concert.

Launched by the Tennessee Department of Tourist Development in 2018, Tennessee Music Pathways is an online planning guide that connects visitors to the state’s rich musical heritage at tnmusicpathways.com. From the largest cities to the smallest communities, Tennessee Music Pathways stretches across all 95 counties and features hundreds of landmarks from the seven genres of music that call Tennessee home. There are more than 300 points of interest already at tnmusicpathways.com. Additional markers will continue to be installed for years to come.

“There are seven genres of music created in Tennessee. Of course Bluegrass is what Jamie and I represent in country music so in our hometowns where we live now they have or will be putting up a historical marker in our honor signifying our contributions to the music over our lifetime,” said Vincent.

Dailey said he was also thrilled that the Jamboree would honor him with the Blue Blaze Award.

“It means a lot to me,” Dailey told WJLE. ” I was over here in Smithville every year about the time I was five or six years old. I might have been a little older but I was over here competing. Back at the time members of Rhonda Vincent’s band now including Josh Williams and Mickey Harris were competing with Michael Cleveland and Andy Leftwich. There was a bunch of us here competing together so to get this award takes me back to my childhood memories of being here playing until 3 or 4 in the morning under the shade tree and then going home so I competed here. Although I lost more than I won it was fun,” said Dailey.

Unlike Jamie, Darrin said he was unfamiliar with Smithville before he and his family moved here several years ago. “Julie and I just prayed over a map and this is where the Lord brought us. We still live here. The first year we came I thought Oh my Land, what a wonderful thing to have here, the Fiddlers Jamboree. We try to attend every year unless it rains and then we watch it on TV,” said Vincent with a laugh.

Fans are invited to the inaugural Dailey & Vincent Cumberland River Music Festival coming to Gainesboro, TN (hometown of Jamie Dailey) on October 8th and 9th, 2021. This 2-day music festival, presented by Springer Mountain Farms, brings you an amazing lineup of hit music from Country, Bluegrass, and Gospel icons such the Oak Ridge Boys, the Bellamy Brothers, Jake Hoot (winner of NBC’s #1 TV show The Voice), 2 nights of Dailey & Vincent, and more artists to be announced in the coming weeks and months.

“We will also be at the Ryman Auditorium July 22. See Daily & Vincent LIVE there. Hopefully we will sell it out. We have sold it out for six years in a row,” said Vincent.

Although Dailey & Vincent only began performing regularly as a duo in 2008, they’d both had extensive careers in bluegrass and had sung together informally since 2001. As a member of Ricky Skaggs and Kentucky Thunder for more than 10 years, Darrin won five Grammy Awards and eight IBMA Awards for Instrumental Group of the Year. Vincent met Dailey, then working with Doyle Lawson, in October 2001 at the International Bluegrass Music Association awards show in Louisville, Ky. When they sang together, they discovered that their voices blended well. Their first duet recording was for a multi-artist collection, Christmas Grass Volume 2, produced by Vincent and released in 2004. They performed “Beautiful Star of Bethlehem” for the collection.

Dailey & Vincent later decided to work together as a duet. In January 2007, they handed in one-year notices to Skaggs and Lawson. Their first show together was at the Grand Ole Opry, staged at the Ryman Auditorium, on Dec. 29, 2007. Their debut album, Dailey & Vincent, was released in January 2008 and success swiftly followed. At the 2008 IBMA awards, they made history by winning Entertainer of the Year, Vocal Group of the Year and Emerging Artist of the Year. Their debut album was named Album of the Year and a song from it, “By the Mark,” received the Gospel Recorded Performance of the Year award.

Dailey & Vincent have continued to record and tour prolifically, taking their show overseas and throughout the United States. As of 2021, they have received five GRAMMY Awards individually, three GRAMMY nominations collectively, six Dove Awards from the Gospel Music Association and 35 IBMA Awards altogether.

Through their long-term sponsorship with Gus Arrendale and Springer Mountain Farms, Dailey & Vincent have continued to expand their fanbase. In 2013, they launched their annual Landfest in the Mountains festival, first in Denton, NC, and subsequently in Hiawassee, GA, with plans to grow nationally. Their “Dailey and Vincent Show” debuted on RFD-TV in May 2015, switching to the Opry’s television network, Circle, in April 2020, and has received multiple Emmy nominations. Dailey & Vincent have also partnered with Cracker Barrel Old Country Store for five CDs and a DVD release.
In March 2017, Dailey and Vincent were inducted as the 213th members of the Grand Ole Opry—the event they both cite as the highlight of their careers.

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