!!Hilltoppers win Best Bluegrass Band!!
The Hilltoppers were voted the "Best Bluegrass Band" for the Harrison Ruritan Club Bluegrass Jamboree at their 18th Annual BBQ. The event was held Saturday, September 18, 2010 from 11 a.m. until 10 p.m. in their newly completed Hall with Jamming Rooms. They hosted some of the best bluegrass bands in the area, with a different band every hour. The audience voted for their choice of Best Band. After the last band played the winner was announced. The event was also a fund-raiser for the Community Kitchen.
The Hilltoppers wish to thank all those who voted for us!
In May, 2006 Betty entered the National Mountain Soul Vocal Competition held in Sevierville, TN. and placed in the top 20 finalists! This contest is held to honor the songwriting of Dolly Parton and is an annual event.
In July, 2007 Agene entered the Hammered Dulcimer competition at the
36th Annual Old Time Fiddler's Jamboree in Smithville, TN and won
First Place!
In January, 2008 Evelyn entered the Fiddle competition at the
13th Annual Bluegrass Festival and Fiddle Championship
at Yee Haw Junction, Florida and won
Second Place!
The Hilltoppers have just recently (June, 2008) finished recording our first CD - "Going to the Hilltop" and it is now available for purchase. 
Tunes:
1. Hilltopper Blues (instrumental featuring Eric)
2. Just Because (vocal featuring Betty)
3. Canadian Waltz (instrumental featuring Evelyn)
4. Steel Guitar Rag (instrumental featuring Agene)
5. Somewhere Between (vocal featuring Jerry)
6. Red Wing (instrumental featuring Evelyn)
7. It's Only the Wind (vocal featuring Betty)
8. Lilly Dale (instrumental featuring Eric)
9. Turn Your Radio On (vocal featuring Jerry)
10. The Fiddler (vocal featuring Agene)
Also, in 2007 Agene published her first (all instrumental) Hammered Dulcimer CD - "Agene Plays Hammered Dulcimer" which is also available for purchase. 
Tunes:
1. Mississippi Sawyer
2. Southwind
3. Road to Columbus/Columbus Stockade Blues
4. Sweet Hour of Prayer
5. The Old Country Church
6. I'll Fly Away
7. Westphalia Waltz
8. Just Over in the Gloryland
9. Ragtime Annie
10. Are You Washed in the Blood
11. Steel Guitar Rag
Both CD's are available for $10 each (which covers shipping).
To purchase, send a check or money order and a note requesting which CD you would like to order to:
Agene Parsons
5531 Crooked Creek Dr.
Ooltewah, TN 37363
THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR YOUR INTEREST IN OUR MUSIC!
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[Private lessons are available if you are interested in learning how to play the autoharp,dobro, fiddle or hammered dulcimer. For contact information see our "Contact Us" page.]
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!!!!!Biographies!!!!
Agene Parsons plays Hammered Dulcimer and Autoharp with the Hilltoppers. She previously played piano and organ at church. When she lived in the East TN area she attended several Appalachian festivals and discovered the mountain and hammered dulcimers and loved the sound of these instruments. She attended her first class on the hammered dulcimer in September, 1998 at the age of 62, at the John C. Campbell Folk School in North Carolina. Anne Lough was her instructor for this course and soon became her mentor and friend. This started a long line of classes in both mountain and hammered dulcimers with a variety of instructors as she pursued her desire to develop her own style of playing. During the next several years she studied under Maddie MacNeil, Steve Schneider,Ken Kolodner, Rick Thum, Tim Seaman, and Sam Rizzetta in advanced classes. In March of 2005 she and Jeff Sebens taught a week-long Elderhostel hammered and mountain dulcimer workshop in Abingdon, VA. She has also assisted Anne Lough in Beginner and Intermediate hammered dulcimer classes at the John C. Campbell Folk School.
In 2006 Agene cut her first CD of Hammered Dulcimer tunes - "Agene Playes Hammered Dulcimer". In July, 2007 several of her friends encouraged her to enter the annual hammered dulcimer contest at the Smithville Fiddler's Jamboree in Smithville, TN, in which she won first place. She has been active in the Chattanooga/North Georgia area as a workshop leader of the Southeastern Hammered Dulcimer Players club for the last several years. She has led hammered dulcimer and autoharp workshops at the Chattanooga Dulcimer Festival and the North Georgia Foothills Dulcimer Association, as well as other venues.
In 2006 she joined a few other musician friends from the Chattanooga area in forming a small band - The Hilltoppers - playing bluegrass, traditional and gospel music. They have performed at several "Opry" venues in the Middle and East Tennessee areas, as well as at several festivals, churches, private functions, nursing homes, etc. In June of 2008 this group completed their first CD - "Going to the Hilltop". She also finds time to teach private lessons for hammered dulcimer and autoharp.
Agene is currently a 72 year old grandmother of four who firmly believes that you can learn to play a musical instrument for enjoyment at any age - it's never too late!
Evelyn Madewell started playing violin while in Jr. High school,and at age 14 took lessons from the concert master of the Chattanooga Symphony Orchestra for a while. However, after graduation from High School she never played again until retiring in 1995 to help care for her elderly parents. She became interested in the autoharp and began attending a local dulcimer club which also had several autoharpers attending. During this time she decided to get her violin out from under the bed and see what she could do with it. Since the dulcimer players primarily seemed to play traditional music, she began to try "fiddling". One huge hurdle to jump was getting away from the classical style of her earlier training and reading music, since she learned that fiddlers had a different "style" and didn't use music. During this time she joined a local orchestra, but shortly afterward decided that "fiddling" was more fun! Since then she has concentrated her efforts into learning the fiddling techniques and sounds that would help her reach her goal. Evelyn attended the famous Nash Camp (a week long acoustic bluegrass music camp at Cumberland Furnace, TN near Nashville, TN) in 2007. Her fiddle course there was led by Fletcher Bright. At the end of the week bands were formed taking instrumentalists from other courses at the camp to learn to play together as a band. Each band formed played at "The Station Inn" in Nashville on their last evening at the camp which was definitely a highlight of the week.
A few years ago she and her husband, Carson, began to travel around the country attending bluegrass and old-time festivals to get more of an "ear" for the sounds she wanted to get out of her fiddle. (In the last year two of our other band members, Betty and Jerry Harris, have been joining them on these trips.) During these trips she took workshops from such fiddlers as Byron Berline, Audrey Haynie, Stuart Duncan and Ron Stuart. She has found that frequent jamming with different people not only in local jams, but also in different parts of the country adds a lot to her ability to play without music and gain more of the "fiddle" sound. On a trip to Florida in 2008, they attended the 13th Annual Bluegrass Festival and Fiddle Championship at YeeHaw Junction where Evelyn won 2nd place in the fiddle competition. She played "Ookpik Waltz", "Red Wing" and "Lost Indian" for her competition tunes.
In 2006 she joined a few other musician friends from the Chattanooga area in forming a small band - The Hilltoppers - playing bluegrass, traditional and gospel music. They have performed at several "Opry" venues in the Middle and East Tennessee areas, as well as at several festivals, churches, private functions, nursing homes, etc. In June of 2008 this group completed their first CD - "Going to the Hilltop". She also finds time to teach private lessons for fiddle.
Recently Evelyn formed a fiddle club, "Fiddle Support Group" which meets once monthly. It is primarily geared toward beginner to intermediate players. Occasionally they will have well-known local fiddlers come to the meeting to give advice and suggestions on playing fiddle. If you want more information regarding this club, contact Evelyn @ 423-624-3063 or hilltoppers@thechatthilltoppers.com.
