Staff writer
Fans of fiddle playing that rivals Satan’s fabled musical virtuosity may want to say the Lord’s Prayer before entering the gates at Chingawassa Days this June.
The Chinga planning committee recently announced that the Charlie Daniels Band would headline Saturday night of the annual festival this year.
Perhaps best known for his hit song “The Devil Went Down to Georgia” that features fiddle playing like no other, Charlie Daniels is an award-winning multi-instrumentalist, lyricist, and singer.
“Who needs Georgia, the Devil is coming to Marion,” public relations contact Lisa Hemphill said. “Every time I leave a planning meeting I have that song stuck in my head.”
Hailed as a country music legend, Daniels also has made many contributions to bluegrass, southern rock, and gospel genres since he entered the music scene in the 1950s, including hit songs “Uneasy Rider” and “Long Haired Country Boy.”
He also was inducted in the Grand Ole Opry in 2008 and the Musicians Hall of Fame and Museum in 2009, and the Country Music Hall of Fame in 2016.
The Chinga committee had considered booking Daniels for the event off-and-on for the past several years but was only recently able to sync up with his scheduling and pricing, committee member Margo Yates said.
“Charlie Daniels, there is some definite name recognition there,” Yates said. “We have heard that Charlie and his whole crew are very nice, personable, and appreciative. I guess they are known to sometimes mingle during the day. It’s always so much cooler when the performers are less pretentious like regular folks.”
The Charlie Daniels Band performs at 9 p.m. June 3 in Marion Central Park.