Rebekah Weiler Takes Top Honors at Smithville Fiddlers Jamboree
Middle Tennessee State University senior Rebekah Weiler breaks the mold when it comes to banjo players. Not only is she one of the few females who play the instrument, she’s also extremely good at it.
In fact, in July 2007, Weiler became the first female ever to win the Old Time Banjo Contest at the Smithville Fiddlers’ Jamboree.
“I had entered the Smithville banjo contest every year since 2002, and I never even placed,” she says. “But after I played [in 2007], I knew I nailed it. The audience went nuts. The [master of ceremonies] even asked if I had brought my fan club with me.”
A Murfreesboro native, Weiler began playing the banjo when she was 15.
“I got my first banjo when I was a toddler. It was a red Kermit the frog banjo,” she recalls. “Later I got an actual banjo at age 10, and I was fascinated with it, but for awhile it just collected dust. Finally, I decided to learn to play it.”
Weiler credits her interest in the banjo to her family’s long-standing participation in Uncle Dave Macon Days, an old-time music and dance festival held in Murfreesboro every July for the past 30 years.
“My parents have been involved with it since it started, so I’ve gone to it all my life,” Weiler says. “It’s the backbone for my music. It has influenced me so much.”
Between her classes at MTSU, teaching banjo lessons and competing at festivals throughout the year, Weiler performs regularly with Delmar Holland and the Blue Creek Ramblers, an old-time string band made up of three 70-something male musicians and Weiler.
“They first took me on the road when I was 16,” Weiler says. “They needed a banjo player and saw me competing at a festival. Once they convinced my parents they were harmless, I started playing with them. They took me from a shy kid to who I am now.”
Weiler will graduate from MTSU in December 2008 with a history degree. After that, she’s thinking about pursuing musical opportunities or attending graduate school.
“Playing banjo has opened so many doors for me,” she says. “I’m looking forward to seeing what’s next.”
