To say that clawhammer master Trish Kilby Fore came about playing the banjo “by accident” is more accurate than you might think.  Her parents did not play music in the home, but in her family heritage on both sides there were many musicians and music lovers. And, in her home in Lansing, NC, the radio was often on, tuned to Mt. Airy’s WPAQ, a legendary old time and bluegrass station.

            As a 13 year old, Trish was obsessed, like many of her friends with softball.  One fateful scrimmage game with the “Lansing Sweethearts,” she slid into second base hard and fast and hit the bag with her foot, tearing her ACL.  After many visits to the local doctors and several x-rays, her family doctor looked at her and said, “You know, Trish, your sports playing days are over.”  And then, he looked right into her eyes and said, “You should learn to play a musical instrument.”

            Trish, needless to say, was crushed. Envisioning clarinet and the marching band, she couldn’t see any future in that.  A few weeks later, her mom’s parents took her with them to the regular Saturday jam at the Mill Creek store.  As she entered the room filled with musicians sitting in chairs and old couches in a big circle, she watched her grandfather transform. He knew everyone in the room and proceeded to introduce her around.  Among the folks she met was Dean Sturgill, a local fiddler and member of the Grayson Highlands Band, as well as a relative and close friend of the legendary “Whitetop Mountain Band.”  Then she saw her grandpa do something she never expected: dance.  Flatfoot the afternoon away.,

            It didn’t take many visits to the jam before Trish wanted to join in the fun.,  She begged her parents for a banjo and got one for Christmas that year.  From the age of 15 on, her and that banjo were rarely parted.  She soon starting formal lessons with another clawhammer master, Emily Spencer, a member of the Whitetop Band and wife of fiddler Thornton Spencer.  Through Emily she got to know another master, Enoch Rutherford, and soon every spare minute she wasn’t in school, she was practicing or playing clawhammer.  Developing a style rooted in the Grayson sound, but influenced by many players she met,.

            At 16, she won her first banjo contest, one of hundreds to come.  Then, she met a blind musician from Richmond, who loved her spunk and powerful playing.  Soon she was sending cassette tapes by mail to Harold Hausenfluck, who had one of the most trained and sensitive ears in old time music. Harold would listen to her tapes, and reply with a cassette of his own that not only critiqued her playing, but showed her how Harold would approach the tunes she was learning.

            Needless to say, by the time she was in college, Trish was one of the best banjo players in the region.  After getting degrees in both Library Science and Appalachian Studies, Trish met another banjo player from a different region, Kevin Fore.  Kevin grew up in the Round Peak area of North Carolina and was deeply enmeshed in the regions unique style of banjo.  The two fell in love, married and soon moved to Carroll County, outside of Galax where they’ve been for nearly 15 years.

            Through her banjo development, Trish has played, recorded and toured with many bands including “The Fox Creek Ramblers” in 1994 where she put in many hours playing for dances.

In 1997 she toured Germany and France, playing old time music with the “Farmer’s Daughters, “a band that often included legendary banjoist Riley Baugus.  She recorded in the early 2000’s with the “Blue Ridge Mountain Ramblers,” “The New Ballards Branch Bogtrotters” a Galax band featuring Fiddler Eddie Bond, and eventually formed, with husband Kevin, “Trish Fore and the Wildcats.” 

            In addition to her exemplary exploration of banjo styles, Trish is a community organizer, directing two SW Virginia libraries and helping out at a variety of fiddle festivals and contests, when she is not winning them as a banjo player or leading her band.