In a life cut way too short by illness, Brien Fain left an undeniable contribution to the art of clawhammer playing in SW Virginia.  Born at the apex of the old time revival, Brien was almost pre-destined to become a master of old time music.  “I can’t ever remember not being around music,” Brien once told a reporter.  He was a seventh generation mountain musician, born into a family that highly valued music as an integrated part of their lives.  His earliest memories were of acapella church singing in his father’s church and by the age of two, his parents made a banjo ukulele for him to bang on.

            By age seven, Brien was already fluent on mandolin and guitar and was on stage playing with his father during community gatherings.  Devastated by the passing of his father when he was only 15, for a short while Brien quit playing music.  In a tribute to his father, at age 17, he took up both fiddle and banjo, both instruments his father played well.

            As his musical skills developed, he spent time playing with and learning from his neighbors, the Foddrell family, a Black family known for their excellence in country blues music. With their help, he added a bluesy style to his playing that would cause him to develop a distinct style of clawhammer that would serve him well.

            While developing skills as a mechanic and a machinist, Brien’s musical career took off quickly and it wasn’t long before he was winning every major contest in SW Virginia.  He won the Galax Old Fiddler’s Convention four times and was a three time 1^st place clawhammer winner at the Appalachian String Band Festival (Clifftop.) During his short career, he collected over 300 winning ribbons from fiddler’s conventions and competitions.

            Still a young man, Brien’s playing was recognized by the Smithsonian and he became a regular at the National Folk Festival in Washington, DC.  In 2008 and 2009, Brien was a subject for a documentary project led by famed musician and folklorist Mike Seeger, who featured both Brien’s playing and his vast knowledge of local music in the resulting movie,  “Just Around the Bend: Survival and Revival in Southern Banjo Sounds.” He was featured alongside other legendary SW musicians such as Debbie Grimm Yates and Brian Grimm, Tina Steffy, Rhoda Kemp and others.

            Brien’s musicianship crossed cultural boundaries, and he also travelled as guitar player for bluegrass legend Raymond Fairchild.  He led and played in several old time bands in the area including the “Rock Mountain Ramblers” and the “Jugbusters.”  He also sang and played guitar with the Mayo Mountain Boys, a bluegrass gospel group.  He was also a sought after teacher of clawhammer playing teaching workshops at the Blue Ridge Folk Festival and at the Augusta Heritage Festival.

            Of his banjo style, Mike Seeger once said, “Brien can do it all.  He can provide a beat that holds a band together, while at the same time playing crisp, clear melody that wants a fiddler to play harder. He is in quiet control of any band or jam he plays with.”        

            After Brien’s passing at the young age of 47, more than 100 musicians gathered in Floyd County to remember Brien, playing and celebrating his short musical life and telling his stories just as he had told them.