Larry Sigmon’s clawhammer playing reminds us all that the heart of old time music is rhythm, and that the banjo, in the right hands, can be a percussive instrument.  His playing always attracts a strong crowd of flatfooters, and his skill is universally appreciated by dancers.

            Larry grew up with the sounds of the mountains and especially the sounds of fiddle and banjo, both played by his father who was an accomplished musician.  This early exposure gave Larry an appreciation for both rhythmic drive and melody.  Larry started on the harmonica, where he learned to accompany his father’s fiddling with melody.  While still in grade school, he transitioned to the guitar.  He quickly learned to accompany his father rhythmically with respect for the old time melodies he played.

            At the age of 15, Larry transitioned to the banjo, emulating his father’s percussive style.  From that point on, Larry became known as a banjo player and he was sought after by local musicians in Franklin County. In the early 1970’s was asked  to join his first band, “The Sugar Hill Ramblers,” that played almost exclusively for dances.  During the next six years, he honed his skill as a clawhammer player, that like many of the earlier players was more focused on the dance; on driving the dancers with an emphasis on beat and rhythm, that drove the dancers and created a simple, consistent, drive that made their feet fly.

            The fact that the “Ramblers” had six members including Larry also meant that he had to play loud and hard to be heard in the mix.  This experience of having to “cut through” the musicians around him, helped Larry develop a strong individual sound that drew dancers immediately in to the music. Their repertoire included old time dance tunes, old country classics and wild breakdowns.  Larry learned a broad variety of tunes and quickly learned how to please the dance crowd.  His wide ranging tunes and songs included old time fiddle tunes, bluegrass numbers played clawhammer style and a number of early country songs from Grayson and Whitter and many others. He was not limited by regional tunes, but could also play them well.

            In the late 1980’s Larry met Uncle Norman Edmonds’ granddaughter, Barbara Poole, and in 1989 a historic relationship was formed between Larry’s rhythmic clawhammer and Barbara’s “double slap” style of bass playing.  Together, they established what they named “The Unique Sound of the Mountains” and for the next 19 years the two would be considered one of the most popular dance bands on the Blue Ridge.  Performing as a strictly banjo-bass-vocals band, they were a distinct act at conventions, dance concerts and street performances.

            They backed each other at contests, consistently winning first place ribbons in bass, banjo and folk singing competitions.  Their unique sound took them to Grand Ole Opry, the Carter Family Fold, and the Lebanon banjo gathering.  Wherever they went, Larry and Barbara attracted a loyal following and a huge crowd of dancers and listeners.  They became one of the most popular old time dance acts in SW Virginia in the late ‘90’s and the early 2000’s. During that time, they recorded seven albums and experienced broad success on the radio. Sadly, in 2008, Barbara Poole passed away after a long bout with cancer.  Saddened and a bit lost, Larry returned to farming for the next several years.

            In 2013, he was visited by Martha Spencer, legendary daughter of Thornton and Emily Spencer of the “Whitetop Mountain Band” and an accomplished performer in her own right.  Martha who is an multi-instrumentalist and singer, convinced Larry to return to public life, and for the next several years the two of them revived the “Unique Sound of the Mountains” to remarkable success both live and on recording.

            Currently, Larry’s banjo still rings out with “Larry Sigmon and the Virginia Girls that includes rotating members including Susan Blakenship on bass, Heather Krantz on guitar, and Gina Dilg on fiddle.  The “Unique Sound” of Larry’s clawhammer rhythm rings on.