Welcome to the official page for the Old-Time band Uncle Henry's Favorites from Charlottesville, Virginia.
Photo: Pete Vigour, Ellen Vigour, Jim Childress, and Mark Beall
Uncle Henry's Favorites old-time string band hails from Albemarle County, Virginia, home of rolling hills, Jefferson cups, farms, Wahoos and Cavaliers, mountain streams, and an active and dedicated community of old-time country fiddlers, banjoists, mandolinists, Carter-family-style singing groups, guitar pickers, Cajun accordionists, square dancers, cloggers, bass fiddlers, and countless other homegrown-music enthusiasts. Pete and Ellen Vigour, of White Hall, Jim Childress, from Free Union, and Mark Beall from Stanardsville, formed Uncle Henry’s Favorites in 1985, and have since performed their own special version of old-time music at social occasions throughout their local area.
Jim and Pete take turns with the fiddle and guitar, Ellen plays the mandolin and calls the dances, while Mark provides the bass fiddle accompaniment. Pete also has been playing the banjo since the age of ten, and often frails the old square dance tunes when the band performs. Their album Old-Time String Band Music has won rave reviews, and the band reached a national audience with an appearance on public radio’s "A Prairie Home Companion."
Photo: Pete Vigour, Ellen Vigour, Jim Childress, and Mark Beall
Uncle Henry's Favorites old-time string band hails from Albemarle County, Virginia, home of rolling hills, Jefferson cups, farms, Wahoos and Cavaliers, mountain streams, and an active and dedicated community of old-time country fiddlers, banjoists, mandolinists, Carter-family-style singing groups, guitar pickers, Cajun accordionists, square dancers, cloggers, bass fiddlers, and countless other homegrown-music enthusiasts. Pete and Ellen Vigour, of White Hall, Jim Childress, from Free Union, and Mark Beall from Stanardsville, formed Uncle Henry’s Favorites in 1985, and have since performed their own special version of old-time music at social occasions throughout their local area.
Jim and Pete take turns with the fiddle and guitar, Ellen plays the mandolin and calls the dances, while Mark provides the bass fiddle accompaniment. Pete also has been playing the banjo since the age of ten, and often frails the old square dance tunes when the band performs. Their album Old-Time String Band Music has won rave reviews, and the band reached a national audience with an appearance on public radio’s "A Prairie Home Companion."