FERRUM, VA, September 14, 2023 – Hillary Klug is a talented self-taught dancing fiddler hailing from Fayetteville, Tennessee. Her unique performances involve her dancing on a wooden platform while simultaneously playing her violin. Her skills have also made her a National Buck Dancing Champion. This year, she will bring her flair to the 50th Blue Ridge Folklife Festival on October 28.
Klug learned about the Folklife Festival and Ferrum College through the outreach of the Blue Ridge Institute and Museum. “I’m excited to perform and immerse myself in the culture and learn more about it,” she said.
Although fiddling and dancing are not a common way to perform, Klug has made it her own. As a child, she started dancing for fun and eventually joined a clogging team after discovering it at a talent show when she was eight years old.
At 13, Klug got her first violin, and was taught to play by a fiddling instructor. “My mom thought it would be a good opportunity for me since she could see that I had music in me. She offered to pay for half of my violin and I paid for the other half. The deal was if I quit lessons or didn’t practice enough, I had to pay her back, so I just never quit,” Klug explained.
She struggled at first but quickly learned to clog and play violin simultaneously.“I was so ambitious that I didn’t ever let it stop me. This was my way of being able to do something for myself,” she said.
Klug only began taking fiddling and dancing seriously during college. When she needed cash for a parking fee, she started busking on the streets of Nashville. “No one was really coming by, so I started to play really loudly and I started stomping my feet to the beat. People still weren’t stopping, so I decided to try to dance and play for the first time in front of everyone,” Klug said. “Once I started to dance, people started to stop. Everyone was taking photos and videos, and I was able to pay for parking,” she said.
From then on, Klug decided to continue busking because she enjoyed the attention and was making good money. Over two years, she honed her skills and added singing to her performances. “Street performing was my way of making it into the music industry,” Klug said.
Street performing was also how Klug interacted with all types of people and established her own audience in person. “I’ve been able to break away from the bluegrass and fiddle mold. With street performing, I interacted with all types of people. The general public does not listen to fiddle music. Because I combined fiddling and dancing, it sparked interest for people, so tourists would come and watch.”
Since Nashville has strict laws against street performing, Klug posted her videos online despite her success on the street. “Nashville wanted to get rid of all street performers, so I started posting videos of myself busking. All of a sudden, more people were becoming exposed to fiddle and dance, so I posted even more. Instantly, all of my videos started to go viral. It started with 9 million, and I think the biggest video got 64 million views,” Klug said. She became a viral sensation since fiddling and dancing is not the norm. “No one had ever really seen fiddling and dancing before, because it’s not traditional,” she said. Her videos started to grab worldwide attention, which led her to start booking shows. One of her first big gigs was Dollywood and the Nashville Symphony Schermerhorn Symphony Center. “They had the Nashville Symphony learn one of my songs, and then they had me come fiddle and dance on the symphony stage. Overnight, I went from playing on the street to performing on a symphony stage, and they’re playing my original music with me,” she explained. Klug’s exceptional skills were also showcased in the Independent film “Wild Rose,” where she also contributed her original song “Le Petit Chat Gris” to the soundtrack.
Klug’s first CD release coincided with her viral success, allowing her to take advantage of the opportunity and establish herself as a legitimate artist. As her CD sales soared, she received numerous requests to perform at shows. Although she was earning well from street performances, Klug realized that it was not a sustainable long-term option. Therefore, she expanded her income streams by utilizing various social media platforms and continued booking other shows.
Over the past year, Klug has had the opportunity to perform in various locations across the United States and went on a tour in England. Following the festival, she has upcoming shows scheduled at Dollywood, Station Inn, and the Bluegrass Music Hall of Fame and Museum. Klug’s ultimate musical goal is to perform at the renowned Grand Ole Opry in Nashville.
The 50th Folklife Festival will take place on October 28 at the Blue Ridge Institute and Museum at Ferrum College. More details can be found here.
