Welcome to the second in a series of four Floyd Radio Shows this 2025-26 season! Our host is Kelley Breiding. Featuring: The New Ballards Branch Bogtrotters & Erin Lunsford.

The New Ballards Branch Bogtrotters have been playing old time mountain music in the Galax, Virginia, area since 1986. Today’s group is named for the original Bogtrotters of the 1920s, the premiere old time band of their era. The original Bogtrotters consisted of legendary artists Uncle Eck Dunford, Wade Ward, Crocket Ward, Fields Ward, and “Doctor” Davis. The Bogtrotters won the very first Old Fiddler’s Convention in Galax in 1935, and Doctor Davis was very instrumental in keeping the contest alive throughout the years. Named for the original Bogtrotters and for a small stream that runs through Galax, the present day line up consists of guitarist Dennis Hall, fiddler and vocalist Eddie Bond, his wife Bonnie Bond on bass and vocals, Josh Ellis on banjo, and Caroline Noel Beverley on mandolin. Still most often referred to locally as “The Bogtrotters,” the band enjoys playing for area square dances and festivals, and are a fixture in local fiddlers’ conventions, where they have won innumerable old time band contests and often provide the backup music for dance competitions. Along with their seemingly endless string of local gigs, the band’s performances have included the Smithsonian Folk Festival, Chicago Folk Festival, Great Lakes Folk Festival, Montana Folk Festival, the Kennedy Center, and many others.

Erin Lunsford is an award-winning singer/songwriter from Fincastle, VA, and based in Richmond, VA. In 2024, Lunsford was a semi-finalist in the Songwriters Guild of America Country Song Contest for her song “Rhinestones.” Her compositions include self-styled guitar, banjo, and keyboard melodies. She is best known as the frontwoman, lead vocalist, and lyricist of the touring indie-pop/soul band Erin & The Wildfire. Her vocals have been described as soulful, expressive, and powerful, and her effortless versatility has been compared to Chris Stapleton, Eva Cassidy, and Susan Tedeschi.