There’s no doubt Ricky Skaggs, one of Nashville’s longtime leading mandolin virtuosos, has paid his dues when it comes to the contributions he has made to bluegrass, old-time and country music. By the time he was 21, the Kentucky-born musician was deemed a master of his art form by his surrounding musical community and now, almost 40 years and a multitude of Grammys, Country Music Association and International Bluegrass Awards later, Ricky Skaggs and wife Sharon White Skaggs (of the Opry-established band The Whites) are coming to the 36th annual Uncle Dave Macon Days Festival, July 12-14, to jointly receive the Uncle Dave Macon Heritage Award. This commemoration of lifetimes dedicated to one of the beloved Southern musical genres is a timely one, as Skaggs is finishing up a few major summer projects set to release shortly after his Murfreesboro appearance.

The Skaggses will also act as grand marshals for the kick-off parade that Saturday morning.

Mr. Skaggs was recently at his home in Middle Tennessee one morning, taking a small break from some home renovations, and agreed to answer a few questions:

Mr. Skaggs! It’s a pleasure. We’ve heard you’re coming to Uncle Dave Macon Days in Murfreesboro this month.
Skaggs: Yessir. On the 13th and looking forward to it . . . it’s my first time to Uncle Dave Macon Days.

Oh, it’s huge every year. You’ll love it.
You’re being honored with Uncle Dave Macon’s Heritage Award?
Skaggs:Yeah, they gave it to us. Well, we haven’t got it yet. They gave us the paper, but not the actual award . . . but me and my wife, Sharon, both won the Heritage award together, so it is really sweet to win something together like that as a husband and wife.

You’ll see this, but along with the stage performances and competitions, there are many  picking circles anywhere there’s space to congregate in Cannonsburgh during the festival. It’d be nice to have you down there with us, but you’ll be taking the big stage when?
Skaggs: Yes, we’re looking forward to it.
We’re going to play a show that Saturday from 7 to 8 o’clock, I think is the time. We’re not bringing the whole band . . . . It’ll be a smaller band than Kentucky Thunder, and [with] Ms. Sharon.
She doesn’t [normally] play for the Thunder. She has her own band called The Whites. They’ve been members of the Grand Ole Opry for about 30 years now, and they were in the movie Oh Brother, Where Art Thou, so they’re pretty popular.

The Whites

I’m going to bring my fiddle, and play some old-time fiddle tunes. We’re going to be doing some old-timey music, more so than just the bluegrass. I think it’ll be appropriate for the day [chuckles a little].
That’s gonna be fun, too.
But, [Sharon] and I are doing a duet together, too. We had Duet of the Year in 1987 for CMA, and we’ll have [a brand new duet album] probably next year sometime. . . . I’m not sure exactly what the title is yet, but it may be Hold On Tight. That’s one of the tracks on there . . . . Wait, hang on just a second, buddy. I’ve got somebody coming here to . . .

[Skaggs trails off for a second into the background as someone begins a conversation about the home renovations currently underway. The man is constantly taking care of business in the most polite way possible . . .  a true Southern gentleman, and it’s great. Anyway . . . he’s back.]

Skaggs: Sorry about that.

No sir, you’re fine. Tell me more about your latest album, Music to My Ears, that came out late last year.
Skaggs: Ahhh, [Music to My Ears] is some old bluegrass songs that I’ve done and some new things as well. Actually, I have Uncle Dave mentioned in a Music to My Ears song, “You Can’t Hurt Ham.” We’ll definitely do that song while we’re there.

That will more than likely tear the house down. And this is outdoors.
Well, we’re a technical community as well, with music programs at our local college spreading across every aspect of the industry. Music to My Ears was produced out of Skaggs Family Records. How did you guys get into that part of the business?
Skaggs: Well, it’s a label I started [in 1997 after a major-label contract expired ] so that I could do the music that I wanted to do, be it bluegrass, country, gospel, solo—like instrumental projects—or projects with Bruce Hornsby, or whoever I wanted to work with. Basically, it was to have the freedom to make the music I want to make.

And you’re about to release a brand new project with Bruce Hornsby here in a month or so out of Skaggs Family, too?
Skaggs: Yessir, we’ve got Cluck Ol’ Hen. It’s a live record and it’ll be out . . . August [20].

[Unfortunately for our interview, heavy machinery started humming in the background and Skaggs had to get back to work. But not before passing some wisdom through to aspiring and hardworking pickers any and everywhere]:

Skaggs: Well, I’d say get in a band [and] learn how to play in a band where it’s not about you all the time and your abilities. Learn how to share the spotlight and share the music and pass it around to  each other to learn to play as a band. Nowadays, there are a lot of guys and girls, both, that learn to play online. They take lessons from a lot of teachers online and when they get around a band, they’re playing all the time. It’s like, you got to get a singer in the band and learn how to play behind the singer, ya know? That’s how you really learn, because [chuckles a little] there aren’t too many instrumental bands that make it in the business, so you got to have someone that can sing. That’s the advice I’d give. Get in a band, learn how to share the backups, share the solos, and learn it’s a band effort. It’s not just about one person.
~~

Even with all of his current projects, with Kentucky Thunder or his duet albums, Ricky Skaggs found time to sit down and document his life in his first book, the autobiographical Kentucky Traveler, due out Aug. 13, just before Cluck Ol’ Hen, releases the next week. And to reiterate, their scheduled performance at Uncle Dave Macon Days’ is 7 p.m. Saturday, July 13.

The parade will kick off the festivities Saturday morning at 10 a.m. Information on where to find, what to know, and how to buy Ricky Skaggs’ music can be found at rickyskaggs.com or skaggsfamilyrecords.com.

More on the 36th Annual Uncle Dave Macon Days Festival
July 12-14

Cannonsburgh Village
312 S. Front St., Murfreesboro

Friday, July 12
10 a.m. Matilda Macon Artisan Village — Craft Show begins — Dancers in Gazebo
1 p.m. Beginning Instrumental competition
2 p.m. Dulcimer competition
3 p.m. Old Time Singing competition
4 p.m. National Championship Jr. Buckdancing and Jr. Clog preliminaries
5 p.m. Dance Demonstration
6 p.m. Old Time String Band Celebration and Tribute to Kirk and Sam McGee
Macon Doubler Fellowship Presentation
7 p.m. National Championship Jr. Buckdancing and Jr. Clog finals
7:30 p.m. Blues Singing competition
8:30 p.m. DeFord Bailey Harmonica competition
9:30 p.m. Dobro competition
10 p.m. Uncle Dave Macon Free Wheelin’

Saturday, July 13
9 a.m. Guitar competition
10 a.m. Motorless Parade
10:15 Fiddle competition
11:30 Mandolin competition
12:45 National Championship OT Buckdancing and OT Clogging (Adult and Sr) preliminaries
1 p.m. Old Time Junior National Winners Presentation
2 p.m. Traditional Fiddle competition
3:15 p.m. Old Time Banjo competition preliminaries
4:30 p.m. Old Time Band competition preliminaries
5:45 Bluegrass Banjo competition preliminaries
Bluegrass Band competition preliminaries
6:30 p.m. Dance Demonstration
7 p.m. Heritage Award, Ricky Skaggs and Sharon White
8 p.m. National Championship Buckdancing and Clogging (Adult and Sr.) finals
10:15 p.m. National Championship Old Time Banjo finals
10:45 p.m. Old Time Band competition finals
11:15 p.m. Bluegrass Banjo competition finals
11:45 p.m. Bluegrass Band competition finals

* competition times are approximate

Sunday, July 14
11 a.m. Community Worship Service
12 p.m. Gospel Showcase
12 p.m. Community Service Fair
4 p.m. Old Time Shape Note Singing and Hymn Fest

$5 per day, Friday and Saturday; Sunday, free; kids 12 and under, always free
uncledavemacondays.com