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In the early years the music was mostly ‘traditional folk’, with a smattering of blues, bluegrass, country music, and olde English and Irish material containing toxic levels of screeching fiddles. The club rapidly developed a reputation as a place where home-grown original material by local composers and performers found a receptive audience, and it is these who have gradually formed the focus of the club.The club now encompasses all kinds of diverse musical styles, people and passions. By 1977, the Barleycorn had become formalised as a non-profit organisation committed to using accumulated funds for the promotion of local musical talent. The annual music fest provides the perfect platform to put these funds to good use!The inaugural festival was held in 1980 at the Maynardville Open Air Theatre, packed to capacity to hear 20 acts perform over 9 hours. The undoubted star of that show was the then unknown David Kramer whose songs “Red Veldskoen” and “Pork-pie Hat” captivated absolutely everyone, including members of the press who gave his career a massive kick-start! The Barleycorn Music Festival went on to become an annual event and long is the list of eminent musicians who’ve graced the stage including Freshly Ground, Steve Newman, Tony Cox …the list goes on and on! Don’t miss this event!