Uncle Dave Dougherty & The Trough Sloppers: Dave Dougherty

Dave Dougherty
Banjo & Vocals

John Hoskins
Fiddle and Vocals

Shilo Eldridge
Bass

Shawn Webb
Guitar and Vocals

When one thinks of old time banjo playing, one has to think of Uncle Dave Dougherty. Uncle Dave got his first guitar in 1956 at the ripe ole age of five, and hasn't looked back since. By the time he was twelve his Grandmother Noralee Garner, an old time banjo picker, was teaching him how to play "Cripple Creek" and "Little Brown Jug" on the banjo. After learning old style banjo, or clawhammer, Uncle Dave soon learned to play the three-finger style, and the next thing you know he was working with one of the greatest old time music bands in music history The Stonemans While with The Stonemans Uncle Dave was allowed to shine, he had his own part of the show where he would put on his trademark hat, sit in a chair and play the old time tunes that Pop Stoneman made famous. The Stonemans recorded an album at that time that featured Uncle Dave's old time banjo playing and singing called "Watermelon On The Vine" a song that Uncle Dave still performs today. Uncle Dave is featured in a book, written by Ivan M. Tribe, about the Stoneman Family, called: The Stonemans: An Appalachian Family and the Music That Shaped Their Lives (Music in American Life)

Uncle Dave really began his study of old time music while living in Nashville and playing with The Stonemans. He would spend hours on end learning the old tunes from Patsy Stoneman. Not only did Patsy know most of the old songs, she had an extensive collection of Pop's old recordings beginning with the Edison Cylinders. The director of The Country Music Hall of Fame gave Uncle Dave free reign of the Hall's library to study greats like Pop Stoneman, Uncle Dave Macon, Riley Puckett, and Gid Tanner to just name a few. Uncle Dave's style of banjo playing was developed from studying these greats as well as his own lifelong collection of fiddle tunes, that he strives to play note for note.

What kind of name do you give the kind of music that Uncle Dave plays? It's not country, they murdered that on music row. It's not bluegrass Bill Monroe has conquered that. I guess the best name you can give this music is "HILLBILLY MUSIC". The word HILLBILLY is not a negative word by any means, Uncle Dave is proud of the small town of Acworth, Georgia and the Southern Culture that produced him. When you see Uncle Dave in person you will not get a historian trying to teach you about southern culture, or music history. You will however get a fun family show with side-splitting humor and just good old time music.

The name of Uncle Dave's band is The Trough Sloppers and includes the wonderful talents of John Hoskins on the old time fiddle, and Shilo Eldridge on the bass, and Shawn Webb on guitar, Uncle Dave has played almost every state in the Union, Canada, England, Scotland, and Wales. He has played banjo from the Lincoln Center in Manhattan to The Royal Albert Hall in London England, to national television on The Cumberland Highlanders Show. Not only is Uncle Dave a fine musician but also he is a devout family man, he has been married to Charleen since 1974. He says the reason they have been married so long is because he never lets her see him under a 100 watt lightbulb.

If you're looking for a special evening of music let the extraordinary woody deep tone of Uncle Dave's banjo, blended with the warm mellow tones of the other instruments fill your hearts, let the humorous songs and stories fill your soul, and let the genuine friendship enrich your life. Let Uncle Dave take you back in time to when life was simple, clean, and entertaining.

UNCLE DAVE SAYS: "Ever who wrote this really can sling the slop. Now even I like myself!"

Uncle Dave & The Trough Sloppers have appeared at:

Berea College Folk Festival - Berea, KY

Numerous bluegrass festivals - Berea,KY

Governor's Kentucky Derby Breakfast - Frankfort, KY

Daughters of the American Revolution Annual Meeting - Lexington, KY

Kentucky Folk Life Festival (2 years in a row) - Frankfort, KY

Hindman Settlement School - Hindman, KY

Seedtime on the Cumberland Festival - Appalshop, Whitesburg KY

Americana Crossroads - Morehead, KY

Cumberland Community College - Cumberland, KY

Hillbilly Days - Pikeville, KY

Mountain Arts Center - Prestonsburg, KY

Jerusalem Ridge Bluegrass Celebration - Bill Monroe Homestead, Rosine, KY

Williamson Folk Festival - Williamson, NY

Bound for Glory Radio Show - Cornell University (WVBR FM) Ithaca, NY

Bill Knowlton's Bluegrass Ramble Picnic - NY

CNYBA's Apple Valley Blugrass Festival - LaFayette, NY

Uncle Dave Dougherty appeared with The Stonemans as a featured "show within a show" at:

Royal Albert Hall - London, England
Lincoln Center - Manhattan, NY
The Horseshoe Tavern - Toronto, Canada
The Mountaineer Opry - Milton, W.Va
The Lousiana Hayride - Shreveport, LA
The Johnny Cash TV Show (with Bill Monroe)
The Beanblossom Festival
The Grand Ole Opry
Numerous bluegrass festivals

Uncle Dave Dougherty performed as a member of the "Bluegrass Express" package bluegrass show which consisted of Bill Monroe, James Monroe, Jim and Jesse and the Virginia Boys, Ralph Stanley, and Lester Flatt and the Nashville Grass. He also appeared regularly with Bill Monroe, James Monroe, The Stonemans, Mac Wiseman, Clyde Moody, and Carl Story.

THE BAND