Colcord band to perform in Silver Dollar City contest

— The Flint Hill Ramblers will sing and strum stringed instruments while showcasing their skills in creating bluegrass sounds during a national competition at Silver Dollar City in Branson, Mo.

The four-member bluegrass band is one of 20 bands across the nation slated to compete in the 4th Annual Single Microphone Championship May 22-23. The contest is part of Silver Dollar City’s Bluegrass & BBQ Festival, which takes May 13-31.

Bass player Bobbie Seyer said that the group is thrilled about being one of the few groups chosen to perform.

“We have known since March,” she said. “I don’t know about the guys, but the closer it gets, the more my butterflies kick in.”

Bands applied for the chance to compete in the contest by submitting an entry form with a sample selection of their music.

“I don’t know who decided who gets selected but fortunately we were,” Seyer said.

The performances will take place in The OperaHouse at Silver Dollar City, and the Flint Hill Ramblers will have the opportunity to strut their stuff for two songs on Saturday and two songs on Sunday. They will be given six minutes a performance to capture the hearts of the audience and judges.

“Part of the scoring is based on audience reaction so we need all the support we can get,” Seyer said. “We have had several people tell us that they are planning to come and see us.”

Bands will battle for the first place prizes of $2,000 and a full-page color advertisement in Bluegrass Unlimited Magazine announcing the band’s victory. The group that comes in second will receive $1,200, and the third place group will be given $800. The top three bandswill also be guaranteed a future booking at Silver Dollar City.

Many of the bands slated to compete hail from Arkansas and Missouri. Some will travel from lands as distant as Chattanooga, Tenn., Bloomington, Ill., Bolivar, Ohio, and Dixon, Calif.

The Flint Hill Ramblers lead singer and rhythmguitarist Bill Allcorn said that ramblers are excited to be competing in this competition.

“We know the other bands competing will be very good, but we’re happy to be representing this area of northeast Oklahoma and northwest Arkansas and bluegrass music which we all love,” he said.

Allcorn unintentionally initiated the band, The Flint Hill Ramblers, two years ago when he was approached to help out with music for a fundraiser for the Talbot Museum in Colcord, Okla. He called Dennis Keigley, a banjo player, who called Jon Winkler, a fiddle and mandolin player, and his sister Bobbie Seyer, a bass player.

“We liked playing together so much we started accepting other dates,”Allcorn said.

Allcorn said that the band played an estimated 70 shows in 2009.

Seyer said the band currently performs at least once, but usually a couple times, a month.

“This will be Flint Hill Ramblers first performance at Silver Dollar City,” Seyer said. “But we hope and pray it isn’t our last.”

Community, Pages 3 on 05/19/2010