John Lilly with Hazel Dickens

Hazel Dickens, revered West Virginia songwriter and performer and 2007 inductee into the new West Virginia Music Hall of Fame, was an honored guest at the recent International Folk Alliance conference, held in Memphis, Tennessee, February 20-23. The four-day event attracted approximately 2,000 folk music disk jockeys, promoters, booking agents, journalists and performers to the organization’s 20^th annual gathering, held at the Memphis downtown Marriott hotel and adjacent conference center.

Dickens was a prominent presence throughout the event. Her biographical video, “You Can’t Tell the Singer from the Song,” played continuously on the hotel’s in-room television system for the entire four days. She was a major attraction for three hours each day in the conference exhibit hall, where she “held court” at the West Virginia Music Hall of Fame/Proper Records display booth. She also drew a standing-room-only crowd for her part of a showcase performance featuring artists from the southeast region.The highlight of the conference for fans of Hazel Dickens came on Saturday afternoon, when she was interviewed for 90 minutes by West Virginia musician and Goldenseal magazine editor John Lilly, in front of a live audience of approximately 100 people. Hazel was sharp and witty as she recounted her early days in Mercer County, her move as a teenager to Baltimore, and her development as a nationally recognized performer and songwriter. Hazel has garnered numerous awards and honors over the years for her hard-hitting topical songs, as well as for her emotional delivery and unwavering allegiance to her home of West Virginia. Several recorded examples of her music were played. She also thrilled the audience with live renditions of two of her best-loved numbers: “Mama’s Hand” and “West Virginia, My Home,” accompanied on both songs by Gilmer County, West Virginia, musicians Tracy Schwarz and Ginny Hawker.  -written by John Lilly

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