Big time traditions: The small town of Floyd, Virginia—its population was 425 in the last census—has become so synonymous with the Appalachian mountain music tradition that visitors often outnumber the residents. The latest to emerge from the robust tiny scene is neo-traditional string band The Wildmans, a fledgling group of top-notch players that includes Aila Wildman on old-time fiddle, Eli Wildman on mandolin, and Victor Furtado on the clawhammer banjo—who’ve all won awards at the Galax Old Fiddler’s Convention, and attend the American Roots Music Program at Berklee College of Music in Boston. Multi-instrumentalist Sean Newman completes the band on upright bass and vocals.
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