Maters & Music celebrates native poet/farmer’s legacy

For 13 years, the event has served to bring people out to the farm and invite them to learn more about Union County’s native son Byron Herbert Reece, who left behind a tremendous literary and cultural legacy following his passing 68 years ago.

The goal of the festival, said Reece’s great-nephew Steven Reece, is to celebrate the arts through music and the harvest season through tomatoes – an embrace of Reece’s twin vocations in life.

“It was something the society wanted to do for the community to get a little more community involvement, as a way to promote the Reece Farm and the writings of Byron Herbert Reece,” Reece explained. “It just seemed like a natural thing to do. He considered himself to be a farmer first and a writer second.”

In the years since its inception, Steven Reece has noticed that visitors always seem to look forward to the event. Many take the opportunity to look around the property and learn about the land the Reece family called home and that the mountain poet drew inspiration from.

“The community just needs to know and learn about one of the famous citizens that lived here and grew up in Union County, and that’s Byron Herbert Reece,” Reece said, detailing some of the prestigious awards and recognitions that his great-uncle received.

Continuing, “People (should) take the time to learn more about his writings and gain an appreciation for the fact that he’s from this county and really lived here the entire time – he could have moved away and pursued his work, but his heart was in Union County, and that’s where he stayed.”

The Maters & Music Festival is the primary fundraiser for the Reece Society, and there were plenty of Byron Herbert Reece’s novels and poetry books, CDs, and Reece Society T-shirts on sale to help supplement the organization’s local scholarship fund.

Otherwise, folks were welcome to enjoy a free lunch of delicious tomato sandwiches and a concert lineup of talented musicians without an admission fee, though many people deposited tips in the jars beside the sandwich table, and interest in the society itself was high.

This year’s entertainment included John Cochran and the Cowhands, True Grit, Justin Terry, and Jim Wood and his daughter Jacey Wood. Guests were encouraged to sing along, and many were spotted tapping and clapping. Between sets, Steven Reece selected some of his favorite poems to bring voice to his great-uncle’s work.

Throughout the afternoon, members of the Reece Society prepared and handed out tomato sandwiches and drinks for the complimentary luncheon. There were so many tomatoes, in fact, that there was a surplus, and they were sold for $5 per bag.

Though the focus was primarily on good music, a good harvest and Reece’s memory, there were a couple of vendors on the premises: Lily of the Valley’s herbal products, and ice cream from the Blue Ridge Creamery, but directly across from the pavilion’s performers was G’s Bees.

“This is such a nice facility; obviously, the county’s done a good job here. That’s just another one of our good facilities. I mean, geeze, it’s nice … Sit here, listen to good music in a nice park? That’s not a bad day,” said Jim Crabtree, with his wife, G, agreeing. The pair enjoyed the event so much that they are considering coming back for the 2027 festival.

Guest Joanne Sales echoed the sentiments of others in expressing her love for the event. This is her third year in attendance, and she “really enjoys coming.”

“I love the music, and I’ve got all the books by Byron Herbert Reece,” she stated, adding that her favorite poem is “I Know a Valley Green With Corn.”

For more information on Byron Herbert Reece, the Reece Society and the historic homestead, visit https://www.reecesociety.org/.