The International Steel Guitar Convention turns 35 this month, and it’s still tough as nails
By Daniel Durchholz
If DeWitt Scott wants to call this month’s International Steel Guitar Convention the Super Bowl of such events, who’s going to argue with him?
True, there’s no playoff system for steel-guitar players, and the potential for wardrobe malfunctions is miniscule. But in its own way, the convention—held August 31–September 3 at the Millennium Hotel—is unparalleled in popularity and prestige. “There are shows like this all over the world now, but we’re the granddaddy,” says Scott, who founded the convention in 1971.
He’s the proprietor of Scotty’s Music, a mecca for steel-guitar players. Everyone from Mel Tillis to young steel sensation Robert Randolph has stopped by to pay respects.
The idea for the convention came from Scott’s abiding enthusiasm for the instrument and the players who helped expand its musical scope. “I’d go to Nashville and I’d hear steel guitar being played in ways I didn’t think you could play it,” he says. “I would tell people to go there, but they wouldn’t, so I said, ‘Heck, I’ll bring the players up here.’”
Scott, 74, still remembers his first steel-guitar moment. “I was 16, living in a town called Yukon, Okla., and I heard this song come on the radio,” he says. “It was so pretty, I actually pulled off the road so I could hear it.” The song? “Drowsy Waters,” by Jerry Byrd. “I’ve loved the sound of a steel guitar ever since.”
Performing at the convention will be such steel-guitar greats as Buddy Emmons, Tom Brumley, Doug Jernigan and Paul Franklin, none of whom is a household name—unless you studiously read liner notes, which maybe you should do from now on.
