Junior Daugherty

Forest Alton "Junior" Daugherty, Jr (born July 19, 1930 in Alamogordo, Otero County, New Mexico) is a fiddler, guitar player and songwriter. He has been ranked among the top five fiddlers in the United States over a fifteen-year period. Daugherty won the New Mexico state fiddling championship eight years, the Southwest Regional Championship, and has been inducted into the New Mexico Fiddler's Hall of Fame and the Arizona Fiddler's Hall of Fame. Over the last sixty-five years Daugherty has performed around the world at Cowboy poetry events and at Carnegie Hall;[1] with musicians as diverse as Sir Yehudi Menuhin at the First American Violin Congress and Hawaiian fiddler Eddie Kamae; and with distinguished music talents including Mark O’Connor, Aly Bain and Johnny Gimble. In addition, he continues to teach fiddle workshops at the Ashokan Fiddle & Dance Camp. Many of his compositions have been performed and recorded by other artists.

In 1950 just prior to enlisting in the US Navy, Junior married Verla Mae Clay (who died from breast cancer in 1985). He and Verla produced three daughters, all musicians. In 1991 he married Judy Osborn in Illinois and eventually made his way back to New Mexico. Junior now lives in Colorado with his daughter, but still actively engages in music events around the country, participating in Festival of American Fiddle Tunes' Fiddles on the Fourth (https://centrum.org/2018/06/2018-fiddles-on-the-fourth-at-fort-worden/) and Ashokan Music Western Swing Week (https://ashokan.org/western-swing-week-camp/) in 2018.

PERFORMANCE HIGHLIGHTS:

• Elko, Nevada - COWBOY POETRY—1999, 2001, 2003
• Quad City, Iowa - FOLK FEST with JOHNNY GIMBLE—1993,1994,1995
• Illinois University - COWBOY POETRY FOLK FESTIVAL—1994, 1995
• Mountainaire, NM - COWBOY FOLK FEST—1997, 1998,1999
• Safford, AZ - COWBOY POETRY—2002
• Carson, Nevada - COWBOY POETRY—2002
• Ashokan, NY - taught week-long ASHOKAN FIDDLE WORKSHOP with JAY UNGAR and MOLLY MASON—1982 to 2016
• Honolulu, HI - fiddled and performed in EDDIE KAMAE'S acclaimed documentary film “LI‘A: LEGACY OF A HAWAIIAN MAN“—1988
• Hawaiian Islands - toured the Hawaiian Islands with EDDIE KAMAE AND SONS OF HAWAII to present the film in 1990
• Honolulu, HI - HAWAIIAN FILM FESTIVAL—1989
• Palm Springs, CA - PALM SPRINGS FILM FESTIVAL—1989
• Seattle, WA - SEATTLE FILM FESTIVAL—1989
• Glasgow, Scotland - performed shows for Scottish Television with ALY BAIN and PHIL CUNNINGHAM—1988
• Dublin Ireland - recorded on the album for PHIL CUNNINGHAM—1988
• Scotland and England - six-week tour with THE BOYS OF THE LOCH—1988
• University of Maryland - concert performance at the FIRST AMERICAN VIOLIN CONGRESS with SIR YEHUDI MENUHIN—1987
• New York City - concert performances at the STATUE OF LIBERTY RE-OPENING—1986
• New York City - NATIONAL FOLK FESTIVAL—1982,1984, 1986
• Fairhill, MD - concert performances at BRANDYWINE FESTIVAL—1985
• FOLK CONCERT SERIES - Folklife Center of International House of Philadelphia International Tours (U.S. STATE DEPARTMENT CULTURAL EXCHANGE PROGRAM) -- 1984, 1985
• COWBOY TOUR - NATIONAL COUNCIL FOR TRADITIONAL ARTS - U.S. Mainland and Hawaii circuit—1984, 1985
• Southeast Asia - FOUR WEEK TOUR—1982
• North Africa and Middle East - SIX WEEK TOUR—1981
• Knoxville, TN - four weeks of concert performances at the KNOXVILLE WORLD'S FAIR—1982
• Billings, Montana - a special guest entertainer at MONTANA'S FESTIVAL OF STRINGS—1978
• Cody, Wyoming - a special guest entertainer at WYOMING'S FESTIVAL OF STRINGS—1977
• Washington, DC - concert performances at the BICENTENNIAL CELEBRATION—1977