Comment on Papa Joe's legacy lives on through those he's inspired

When Tyler Hughes first met Papa Joe Smiddy, it was 13 years ago at a mountain music camp in Big Stone Gap, Virginia. Smiddy, a well-known local musician and former UVA-Wise chancellor, always performed a Monday concert at the camp – one of several programs in the area aimed at introducing youth to mountain music. “One thing that Papa Joe always tried to do … is to use his music to benefit the region in various ways, through supporting good causes or just passing on music to future generations,” says Hughes, speaking about the man who inspired the Papa Joe Smiddy Mountain Music Festival, an annual event in its 17th year that’s coming up Sept.