There’s a fine line between amateur musician and seasoned professional, casual hobby and all-consuming passion. Where you fall on the continuum of musical ability may be reflected in your choice of profession. For instance, the lead singer of a popular band is expected to wow the crowd with killer vocals, but what about a local karaoke star? Sometimes, however, what we expect and what we receive are two very different things.
The devil may have gone down to Georgia, but it appears he took a detour to a bar in Nashville and possessed a middle-aged mom on his way down there.
In a TikTok video that’s been viewed 5.5 million times, Olivia Reeth’s daughter shared that her family had gone to the Whiskey Bent Saloon in Nashville and was watching the Moonshine Outlaw Band perform. Her mom told the band she played the fiddle, and mid-song, the fiddle player decided to hand his instrument over to her.
@skootbutt123 #nashville #whiskeybentsaloon #fiddle ♬ original sound – olivia reeths ????
In a real life example of shattered assumptions, a woman visiting Nashville with her daughter stunned onlookers with a bona fide fiddle-playing extravaganza!
Her daughter, Olivia Reeths, posted a video of this impromptu performance on TikTok, along with these words: “Went to a bar in Nashville and my mom told the band she plays the fiddle. The fiddle player decided to hand off his fiddle to my mom mid song and didn’t expect her to absolutely shred.”
While we can only guess at the woman’s musical background and performance history, her raw talent leaves no room for doubt. Wow, can that momma play!
Even the resident fiddle player wanted in on the action. Impressed by her mad skills and deciding to have a little fun of his own, he pretends to get fired and kicked out of the bar. Look closely in the background of the video and you’ll see him shaking his head as he walks to the door.
We love sharing stories about talented individuals who surprise others with their hidden potential. For some reason, the reward is so much sweeter when nobody could have anticipated it. Ready for some fancy fiddlin’?
You kind of have to wonder what the guy was thinking. Did he imagine she’d be able to keep up with the band? Did he figure she’d play a few bars and then hand it back?
Whatever he was picturing, it almost certainly wasn’t what she ended up laying down.
Mom might as well have said, “I’ll bet a fiddle of gold against your soul, dude” because she came prepared. In hindsight, her whipping off of her scarf was the sign it was all over, but who’d have known?
The best part is when the guy pretends to boot the band’s fiddler out of the bar. And then Mama got sassy with it! Absolute legend, making her skills appear effortless as she walked around the room. Didn’t even take her coat off. Looking like she walked in off the street, which she basically did.
The woman’s daughter shared that her mom is classically trained and that her dad was the one who introduced her to country and bluegrass music. They both play in two bands, Coconut Radio Band and Barney’s Bullet.
Seriously impressive talent. And you gotta love the respect the band’s fiddle player gave her, despite her basically stealing his soul. What a fun exchange between musicians who clearly love what they do and love to share it with others.
However, the last thing the band or the crowd expected when they handed over the instrument was that this fiddler was going to shred:
“Went to a bar in Nashville and my mom told the band she plays fiddle.
The fiddle player decided to hand off his fiddle to my mom mid song and they didn’t expect her to absolutely shred.”
The video features Sue getting all geared up before playing one hell of a fiddle solo, and in the words of Charlie Daniels, she sawed on the fiddle and played it hot!
@skootbutt123 #nashville #whiskeybentsaloon #fiddle ♬ original sound – olivia reeths ????
Gotta take that scarf off first…
The moment was so popular with the video’s viewers, that Sue’s daughter later turned her social media account into “a fan account for her parents” where she released another video of her mom sawing the fiddle to the notorious “Devil Went Down to Georgia.”
She also shared that when her parents play the song, her dad substitutes Johnny’s name for Susie, special for her fiddle playing mama.
@skootbutt123 Replying to @quincerely ♬ original sound – olivia reeths ????
And based on this video’s comments, Susie was a quick fan favorite and a hit with the Nashville crowd.
Even Yung Gravy tuned in:
Cue “The Devil Went Down To Georgia.”