As a five time West Virginia state fiddle champion and current Grand Master Traditional Fiddle Champion, Tessa (Dillon) McCoy’s mastery of her unique and technical old-time fiddling style has positioned her as one of the most significant fiddlers living in Appalachia today.

Born and raised in Saint Albans, WV, Tessa spent much of her youth in the Kanawha Valley, ripening into the next link in an unbroken chain of traditional music and culture in the region. Her driving and specific old-time fiddling style pays homage to her early mentors, Jake Krack and Bobby Taylor, while showcasing her own take on standards, arrangements and festival favorites. She was featured in Fiddler Magazine in Winter 2021, WV Public Broadcasting’s ½ hour Clifftop Documentary at the age of 12, and more recently, a documentary on old-time fiddling from Clay County, WV.

She released her first old-time fiddle album in 2018, titled “It’s Hard to Love”, flanked by fellow West Virginia musicians Jesse Milnes and Kim Johnson. That same year, Tessa won 1st place in the traditional band contest at the Appalachian Stringband Festival (Clifftop) with her band, Big Possum Stringband. They went on to release a self-titled album in 2019, were featured on NPR’s Mountain Stage, and toured across both the US and Australia that summer.

With a true passion for teaching, Tessa gives private lessons both in-person and online and regularly teaches at many old-time camps such as Allegheny Echoes, The Augusta Heritage Center, Swannanoa and The Floyd Country Store. Her adaptive and intuitive teaching style allows her versatility in working on tunes, technique and musicianship with her students. 

In addition to her solo endeavors, Tessa has a new local old-time project - The State Birds - which is comprised of some of West Virginia’s finest old-time musicians (Chance McCoy, Cody Jordan, Jesse Milnes, Joanna Burt-Kinderman). She also fiddles in The Jesse Milnes Band (electric classic country).

Summer 2023 brought the exciting news of Tessa’s marriage to well-known Grammy winning folk and old-time musician, Chance McCoy. Competing as “The McCoy’s” with Chance and step-son Edwin McCoy, Tessa again brought home the 1st place ribbon for the traditional band category at Clifftop. Tessa and Chance regularly play in and around West Virginia, and are working on music to be heard in 2024.

Tessa and Chance remain steadfast in West Virginia, living on their farm along the banks of Indian Creek in Monroe County where they have built a world-class music studio for artists and bands to record and perform in. They dedicate their lives as professional musicians to being torch bearers in the wider folk music scene where they continue to teach and perform both locally and around the world.