MACC Review

Musicians Against Childhood Cancer (MACC) was founded after the untimely death of Phyllis and Darrel Adkins’ daughter Mandy from a brain stem tumor in November of 2000. Mandy had been treated at St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital in Memphis, TN, and the Adkins, who had been promoting a bluegrass festival for many years, decided out of their grief and gratitude to devote the future of their festival to helping provide support for the hospital. From this commitment, Musicians Against Childhood Cancer was formed in the Spring of 2000. Since that time, the festival has donated $432,524.33 to St. Jude and to the YMCA. The festival held in Mandy Adkins’ honor and memory committed to raising money for St. Jude has developed into one of the very finest bluegrass festivals in the country, one that brings together great bands, musicians put together in unusual combinations, and a spirited community for a superlative four day event.

Darrel Adkins

Phyllis Adkins

Camping Area

Frequent Pumpouts

Kid Friendly

MACC has been held since its inception in 2000 at Hoover Y Park just south of Columbus, Ohio in Lockbourne. Prior to that Adkins and his wife had promoted a festival called The Bluegrass Classic for many years at Frontier Ranch. Hoover Y Park is a seventy acre facility whose history goes back to the early twentieth century. Featuring vast fields for RV and day trip parking with 20 Amp electric hookups available for a limited number of campers, the park offers a very large performance area with plenty of shade. The four day festival runs from Wednesday through Saturday, permitting visitors to remain through its conclusion on Saturday night without having to leave early on Sunday, as is true at many events. This allows the festival to culminate in a grand finale, the MACC Opry with most fans staying until the very end.

Shaded and Sunny Seating Area

Dance Area

Out on Vendors Row

The main performance area is spacious enough to permit a very large stage with seemingly endless lawns in front of it for attendees to place their lawn chairs. Fans seem spread out, because they choose to place chairs in shady spots, but there’s plenty of room for families to put out blankets or tarps on the ground, sit in circles around coolers while they play cards and drink a cold beverage, and listen to the music, or chat without bothering people who are more serious listeners. A good selection of food vendors is located to the rear of the performance area with band tents down the right side for their merchandise tables. Two spacious parking lots permit plenty of day parking. Behind the stage is an area reserved for performers and volunteers where food is served all day, and musicians can hang out with each other. MACC is a festival where musicians come and stay for a while, getting time to visit with each other at their leisure as well as to mix with fans. Musicians performing at MACC volunteer their time, so Darrel Adkins makes certain they are comfortable and have an enjoyable time.

Volunteers Take a Break

Preparing the Stage

And In Performance

The stage is large, featuring the best stage lighting anywhere. The sound system, coordinated by Jim Winchester’s Gem Sound and provided by Soundwave, a full service sound production company. Sound engineer Tom Feller assures the quality of each performance. Soundwave’s list of former clients runs from rap to rock to country to bluegrass. Using what are known as line array speakers, the system (to my very limited understanding) apparently is capable of delivering sound much more accurately to all sections of an audience without ever having to overwhelm anyone with too much volume. Don’t ask me to explain how, but I can tell you the sound at MACC was clearer and more easily heard both close up and at a distance than any other sound system I’ve ever heard. Musicians I talked with all said the sound, from their point of view, allowed them to hear their own music in order to improve their playing. The audience was treated to the clearest, most listenable sound found anywhere.

Emcee John Tewell

Emcee Melany Tewell Shauver

Artists Back Stage (Bill Emerson & The Sweet Dixie Band)

Randy Kohrs Backstage

The job of emcee is often under-rated and underappreciated. John Tewell and his daughter Melany Shauver, through four days of work kept the proceedings moving along with style and humor. Emcees often manage to make their work about themselves, at MACC the work of the emcees was always about the musicians and the music. Darrel Adkins maintains the festival is always about the musicians, the music, the cause they serve, and the audience. In 2006, the recording Celebration of Life, containing 36 songs recorded live at MACC, won the IBMA Album of the Year award. The musicians have taken ownership of the charitable goals of the festival and contribute their time, their music, and their strong support to the memory of Mandy Adkins, who many of the musicians knew and loved. On Saturday afternoon, Alan Bibey of Grasstowne sang “Side by Side,” a song about his grandparents, which Mandy dearly loved. Her sister Tami stood near the stage while Alan sang it. He later said he wasn’t sure he’d be able to get through it. This small incident typifies the spirit of this festival.

Bo McCarty and Sammy Shelor

Backstage Moment - Bradley Walker, Carl Jackson, Harley Allen

The Saturday night MACC Opry was the culminating event of the festival as musicians from many bands joined together on stage to sing and pick together. In the days of Bill Monroe, early festivals ended with a grand finale. The MACC Opry provides such an opportunity as we saw Carl Jackson, Larry Cordle, Bradley Walker, Chris Stapleton, Steve Gulley and more singing and picking together. As we drove home to New Hampshire on Sunday, we spent a good portion of the day listening to CDs we had bought and talking about the wonders of the week just past. As volunteers, we had been privileged to experience this festival from the inside, but as fans we knew we had seen and experienced the best.

MACC Opry

So Long 'Til Next Year

MACC 2009
July 22 - 25

MACC Children's Band

I've posted two albums from MACC of the MACC Children's Band here. One contains pictures from a rehearsal and the performance during Friday night's MACC Opry. The second album has pictures from Saturday morning's performance as well as the evening MACC Opry. The performance level of these kids was exceptional. As Darrel said from the stage, we have nothing to fear about the future of bluegrass as long as there are kids like these learning to pick and jam. I particularly want to thank my wife Irene for taking many of these pictures. Many times during this wonderful festival my time was stretched too thin, and Irene filled in with very good camera work. I've made the pictures moderately high resolution, so you may be able to download them to print them for yourself or to order prints from Google, but it may take a little longer for the albums to load. I don't make any money from these myself, and I'm not sure what it costs to order prints from one of the three providers Google suggests. I've never used Google albums before, but if this works out well, I may try to use them again. Please let me know how it works for you.

MACC - Saturday: And it All Ends with a Bang!

Saturday at MACC (Musicians Against Childhood Cancer) had it all - great performances, hot weather, a little rain (very little), and a hard time finishing because no one there wanted it to end. The day started off with a performance by the MACC Children's Band. This large group was so impressive that I'll be posting a separate web album with pictures of these talented and attactive kids within a day or two. Meanwhile, here's one picture, which will have to do for now.

Kenny and Amanda Smith

Amanda Smith's lovely voice and Kenny's superb flat picking for both gospel and secular music offer listeners a solid performance each time out. Supported by a strong band of very young musicians, they deliver good value.

Amanda Smith

Kenny Smith

Aaron Williams

Trent Callicut

Trent Callicut

Zach McLamb

Bradley Walker

It's tempting to say Bradley Walker suffers from muscular dystrophy, but suffers just isn't the correct word because Bradley doesn't suffer. Bradley is afflicted with this crippling disease and he triumphs over it. Watching Bradley sing from his wheel chair offers inspiration for everyone, but what quickly becomes most important is that this delightful and engaging young man can flat out sing. In the end, it's Bradley's wonderful baritone voice and the deep emotional contact he makes with his audience that really counts.

Bradley Walker

Jenni Lynn Gardner

Patton Wages

Dustin Benson

David Babb

Larry Cordle & Lonesome Standard Time

Larry Cordle is one of those legenday performers who's so busy as a songwriter he doesn't perform often or widely. His soulful lyrics and energetic performance light up an audience. Cordle's list of writing credits is too extensive to go through here. His band, consisting of regular members and equally able fill-ins supported his singing at the highest level. Cordle's music spans from bluegrass through a variety of country styles, but the band at MACC was pure bluegrass.

Larry Cordle

Kim Gardner

Booie Beach

Jon Weisberger

Don Rigsby

Richard Bailey

Jenee Keener

Grasstowne

Since it was founded a little over eighteen months ago, Grasstowne has established a reputation for elegant bluegrass performance. Their instrumental work is almost without peer and Steve Gulley's voice among the very best in bluegrass. The band has reached the second round of IBMA nominations in thirteen categories and bears close watching in the next few months. Jason Davis looks like a good dark horse in the banjo category, while Alan Bibey has been too long overlooked for his distinctive mandolin style.

Phil Leadbetter

Steve Gulley

Alan Bibey

Jamey Booher

Jason Davis

Ronnie Bowman & The Committee

Ronnie Bowman's seemingly ageless face and beatific smile belie his many years spent with top bands like the Lonesome River Band and Lost & Found. In recent years he has excelled as a singer/songwriter, but his bluegrass chops are genuine and his performance at MACC was superb. He performs with grace and style.

Ronnie Bowman

Garnet Imes Bowman

Daren Shumaker

Donica Christiansen

The Harley Allen Band

A quick look at Harley Allen's web site explains why he isn't seen too often on the bluegrass circuit - he's just too busy writing great country songs. That's good for Harley, but too bad for bluegrass fans, as his act is amusing, filled with good music, and a treat for anyone who gets to hear him sing and see him work. The son of fabled bluegrass star Red Allen, Harley more than carries on the tradition.

Harley Allen

David Harvey

Debbie Nims Allen

Jan Harvey

Jon Weisberger

Dean Berner

Bradley Walker, Carl Jackson, and Harley Allen

Randy Kohrs & The Lites

Randy Kohrs, whose roots are deep in bluegrass, clearly wishes to expand his appeal to a broad range of audiences. He clearly signalled his intention to this pretty conservative audience by bringing the only drums of the festival on stage. As always, his set was intense, fast paced, and professional. That Kohrs wishes to broaden his audience can hardly be criticized. That some fans won't be open enough to condone changes in band configuration and sound from performers is something they will have to examine in themselves.

Randy Kohrs

Ashley Brown

Mila Sumner

Elio Giordano

Clay Hess

Chris Wood

MACC Auction to Benefit St. Jude

The Steel Drives

In the year or so since the Steel Drivers have come to public consciousness, they have blazed a path of soulful, R&B based bluegrass designed to appeal to a younger generation of bluegrass fans while still hoping to retain a more traditional audience. Their reception at MACC suggests they mostly succeed. Chris Stapleton's voice is complemented by Tammy Rogers startling fiddling and remarkable harmony. Their sound further blurs the distinction between alternative country and bluegrass sounds.

Tammy Rogers

Richard Bailey and Mike Henderson

The MACC Opry

Each year Darrel Adkins brings in great songwriters like the remarkable Carl Jackson, Shawn Camp, and Jerry Salley (who because of a family illness was unable to participate this year), Larry Cordle to take the stage with first rate bluegrass performers. Together they meld the work of great songwriters to the sound of great musicians to provide a rousing finale for the the event. Here's a selection of pictures from the Opry.

Nightime Appearance by MACC Children's Band

Carl Jackson and Larry Cordle

Jim Van Cleve and Steve Gulley

Alan Bibey, Carl Jackson, Shawn Camp

Ronnie Bowman and Chris Stapleton

Ronnie Bowman and Shawn Camp

And so another Musicians Against Childhood Cancer festival comes to an end. I'll be writing an overall revue within the next couple of days as well as posting a larger portfolio of pictures of the kids in the MACC children's band

MACC Friday - And Better

Friday at MACC (Musicians Against Childhood Cancer) opened quietly with the air warm and the sky a little overcast. After two days of wonderful music, the crowd gathered slowly and built through the day as the sky turned blue, a warm breeze kept people cooled off, and the music just kept on comin'. This festival features some of the very best bands preserving the sound and style of traditional bluegrass while offering more contemporary country and bluegrass bands a forum, too.

Steep Canyon Rangers

The Steep Canyon Rangers have a traditional sound and look while featuring content that's as contemporary as yesterday. They limped into the park tired and road weary, their van having blown a transmission on the way in. They proceeded to lay down a truly steller set of their very fine sound.

Mike Guggino

Nicky Sanders

Charles Humphrey

Graham Sharp

Woody Platt

Mark Newton Band

Mark Newton hit the stage with energy and commitment and played a lively set that was well received by the crowd. This veteran entertainer offers pleasant and enjoyable music, deserving more attention than he gets.

Mark Newton

Tony Wray

Beth Lawrence

John Wheat

Dave Denman

Don Rigsby and Midnight Call

Don Rigsby runs a program in traditional music at Moorehead State University in Kentucky. His band reflects his commitment to conserving and spreading traditional bluegrass in the authenticity of their sound and their emphasis on playing material from the first generation of bluegrass music. Rigsby and his band mates present are entertaining and solid.

Don Rigsby

Dale Vanderpool

Robert Maynard

Clyde Marshall

Gerald Evans

Joe Mullins & The Radio Ramblers

Joe Mullins played banjo with the original Longview and promotes traditional bluegrass in Ohio. His band, fitted out in the loudest sports shirts in bluegrass, offers straight out traditional bluegrass with flair and enthusiasm.

Joe Mullins

Adam McIntosh

Mike Terri

Tim Kidd

Evan MacGregor

Bill Emerson and The Sweet Dixie Band

Bill Emerson is one of the banjo greats from the second generation of bluegrass music. His new band features Wayne C. Taylor, recently retired from the Navy and its famed bluegrass band Country Current. The vocal mix and song selection is eclectic and very enjoyable. The musicianship is superb.

Bill Emerson

Wayne C. Taylor

Wayne Lanham

Teri Chism

Con Burch

Blue Highway

Now in its fourteenth year, Blue Highway has forged a record of excellence and innovation in bluegrass music while never straying from its roots. Their writing and the relevance of their music challenges and enriches the music in every way.

Jason Burleson

Wayne Taylor

Tim Stafford

Shawn Lane

Rob Ickes

Ernie Thacker & Rt. 23

Bluegrass fans are familiar with Ernie Thacker's automobile accident and his long recovery from it. Confined to a wheel chair and missing a leg, Thacker is still a musical treat along with his family and the rest of his band. They sing a combination of traditional bluegrass leavened with rock laced southern country that's a delight to hear. Steve Thomas filled in on fiddle without missing a beat.

Ernie Thacker

Dede Thacker

Matthew Thacker

Brandon Shupey

Dick Roach

Steve Thomas

The Grascals

Winners of two successive IBMA Entertainers of the Year awards, The Grascals can be counted on to present a high energy, take no prisoners performance every time out. For the MACC crowd they were at the top of their form musically as well as personally. Their show, even when seen fairly often stays fresh. People who haven't had the pleasure should consider going out of their way to see this band.

Danny Roberts

Jeremy Abshire

Jamie Johnson

Aaron "Boo" McDaris

Terry Eldredge

Terry Smith

J.D Crowe & The New South

For more than thirty years J.D. Crowe has been an innovator and a huge creative force in bluegrasss music in general and the banjo in particular. His elegant picking, complemented by a very strong band, continues at the very top. Dwight McCall on mandolin and Rickey Wasson singing lead bring real strength.

J.D. Crowe

Steve Thomas

Rickey Wasson

Dwight McCall

John Bowman

The MACC Opry

One of the notable features of the MACC is Darel Adkins ability to put new and different combinations of musicians on the stage to perform together. Friday night's version featured exciting and stirring music culiminating in Wayne Taylor's stirring rendition of "Proud to Be an American." There were so many highlights they can't all be covered. But here's a sample:

Bill Emerson and J.D. Crowe

Valerie Story and Carl Jackson

MACC Thursday - It Keeps On Gettin' Better

Thursday at MACC (Musicians Against Childhood Cancer) continued to show the generosity of bluegrass musicians and their commitment to supporting a worthy cause. They came to perform and stayed to visit and join their friends on stage and back stage. The spirit the pervades these grounds is electric as they combine to help support the efforts of St. Jude Children's Research Hospital. It's impossible to escape the sense that there's something much larger than a bluegrass festival going on here. Meanwhile, today was a musical feast for lovers of traditional bluegrass music.

Rehersal of MACC Children's Band

The Buses Keep on Rolling In

Pine Mountain Railroad

This traditional band opened with a very solid set and then continued when, sadly, one of the bands was unable to appear. The performed with energy and enthusiasm and were well received by the growing early afternoon crowd. The opening act position is always difficult for a band.

Cody Shuler

Jerry Cole

Dale Thomas

Matt Flake

Bill McBee


Michael Cleveland & Flamekeeper

The appeal of this band goes way beyond a blind musician who has overcome his handicap. Mike

Cleveland is flat out a great fiddler. Supported by a strong band, Mike's grin of pure joy reaches out to everyone who's near him, and the music is universal.

Mike Cleveland

Jesse Brock

Marshall Wilburn

Todd Rakestraw

Noah Wullweber

The Larry Stephenson Band

Larry has one of the purest, cleanest tenor voices in bluegrass. His band straight through is very strong, complementing his voice perfectly. Kristen Scott Benson, especially, provides wonderfully blended harmonies as well as first rate banjo.

Larry Stephenson

Kristen Scott Benson

Kevin Richardson

Kyle Perkins

Dailey & Vincent

Jamie Dailey and Darrin Vincent, after notable careers with other big time bands have quickly established themselves as a first-rate band in their own right. Featuring a blend of lively bluegrass mixed with heart felt gospel music, they delight their fans and attract new ones at every event.

Jamie Dailey

Darrin Vincent

Jeff Parker

Adam Haynes

Joe Dean, Jr.

Larry Sparks

Larry Sparks represents the second generation of bluegrass greats with his mellow and melodious baritone voice and high quality picking. His band is well designed to support his singing as he reprises familiar songs from his long and distinguished career.

Larry Sparks

Larry D. Sparks

Josh McMurray

Carl Bergerin

Michael Feagan

Russell Moore & IIIrd Tyme Out

This exceptional and now historic band made a second day's appearance to huge response from the audience. There isn't a lead singer in bluegrass with a finer voice than Russell Moore nor a band working together with greater cooperation and affection than this one. The addition of Doug Driscoll singing bass on the quartets as well as his "Sixteen Tons" has filled a needed spot and added a legend to their story as bus driver becomes a valued voice in a band.

Russell Moore

Steve Dilling

Edgar Loudermilk

Doug Driscoll

Justen Haynes

The Original Longview Reunion

Longview came together as a recording event and performs only rarely. Darrel Adkins has brought this band together and their appearance was more than worth the effort. Longview maintains the finest elements of traditional bluegrass with a level of excitement that beyond the reach of most bands. Each person in the band has or does front his own band or bands and has an established individual reputation. Without doubt, this is one of the ground breaking bluegrass band, perhaps equal in talent and reach to the fabled Bluegrass Album Band.

Joe Mullins

James King

Don Rigsby

Marshall Wilburn

Dudley Connell

Michael Cleveland

Rhonda Vincent & The Rage

Rhonda Vincent had the unenviable position of closing a long night of great music. She kept the crowd in place with a fine performance and then, as is her usual practice, signed well into the night.

Rhonda Vincent

Hunter Berry (backstage)

Mickey Harris

Kenny Ingram

Darrell Webb

National Anthem and Tribute

In mid-evening Darrel Addkins stopped the proceedings as the superb sound crew played the recording of Kim Fox singing the National Anthem from the "Celebration of Life" CD, bringing the crowd to its feet. Then Dailey & Vincent then took the stage to sing "More Than a Name on the Wall" with great emotional effect.

MACC Weds - It Doesn't Get Any Better

Musicians Against Childhood Cancer here in Columbus is unlike any other festival. The musicians work for expenses; sets are an hour long and each band plays one; the event is all in support of St. Jude's Childrens Research Hospital; and it just keeps coming at you all day long. I only have time to post some general impressions with some pictures. After the weekend is over I'll write a more general assessment and have a chance to cull through my pictures for the very best work. Meanwhile, for today and the next three days, here goes;

New Found Road

New Found Road began life as a gospel band and has expanded its repertoire to an increasingly fuller range, while maintaining its original purpose, too. They have become stronger each time we've seen them. The addition of Joe Booher on mandolin has been a good move.

Tim Shelton

Randy Barnes

Junior Williams

Joe Booher

James King Band

The James King Band came this week with an extra picker, because James is not playing the guitar while he awaits carpal tunnel surgery coming up in early August. Tom Timberlake, who is currently King's bassist played guitar while John Wade, formerly with King, filled in on bass. Eric Christopher is his new fiddle player. Daughter Shelby sand one solo while her Dad fondly looked on. It's great to see Chris Hill back with the band on banjo.

James King

Kevin Prater

Chris Hill

Eric Christopher

John Wade

Tom Timberlake

Lost and Found

Lost and Found has been around a long time and is always a reliable and entertaining band. Darrel Adkins highlighted their performance with a tribute to their generosity and support at the time of his daughters illnes.

Allen Mills

Scott Napier

Ronald Smith

Scotty Sparks

Junior Sisk and Rambler's Choice

This is the third time we've seen this band in the past nine months. Each time they get better and better. The band is tight, Junior has matured as band head, and they generate real excitement for traditional bluegrass each time they play.

Junior Sisk

Chris Harris

Darrell Wilkerson

Billy Hawks

My apologees to Tim Massey.

Mountain Heart

Mountain Heart has come back together as a band. During the past eighteen months, three members have left the band. Now they're whole again and sounding just fine. Josh Shilling has matured into his lead singer role, bringing a new sound and sensibility with him. Clay Hess is a simply great flat picker and impresses with his stage personality. Young Aaron Ramsey shows signs of fitting in perfectly with his group led by Barry Abernathy and Jim vanCleve continue to mature and develop, often with surprising and pleasing outcomes.

Barry Abernathy

Jim vanCleve

Aaron Ramsey

Jason Moore

Josh Shilling

Clay Hess

David Parmley and Continental Divide

David Parmley has one of the silkiest and most pleasant baritone voices in bluegrass music. His music choices combine Bluegrass Cardinal classics with new material and well-known bluegrass classics. The band is solid and enjoyable.

David Parmley

Russell Moore and IIIrd Tyme Out

There's not much left to say about either IIIrd Tyme Out or the Lonesome River Band. Each has established and maintained a level of excellence over a period of time that speaks for itself and is unusual in any form of music. Such sustained excellence deserves more than I can write, but suffice it to say that when either band is on stage, fans are in the presence of greatness. When they appear on stage together, magic happens.

Russell Moore

Steve Dilling

Justin Haynes

Edgar Loudermilk

Wayne Benson

Lonesome River Band

Sammy Shelor

Mike Anglin

Andy Ball

Brandon Rickman

Mike Hartgrove

Late Jam

At around 11:00 IIIrd Tyme Out came back on stage, and a lot of musicians who had picked together through the years had a chance to make music together. They chose to play bluegrass standards, highlighting each player and pulling together trios that just plain worked. Here's a set of pictures from that jam that speak for themselves.

And a Few Final Images

Shelby King and Dad

Fred Ricart of Ricart Automotive and Darrel Adkins

MACC - Tues: Hallelujah (I'm Ready)

After driving for a day and a half from Keene, NH to Columbus, OH we were ready to get into bluegrass mode. We went directly to Hoover Y Park where Musicians Against Childhood Cancer (MACC) begins Wednesday at 1:30 with New Found Road opening the festivities. The faithful had begun to gather in the field. Lynn Butler took as around the grounds, pointing out that as of around noon there were only 31 electric camping sites left. There was still plenty of ground left for rough camping. All camping at MACC costs $5.00 per day. Hoover Y Park is a very large piece of ground, and there were still some camp activities going on, but the festival was beginning to shape up. We met promotors Darril and Phyllis Adkins, who had changed this festival to a benefit operation about eight years ago after the death from cancer of their daughter Mandy. St. Jude's Children's Research Hospital is the beneficiary, so far to the amount of over $432,000.

Darrel Adkins (Promotor)

Phyllis Adkins (Promotor)

Jammin' Begins Early

The sound crew was setting up the stage and installing sound equipment. By the end of the afternoon the tones of Charley Waller and the Country Gentlemen were drifting across the grounds, clear as glass and not too loud. Early arrivers had placed their lawn chair in their favorite spots. Some directly in front of the stage, others underneath trees and around the grounds. Vendors had begun setting up their units at the back of the main field.

The Red Hats Are Hear

Lynn Butler

Together for Supper

At around 7:30 the volunteers and staff members assembled for a delightful buffet dinner, perhaps the last time we'd be together for the rest of the week. There was a feeling of eager anticipation as folks stopped by to chat with old friends, we prepared for the coming day, and had our last few quiet moments together. I'll be posting daily from this festival with pictures of performers and the bluegrass scene. Here's a taste of the look and feel of the day before.

Not Quite Ready for Prime Time

Corn Hole Set to be Raffled
Signed by Artists

Respect and Performance Attire

There’s been a good deal of discussion during the past week on Bluegrass-L (the bluegrass mailing list for IBMA members and some others) about the dress of bluegrass bands and what this says about both bands and fans. In essence, the discussion has revolved around two pretty polar positions. One says that bands owe it to themselves and to their audience to dress, at a minimum, in clean, neat attire sometimes approaching a uniform or costume in order to communicate their seriousness to an audience and to show their respect for it. The other position suggests that it doesn’t matter much what bands play because, in the long run, it’s the music that counts and thoughtful listeners will be able to transcend appearance for the sake of the music.

Part of the argument revolves around the word “respect.” Respect is a funny word, denoting giving due deference to a person on account of position, title, age, expertise, or some other quality worthy or recognition. Respect can be given, granted, or earned but never commanded or expected. It always flows from the respector to the respectee without regard to the desire of the one to be respected. The warnings to “respect your elders,” for instance don’t actually call for respect but rather for a show of respect deemed appropriate to the person. Making the expected appearance of respectful behavior has little to do with having feelings of actual respect. Thus, young people were once urged to stand when their elders entered a room in order to present a show of respect. Gentlemen removed their hats to a lady. Men entering a church removed their hats while women covered their hair, and so-on. Children called their elders “sir” or “ma’am” as a show of respect. People dressed in certain respectful ways for certain events. None of these behaviors, however, actually showed respect, rather they indicated adherence to a social norm.

But who hasn’t heard a person say, “Yes, sir!” in the most annoying and disrespectful fashion? It seems that understanding respect revolves around determining the difference between the appearance of respect and its substance. The appearance of respect involves demonstrating the forms in terms of dress and behavior which satisfy a social demand to behave appropriately where what’s appropriate is determined by the person seeking to command or be respected. This means many people go through the motions of respecting without having the underlying feeling that true respect engenders. The essence of respect, then, grows from a feeling or attitude given rather than an outward behavior as an appearance unaccompanied by true respect.

Standards in our society change. We no longer speak, or in some cases even understand, the language of Shakespeare. (It’s interesting, as a side comment, to note that the Bard often needed to invent words to express the idea he wished to convey.) In the nineteenth century, proper gentlemen wore white tie and tails to dinner. Women corseted themselves with whalebone instruments of torture to adjust their shapes to a social ideal. The stories of dress and fashion are endless and, probably, meaningless in the grand scheme of things. Let’s take a look at appropriate garb for church attendance these days. In my memory it was unthinkable to show up for church not wearing a jacket and tie. Sometime in the past few decades, many churches decided it was more important to bring people through the doors than that they be dressed to a particular standard. I should think removing clothing barriers has opened church going to people who might not otherwise have attended and made it more desirable for those who have been regular attendees anyway. Do you suppose God cares about what a person who comes humbly to church to hear His word and offer formal prayer has on? Have changes in standards of dress changed the nature of worship? Or have changes in worship opened the way to spiritual understanding to a new and needy population?

In bluegrass, what constitutes respect? First, let’s look at the element of ways that bands show respect to the music and to the audience. Of the two, respect for the music is the more important. In performance, this means seeking to uphold the traditions of the music while contributing something new, innovative, or thought provoking. I call this a band’s Value Added. Bands show abiding respect for the music when, in some way, they echo or reflect contributions of the first generation masters. When a band plays a Bill Monroe song or a Flatt & Scruggs number, they show respect. When they take an early work and interpret it in terms of new approaches to music, they also honor it. Years ago a professional mentor of mine, in talking about abstract art, commented, “I’d have a much easier time with Picasso’s abstract art if he first showed me he knew how to draw a banana?” I think we, as audiences, have a right to ask bands to draw bananas. But, at the same time, they need to be more than clones of the first generation greats. There are dozens of bands that can emulate, with greater or lesser success, the music of the first generation. What’s important is that they then step out and add something to the music to set themselves apart and to distinguish themselves. By doing so, they create and extend the music we love. They do this in the show they give as well as in the music they play. Their choice of dress is an expression of this as well as the music they perform. It’s their choice.

How do we, as an audience, respect the musicians? First, and foremost, we sit through the music and give it a fair hearing. Too often, I’ve seen people get up and leave, and heard them say, “That ain’t bluegrass.” Where’s the respect for the efforts the bands make to add value to bluegrass music? Use of words like “trashy” to describe the dress of a band expresses a social and political view unrelated to the music the bands play. They deserve better from us. Thus, the dress choices bands make reflect their effort to present themselves and their music. Good audiences, at a minimum, allow the music itself to speak.

Podunk Bluegrass Festival - East Hartford - Preview

Podunk Main Stage
Photo by Larry Bilansky

The Podunk Bluegrass Festival’s thirteenth edition will run from July 31 – August 3 at Martin Park in East Hartford, CT. Podunk is often used as dismissive name applied to a small place of little significance. It also represents a place in Hartford named after the Podunk Indians. While suggesting a small, rural setting, Podunk is actually held in a 27 acre city park in East Hartford, CT. Although located in the urban center of Hartford, the park offers a quiet and protected place for a bluegrass festival. Podunk has achieved a rank among the top four bluegrass festivals held in the northeast each summer by offering top notch entertainment, plenty of associated activities, and, this year, an innovative series of seminars for bands and bluegrass professionals to work with national authorities on elements of their professional development.

This year’s lineup is an exceptional one, offering both traditional and progressive bluegrass bands in rich combination including international, national, and regional representation:

Aldridge, Lester, and Ferguson with Gail Wade, Kene Hyatt, and Marc Roy (MD) – Thursday Blistered Fingers (ME) - Sunday

Blue Moon Rising (TN) – Saturday

Chris West (Blue Moon Rising)

Keith Garrett (Blue Moon Rising)

Dale Ann Bradley (KY) – Thursday and Friday

Dale Ann Bradley

Dailey & Vincent (TN) – Friday

Jamie Dailey

Darrin Vincent

Cadillac Sky (TX) – Saturday

Brian Simpson (Cadillac Sky)

Matt Menafee (Cadillac Sky)

Cherryholmes (TN) – Saturday

Jerry Cherryholmes

Cia Cherryholmes

Sandy Leigh Cherryholmes

Skip Cherryholmes

B.J. Cherryholmes

Molly Kate Cherryholmes

Larry Cordle, Carl Jackson, and Jerry Salley (TN) – Saturday

Gravity (Sweden) – Thursday

The Infamous Stringdusters (TN) – Friday

Jeremy Garrett (Infamous Stringdusters)

Travis Book (Infamous Stringdusters)

Chris Pandofi (Infamous Stringdusters)

Andy Hall (Infamous Stringdusters)

Andy Falco (Infamous Stringdusters)

Joy Kills Sorrow (MA) – Saturday and Sunday

Claire Lynch Band (TN) – Friday

Claire Lynch

Jim Hurst (Claire Lynch Band)

The Muellers (ME) – Friday

Tony Trischka Double Banjo Bluegrass Spectacular with Special Guests (NY) – Saturday

Tony Trischka

Noam Pikelny (Double Banjo Spectacular)

Nothin’ Fancy (VA) – Thursday

Nothin' Fancy

Dan Paisley & Southern Grass (PA) – Saturday

Dan Paisley Band

Dan Paisley

Pine Mountain Railroad (TN) – Sunday

Karl Shifflet & Big Country (TX) – Friday

Carl Shifflet & Big Country

The SteelDrivers (TN) – Saturday

The Larry Stephenson Band (TN) – Saturday

Larry Stephenson

Kristen Scott Benson (Larry Stephenson Band)

Jason Barie (Larry Stephenson Band)

Check here for a specific performance schedule. There is also an extensive selection of workshops and family oriented activities. Podunk offers a Kids Academy staffed by the same people who work at Strawberry Park and Grey Fox, providing continuity for kids whose families attend more than one festival as well as first class learning experiences in making bluegrass music. Look for some interesting surprises in at least the Tony Trischka and Cordle, Jackson, Salley sets.

This year Podunk will be sponsoring a series of workshops and seminars for bands and musicians scheduled to be held off site at the East Hartford Cultural Center in East Hartford on Saturday at a nominal cost of $15.00. Offered for bands, people who play in bands or are thinking of starting one, these workshops offer an opportunity to learn from musicians, song writers, and industry executives about the nuts and bolts of being a bluegrass professional. Workshops include:

Working with an Agent - by Jim Roe, Roe Entertainment, Nashville, TN

Record Companies – Ken Irwin, President, Rounder Records

Producing Your Record – Carl Jackson

Booking at Venues – Arnie Fleischer, Promoter Emelin Theatre, Mamaroneck, NY

Managing the Band – Pete Wernick “Dr. Banjo” and Vickie Simmons

Songwriting – Larry Cordle and Jerry Salley

For more information on this remarkable opportunity, call festival promoter Roger Moss at 860-282-8241.

Camping at Podunk is “in the rough” but provisions are made for hot showers. A feature of this camping experience is a “Best Campsite” competition, so campers who like to decorate their sites can have at it. There are nearby shower and toilet facilities, and pump outs will be provided, presumably at a price. Campers may begin to check in on Wednesday. Podunk provides its own food cantina and promises a wholesome menu including vegetarian choices. Other vendors will be on site, but have not been announced.

Tickets to Podunk cost $99.00 for a four day pass with camping. Adult day tickets on Friday and Saturday are $38.00 with lower prices on Thursday and Sunday as well as discounts for juniors 13 – 17 and seniors 65 and over. Children under twelve are free. Tickets may be ordered on-line at these prices. Gate prices are higher. Check out ticket information here. My friend Jack Holland has posted a preview of Podunk at his blog Bluegrassers. Check it out for more information about the bands.

Is Driving Behavior Changing?

We drove today from Waverly, PA to Wilmington, NC, a distance of about 623 miles through Harrisburg west of Baltimore, around the western side of the DC beltway and down I-95, US 117, and I-40 to Wilmington. While it took us about eleven hours and was a little tiring, I noticed some things I think worth noting. For most of the trip on the Interstate highways, we drove at about sixty-two miles per hour. Our Toyota Tacoma truck with crew cab and long bed got between 23 and 24 miles per gallon for the trip. This is about two to three more mpg than we get driving 5 mph faster.

During the past couple of years, driving under seventy on the Interstate system has been scary. Trucks bear down on you from behind and smaller cars whip past at fifteen to twenty mph faster than we like to drive. Today, a Friday with lots of people heading for the beaches and mountains, traffic seemed lighter than it often does, and it moved more slowly. The right lane held pretty steady at around 62. The passing lane was perhaps six or eight mph faster, but it was the rare traveler who sped past at high speed. While the trip took perhaps an hour longer than it might have in the past, it seemed a little less pressured and more civil to me.

Gasoline prices in Virginia and Pennsylvania were a little lower than we expected. We filled up at a Love’s station at Pine Grove on I-81 north of Harrisburg for $3.85 a gallon and again at Love’s in Skippers, VA for $3.95, in both cases below the national average and somewhat below prevailing prices along the route. Stations were crowded, but cars moved in and out quickly. Drivers on the road did not appear to me to be as angry as they have during the past couple of months.

What all this suggests to me is that people are altering their behavior to make small savings in the cost of driving. There’s a possible aggregate benefit of such changes, should they be real rather than just my impression, will have a positive effect on the price of gasoline. My only fear is that a $.50 reduction in the price of gasoline might be just enough to bring more people back on the road and increase the speed at which they drove. Only time will tell.

The Innocent by Harlan Coben

Harlan Coben’s characters inhabit a world familiar to many of us who grew up in suburban America. Ideally, it’s a world of lovely, wide green lawns, ball fields where kids could begin their glide to sports immortality, beer parties in friends’ homes where parents were absent, first sexual encounters in the back seat at the local drive-in, and the general haze of growing to adulthood in the second half of the twentieth century where suburbia supplanted rural America as the place where America’s families settled and its youth grew up. Coben turns this familiar world over and discovers the ugly underbelly of suburbia. In his world violence, greed, ugliness, and brutal pain are always just around the corner or down the tree shaded street. Local law enforcement often consists of home-grown good old boys not up to the discipline or rigors of modern law enforcement. Venal corruptors are everywhere waiting to destroy the weak and restore the law of the jungle to its rightful place. The world according to Coben is a dangerous place with a thin veneer of the good life covering the slime of reality. It gives us the suburban hell we all fear and seek to submerge in our consciousness. It’s in this nasty place where Coben takes his reader in each of his novels.

Coben began his writing career giving readers the likable sports agent Myron Bolitar and his psychotic side-kick Wynn. Bolitar, who grew up in Livingston as a basketball star and almost made it to the professional level before blowing out his knee, has established himself as a sports agent who often has to help his clients out of serious trouble. With the aid of Wynn, millionaire financier and martial arts wizard with no conscience to keep him from using his physical skills to their best advantage, Bolitar often works the sub-divisions and mansions of suburban Livingstone to solve clients’ problems. The books are tense and exciting page turners, and Bolitar’s wise-ass persona dominates them with joy and élan.

But the series detective genre seems not to have provided sufficient breadth for Coben, and he may have made enough money from the Bolitar novels to permit him a larger scope. The result has been a series of riveting stand-alone novels. The Innocent is a terrific page-turner making a significant contribution to Coben’s non-genre stand-alones. Matt Hunter, as a college student, is involved in a drunken fight during a college road trip resulting in the death of a young man. Tried and convicted of murder in this accidental death, Hunter serves four years and returns to his now ruined life in New Jersey. As time passes, he is able to resurrect some of the life he has lost, but is still haunted by the killing. He goes to law school, but is unable to take the bar exam, and thus begins working as a legal assistant in a local white-shoe law practice. He marries Olivia, a woman who has come back into his life after a brief encounter years before in Las Vegas, and with her pregnancy and the promise of purchasing a home in Livingstone, Matt’s life seems to be on the track to being resurrected.

Into Matt’s increasingly orderly world, chaos intervenes. A mysterious telephone call, a couple of pictures on his cell phone, a murder or two, and some circumstantial evidence all point right at Matt. Meanwhile a local cop, a county investigator (Lauren Muse, who has appeared in other Coben novels), the FBI, and a leggy, beautiful private eye are all involved in separate ways. And Matt is on the run. As Matt’s life devolves, the story becomes increasingly taught and riveting. As a reader, I often find Coben’s writing so intense I must put it down for a while to reduce my own internal tension. Coben leaves a couple of too obvious clues in this otherwise almost faultless thriller. An advantage of stand-alone thrillers lies in the author’s not having to spare his hero, thus the question of whether Matt will be able to work through all his problems stays before the reader right through to the end. The Innocent is a worthy addition to the Coben list and will provide any reader of thriller fiction or lover of suburban peace and quiet several hours of very satisfactory reading.

The Innocent is available through chain bookstores, Coben’s own web site, or your local independent bookseller.

Musicians Against Childhood Cancer

In November of 2000 Mandy Adkins succumbed to an inoperable brain stem tumor and forever changed the lives of her parents Darrel and Phyllis Adkins. For many years the Adkins had promoted bluegrass festivals in Ohio, but Mandy’s death gave their efforts a new purpose. Out of their grief and their long-time involvement with bluegrass music has grown MACC – Musicians Against Childhood Cancer – an annual festival in memory of Mandy, whose profits are donated to support St. Judes Children’s Research Hospital in Memphis, Tennessee. Since the year 2000, MACC has been able to donate $432,524.33 to St. Judes and the YMCA. This year MACC will be held from July 23 – 26 at the Hoover Y Park in Columbus, Ohio. Musicians performing at MACC donate their time and talent while the festival meets expenses for them according to the fact sheet on their web site, but this dry statement doesn’t come near capturing the excitement this event generates.

Hoover Y Park is a seventy acre facility owned by the YMCA of Central Ohio, located on Rohr Rd. in Lockbourne, OH, just south of Columbus off I- 270 at exit49. Camping facilities with electric hookups are available. The fifteen amps provide sufficient power for most needs, but campers may not use air conditioning. I’m told the nights at MACC are usually cool enough so that not using air doesn’t usually reduce comfort. Cost for camping with electricity is $5.00/night. There is also plenty of free rough camping. Hot showers are available. A number of motels are also available in the area. You can find directions to Hoover Y Park here.

Bo McCarty wrote to tell me that much of the concert area is shaded and there’s plenty of room for a big crowd. Since the lineup of MACC is one of the strongest in all bluegrass, visitors can expect good crowds. He also said the sound, while loud, is crystal clear. There are good food vendors. Lyn Butler says it’s among the best festival food he’s ever encountered. There’s a playground and kids activities, including a kids band that practices during the week and performs on Saturday. Nina Riley wrote me that the festival is very much a kid friendly event. Darrel Adkins doesn’t stand for any misbehaving. There’s a dance floor off to one side that this year will be poured concrete.

The lineup appearing at MACC is almost without peer at bluegrass festivals in the United States. Here’s a list:

Wednesday

· Russell Moore and IIIrd Tyme Out

· Lonesome River Band

· Mountain Heart

· Lost and Found

· James King Band

· Junior Sisk & Ramblers Choice

· David Parmley & Continental Divide

· New Found Road

Thursday

· Blue Moon Rising

· Michael Cleveland & Flamekeeper

· Daily & Vincent

· Larry Sparks & The Lonesome Ramblers

· Pine Mountain Railroad

· Rhonda Vincent & The Rage

· Larry Stephenson Band

· Russell Moore & Third Tyme Out

· The Original Longview

Friday

· Ernie Thacker & Rt 23

· The Grascals

· Steep Canyon Rangers

· Blue Highway

· Joe Mullins & The Radio Ramblers

· Don Rigsby & Midnight Call

· Bill Emerson & The Sweet Dixie Band

· The MACC Opry

Saturday

· The MACC Children’s Band

· Kenny & Amanda Smith

· Grasstowne

· Ronnie Bowman & The Committee

· Bradley Walker

· Larry Cordle & Lonesome Standard Time

· The Harley Allen Band

· Steeldrivers

· The MACC Opry

Check out the specific appearance times on the schedule here. I don’t want to leave anyone out by focusing on specific bands; the lineup is just too strong. There are a few special offerings, though. The original Longview, featuring Dudley Connell, Joe Mullins, James King, Don Rigsby, and Marshall Wilborn will close on Thursday night. Adkins has developed a reputation for putting unusual combinations together on Friday and Saturday nights with his MACC Opry. On Friday J.D. Crowe and the New South along with his guests the Grascals will perform beside “Special Guests.” It’s anyone’s guess who might appear on stage. Similarly, the finale of the show on Saturday will feature bluegrass and country composers Carl Jackson, Jerry Salley, Larry Cordle, and Shawn Camp. I understand they may be joined by a variety of artists performing their songs along with them.

For a taste of the music and spirit of MACC, be sure to purchase a copy of the IBMA album of the year award winning CD “Celebration of Life: Musicians Against Childhood Cancer” containing two CD’s and 37 cuts. Kim Fox’s rendition of the National Anthem sends chills down my spine every time I hear it. Proceeds from the sale of this very fine album also go to St. Jude’s Children’s Research Hospital.

There is no underestimating the importance of this event in demonstrating the willingness of the best bluegrass musicians to donate their time and talent to a most worthwhile charity. St. Jude’s Children’s Research Hospital, founded by actor Danny Thomas in 1962, is one of the most important cancer centers in the nation. It provides all sorts of ways to make contributions, and MACC is one of them, and an important one. Check out the link above to learn more about this worthwhile and inspiring institution.

Tickets to MACC may be purchased in a number of ways. Check them out here. Tickets for the entire four days in advance are $85.00 and $95.00 at the gate. Day prices are $30.00. Tickets to MACC are 90% tax deductible. Directions for getting to Hoover Y Park can be found here. The festival web site offers a list of local motels as well as camping information here. Columbus, Ohio is located in central Ohio, within easy driving distance of most population centers in the Midwest. Even with today’s gasoline prices, if you need to select one festival where you’re likely to see most of your favorite bands and be introduced to ones you haven’t yet heard but want to experience, Musicians Against Childhood Cancer is the festival to attend.

Thanks to Larry Taber for his set-up shots of the festival site. Also, my thanks go to Bo McCarty, Nina Riley, and Lyn Butler for contributing information for this post. I'll be blogging daily from this festival and will try to catch the spirit of the event as well as the great musicians who contribute their time and talent.

Bluegrass Festival News - A New Resource

Festival goers and bluegrass music lovers have long sought a reliable resource to provide information about festivals and other events where they can go to hear bluegrass music played. In these days of economic peril, where decisions about attending an event have become more problematic because of the price of gasoline, Carol Goodwin has stepped up and offered a MySpace page that fills the bill. Bluegrass Festival News lists every festival Carol has been able to find or that she has been alerted to. Be sure to bookmark it and consult it regularly. Based on a chronological listing, Bluegrass Festival News provides names, dates, and locations of all the festivals Carol has been able to find along with links, where available, to allow fans to access more information. She has also requested that promoters and others who know of upcoming festivals she hasn’t yet listed contact her with information at mailto:bluegrassfestivals@yahoo.com/. Not content to catalog bluegrass festivals across the nation, Carol is also sending a Bulletin about all events in North Carolina to her MySpace friends. For anyone living in North Carolina or bordering states, this weekly listing can be an invaluable resource of local performances as well as festivals within the state.

Carol Goodwin

Carol Goodwin is a lot like many of us involved with bluegrass. She loves the music, and wanted to find ways to give back as well as to provide herself with a useful list of what was available for her to attend. Meeting her own interests in attending bluegrass events has morphed into a comprehensive list for all bluegrass fans. Not content with providing information, she has also formed a booking agency with partner Harry Dawson. The Tarheel Booking Agency currently represents Carolina Junction, Kickin’ Grass, No Strings Attached, and Nu Blue, all North Carolina Bands.

Carol is a working Mom and an empty nester with two sons, one a Marine on White House duty and the other about ready be on his own. For several years she has been caretaker for her grandmother who recently succumbed to Alzheimer’s disease (another interest of Carol’s) leaving her free for other pursuits. Her first bluegrass festival was Bass Mtn. back in the eighties, and it provides the background photo for her page. She dreams of following bluegrass week to week in a motor home. We first met Harry Dawson when he drove the bus for Carolina Road and again at various festivals. He’s Jamie Dawson of Kickin’ Grass’s dad, and Carol’s partner in the booking agency.

Carol Goodwin has taken on a big job and needs your help. To make her lists as comprehensive as possible, notify her of festivals around the country or events in North Carolina at this e-mail address: bluegrassfestivals@yahoo.com/. The more help she gets, the more valuable her site can be for all the rest of us.

Jenny Brook BGF - Sunday and Assessment

The Sawyer Family
Mathew, Seth, Candi, Adam

Sunday at Jenny Brook is usually a pretty mellow day. This year, even with the early threat of thunderstorms lurking over our shoulders, was much the same. The day began steamy and hot, but as Mike Robinson came out to survey a good place to locate his gospel bluegrass sing and jam considering the threat, the sun peaked through, and the day continued to improve. Mike’s gospel jam provides an opportunity for those seeking spiritual uplift on Sunday morning to gather to sing the good old gospel songs like “Amazing Grace,” “I’ll Fly Away,” and “Take Me in Your Lifeboat” combined with a brief message and prayer to create a non-denominational welcoming worship environment. Mike and Mary also provide spiritual counseling to those in need throughout the festivals they attend. The Old Time Bluegrass Singers followed with a mostly gospel set.

Bluegrass Gospel Sing & Jam

Acoustic Blue

My pick for the pleasant surprise of the festival is Acoustic Blue, whose set followed. This four man band based in Massachusetts presents a stellar appearance in their matching suits, shirts, and ties, combining this with singing and on-stage patter that’s top shelf stuff. Corey Zinc’s sonorous baritone voice has the ring of country in it, but along with his good mandolin playing fits very well with bluegrass. His rendition of Johnny Cash classic “One Piece at a Time” was a good as I’ve heard. The band was funny and the song very well rendered. Mike Van Alstine on banjo mugs and clowns and sings good. His picking is impeccable. Sean Batho on rhythm guitar and vocals adds depth and quality to the sound of this band. Bear Acker, the senior member of this group on bass, brings maturity and experience as well as humor and grace to the group. Acoustic Blue mixes bluegrass standards, classic country, and newer songs, some contributed by members of the band, into a most entertaining blend. This band deserves wider exposure. If you get a chance to hear them, take advantage of it.

Cory Zinc

Shaun Batho

Bear Acker and Mike Van Alstine

Family and Friends

Family and Friends, composed of the Ralph Family, contributed another set of mostly gospel songs. Linda and Butch Ralph are proprietors of Danby Four Corners Store and frequent vendors at festivals around New England where their instruments and instrument service are much sought after. They’re one of the premier Martin guitar dealers in the country, and they have very attractive prices.

Jenny Brook Kids

The Jenny Brook Kids performed early in the afternoon. While by 1:00 PM there were only about ten kids left to perform, it was my impression when I visited their rehearsal site, that more were involved. Regardless, their performance was a delight, and the fact that nearly a dozen young kids gave up other play to work with Tony Watt for several hours a day bodes well for the future of bluegrass. As long as young people are learning the fundamentals of the music, picking together, and performing, bluegrass music in some form will be in good shape.

The Erin Gibson LaClair Show

Eric, Erin, Leigh

Erin Gibson LaClair needed no introduction to the Jenny Brooke crowd; she’s well known and well-loved there. The younger sister of Eric and Lee Gibson has chosen to stay home, teach school, and raise a family. She can seldom be found on the stage, but when she appears with her brothers, magic is sure to happen. Erin has a clear, pure voice blending perfectly with her brothers for a wonderful sound. Their set consisted largely of gospel and country songs. Eric never picked up his banjo, although he whaled away pretty hard on one of Rick Hayes beautiful mandolins. I’m pretty sure the mandolin will recover. The Gibsons and their offspring created a wonderful picture of the kind of family environment Jenny Brook stands for. Erin’s husband Matthew with two kids sleeping on his chest, Corinna tending kids and selling merchandise, Allie smiling with her youngest on her hip, and Lyn Hayes smiling at the merchandise table fit into Jenny Brook perfectly. Erin’s singing of John Prine or Patsy Cline favorites was wonderfully received, but her joining with her brothers for their rendition of “The Lighthouse” was a triumph.

Erin Gibson LaClair

Bluegrass Spouse
Matthew LaClair

White Mountain Bluegrass

White Mountain Bluegrass, a family band that’s been playing in New England for over thirty years, brought their traditional bluegrass music and classic country to what remained of the crowd as the closing act. Mac and Hazel McGee, with roots in the Deep South and a life spent in the White Mountains of New Hampshire, also stand as a testimony to the strength of family and tradition at Jenny Brook. As they played “Will the Circle Be Unbroken?” the audience rose, formed a circle and joined in the singing. Seth Sawyer sang the last verse, and Jenny Brook was over for another year.

Mac McGee (White Mountain Bluegrass)

Hazel McGee

Final Assessment: There’s a pretty high level of concern involved in Jenny Brook as family and friends watch anxiously to see how Candi Sawyer, fighting against multiple sclerosis, is doing as she directs the festival, for indeed she’s the one in charge. There are lots of volunteers and a strong family behind her, but it’s Candi’s deal. Son Mathew seems much stronger this year, and the Shriners were very much in evidence as a recipient of the festival’s ability to give back. Seth Sawyer is always a tower of strength. In the end though, even though it’s Candi’s festival, it’s all about the music and the festival scene, and that’s where Jenny Brook excels.

Adam Steffey and Dan Tyminski

Barry Bales

Justin Moses

Ron Stewart

The Dan Tyminski Band showed me they were at least as good as people on the forums have been saying they are, and that’s very, very good. There isn’t an ensemble in bluegrass music bringing together the individual talents that Dan Band has. That Tyminski can do this with no visible suggestion of any prima donna behavior is testimony to his leadership and their quality. Every member of the band is a great soloist as well as a seamless member of this great band.

Eric and Leigh Gibson

Eric

Leigh

The Gibson Brothers showed once again they needn’t take a back seat to any band in bluegrass. Eric and Leigh’s harmonies and songwriting skills are better than anything else out there today and vie with the great duos of bluegrass music history. Their band more than ably supports them, never seeking to draw attention to themselves and always serving the Gibson sound. In doing so, they inevitably highlight their own quality. The Gibson Brothers belong on anyone’s “must see” list of bluegrass bands.

Dan Paisley Band

Dan Paisley

Dan Paisley and Southern Grass, sporting a new recording contract with Rounder Records to distribute their new CD The Room over Mine, came into Jenny Brook, where they have been a pretty regular feature for years, and presented four sets over two days. Their sound is rough and raw hard core bluegrass. Paisley’s high lonesome bluegrass sound can burn the hair off a billiard ball. Each member of his band contributes strength to the hard driving bluegrass sound that he preserves from an earlier year. Very fine stuff. With a new record label, and, one hopes, new management, the Paisley band will now be getting the attention it has long deserved.

David Parmley

David Parmley & Continental Divide stopped at Jenny Brook on their way between West Virginia and Nova Scotia, a long and tiring trip. They spent less time charming the audience and were well received, although not creating the stir of the other three national bands. Parmley has a wonderful voice, as good as any individual voice at Jenny Brook, but the band seemed to lack high energy. Perhaps their rugged touring schedule or Parmley’s recent illness contributed to this. I look forward to hearing them again at MACC and to having a chance for re-assessment.

Amy Gallatin

Roger Williams

Amy Gallatin and Stillwaters deserves recognition among the regional bands, too. Gallatin has a sweet voice and pleasing personality. With Roger Williams by her side at Dobro, the band sound has become really enjoyable with their mostly country leaning songs. This band offered solid value on Saturday in less than the most desirable slots.


In a post to Bluegrass-L, an important bluegrass mailing list, on Sunday, Andy Alexander, promoter of Pickin’ in the Pasture in Lodi, NY commented, “With the passing of Thomas Point Beach, Jenny Brook seems to be positioned to become the premier bluegrass event of northern New England.” Andy is an astute member of the bluegrass community. Jenny Brook, limited in attendance by the size of its venue, has, nevertheless, managed to create an incredibly exciting four day festival. Largely staffed by a crew of enthusiastic volunteers and led by Candi Sawyer and her husband Seth, the Jenny Brook Bluegrass Festival creates a unique but familiar environment for those who love the sound and feel of traditional bluegrass. Rain couldn’t dampen the enthusiasm of those in attendance, and their cheer and good will drove away Saturday’s threatening weather to permit this wonderful festival to end in a blaze on sunshine and good will.

Faces of Bluegrass

Smokey Greene - A Voice of Bluegrass History

Guitar Raffle Winner

Seth Sawyer

The Gibsons