Musicians Against Childhood Cancer - Preview

On November 25, 2000 Mandy Adkins lost her battle with cancer. By all accounts she was a lovely young woman, vivacious and enthusiastic, who loved bluegrass music, which her parents had been associated with as promoters of The Bluegrass Classic for many years. To help fill the unfillable void created by their daughter’s death, Darrel and Phyllis Adkins renamed their event Musicians Against Childhood Cancer, creating a tax free charitable event dedicated to helping battle cancer by supporting St. Jude’s Children’s Research Hospital in Memphis, Tennessee. To date, the MACC has contributed over $480,000 to St. Jude’s and to the YMCA. In the process, they have created an enduring and popular bluegrass festival held at the Hoover Y Camp just south of Columbus, Ohio. Bluegrass bands contribute their services for this four day all star event that offers the best in traditional and contemporary bluegrass music.

Darrel Adkins

Phyllis Adkins

The MACC Stage

On Wednesday, July 22, 2009 Adkins Productions will kick off the annual four day Musicians Against Childhood Cancer (The MACC) at Hoover Y- Park. The event will run through Saturday, July 25th. Four day advance tickets (until July 14th) are $95.00. Afterwards, tickets are $105.00. There are various combination tickets. Prices for these can be found here. Children ages 11 – 15 are admitted at half price. Children 10 and under are free. The Hoover Y Park provides plenty of room for camping. Camping is $5.00 per day and campers must be ticketed. The gates open for camping on Sunday, July 19. The ticket gate will be open from 8:00 AM until 11:00 PM daily. Advance and Daily tickets may be ordered by phone (740.548.4199), or by mail with a check or money order in a stamped, self addressed envelope from Musicians Against Childhood Cancer, 14343 B’s and K Rd., Galena, OH 43021, through Ticketmaster or at Bluegrass Musicians Supply in Columbus. Donations to St. Jude’s may also be sent to the Galena address. Additional information about nearby motels, camping, and directions may be found here. Remember, tickets to The MACC are 90% tax deductible.

The Campground Begins to Fill

Early Jammers

Lots of Ways to Arrive

The lineup for The MACC is one of the finest to be found anywhere. It is so extensive that a list and a few brief comments as well as selected pictures of the artists performing this year will have to suffice. Here they are:
Wildfire — Wednesday - 1:30
James King Band — Wednesday - 2:45
Lost and Found — Wednesday - 4:00
Larry Stephenson Band — Wednesday - 5:15
Dale Ann Bradley — Wednesday - 6:30
Russell Moore & IIIrd Tyme Out — Wednesday - 7:45
Rhonda Vincent & the Rage — Wednesday - 9:00
Mountain Heart — Wednesday - 10:15

Russell Moore (IIIrd Tyme Out)

Rhonda Vincent (Rhonda Vincent & the Rage)

Barry Abernathy (Mountain Heart)

New Found Road — Thursday - 12:30
Michael Cleveland & Flamekeeper — Thursday - 1:45
Don Rigsby & Midnight Call — Thursday - 3:00
Joe Mullins & The Radio Ramblers — Thursday - 4:15
David Parmley & Friends — Thursday - 5:30
Marty Raybon & Full Circle — Thursday - 6:45
Doyle Lawson & Quicksilver — Thursday - 8:00
Dailey & Vincent — Thursday - 9:15
Russell Moore & IIIrd Tyme Out — Thursday - 10:30

Tim Shelton (New Found Road)

Jamie Dailey & Darin Vincent

Lonesome River Band & IIIrd Tyme Out Jam

Pine Mountain Railroad — Friday - 11:45 a.m.
Kenny & Amanda Smith — Friday - 12:55
Junior Sisk & Ramblers Choice — Friday - 2:10
Josh Williams Band — Friday - 3:20
J.D. Crowe & The New South — Friday - 4:30
Steep Canyon Rangers — Friday - 5:40
Danny Paisley & Southern Grass — Friday - 6:50
The Grascals — Friday - 8:05
Lonesome River Band — Friday - 9:15
SteelDrivers — Friday - 10:25

Junior Sisk Plays the Sams Auction Guitar

J.D. Crowe

Sammy Shelor (Lonesome River Band)

The MACC Children's Band — Saturday - 11:15 a.m.
Bradley Walker — Saturday - 12:15
Randy Kohrs & The Lites — Saturday - 1:25
Larry Cordle & Lonesome Standard Time — Saturday - 2:35
Ronnie Bowman — Saturday - 3:45
The Gibson Brothers — Saturday - 4:55
Carl Jackson, Jerry Salley, Larry Cordle & The Church Sisters — Saturday - 6:10
Blue Highway — Saturday - 7:30
Dudley Connell — Saturday - 8:45
Tony Rice — Saturday - 10:00

Bradley Walker

Larry Cordle

Ronnie Bowman

In addition to this stellar lineup, The MACC has become known for putting together unusual combinations of members from different bands to perform. Because The MACC brings so many performers together for such a great cause, bands come and spend time on the Hoover Y campus, happy to make themselves available for the justly acclaimed on-stage jams. This year the following “Classic Performances” are scheduled, but no-one knows for sure who will turn up on stage during these late evening events.

Ronnie Bowman & Chris Stapleton

Dale Ann Bradley – Kim Fox – Deanie Richardson – Steve Gulley – Joel Fox and Jim Reed

Dudley Connell – Don Rigsby – Junior Sisk – Aubrey Haynie – Charlie Cushman – Randy Kohrs and Randy Barnes

A tribute to Tony Rice featuring Tony Rice & Friends - Josh Williams – Aubrey Hayne – Rob Ickes – Randy Barnes

Bo McCarty & Sammy Shelor

Steve Gulley & Ronnie Bowman

Bands appearing at The MACC perform one hour long set. The Classic Performances are scheduled last in the evening and often offer delightful surprises that keep fans in their seats late into the evening.

MACC Children's Band

Finally, a feature of The MACC is the appearance of The MACC Children’s Band. Consisting of young people who have been practicing all week, the children’s band opens on Saturday morning. Last year, they also appeared as a part of the evening’s Classic Performance. Many of these young people are accomplished bluegrass musicians while others are beginners. Anyone seeing them perform, though, will be reassured that the future on bluegrass music is in good hands.

A two disk CD called Celebration of Life has been produced by Adkins Productions in Association with Skaggs Family Records that includes 37 live performances by136 musicians and captures the spirit of this event. The CD won the IBMA 2006 Album of the Year award. It can be purchased from Skaggs Family Records, at the festival, or from the merchandise tables of many of the artists appearing at The MACC.


View Larger Map

Hoover Y Park is a lovely 70 acre site located in Lockbourne, Ohio, just south of Columbus. It is a nearly ideal facility on which to hold a bluegrass festival, offering broad expanses of open fields, lots of available shade, hot shower and clean toilet facilities, and some electric and water hookups for RVs. For The MACC the site is augmented with one of the most elaborate stages to be found short of a rock festival, with a sound system to match it, spearheaded by people who know what bluegrass instruments are meant to sound like. Plenty of vendors provide a variety of food as well as instruments and supplies. The festival site is convenient to millions of bluegrass fans in the Midwest. It is located less than 400 miles away from Chicago, Cleveland, Pittsburgh, Nashville, Indianapolis, Cincinnati, Roanoke, VA, and Greensboro, NC. The site is 418 miles from Washington, D.C. and 715 miles from Keene, NH.

Dancing Pad

Vendors

Steve Dilling Checking In

Carl Jackson

In these days of short money and difficult circumstances, many bluegrass fans have had to choose between events. The MACC ranks at or near the very top of large festivals for its lineup and facilities. It’s one of those not be missed events for people who like their bluegrass straight up with a dash of cutting edge added for flavor. Promoters Darrel and Phyllis Adkins are experienced bluegrass people who establish relatively few rules and then make sure they are observed. The festival is truly family friendly, while large. If I had to choose a single bluegrass festival to attend this year, Musicians Against Childhood Cancer might be the one.

The Gibson Brothers to Debut at MACC
Eric

Leigh

James King

Woody Platt (Steep Canyon Rangers)