Laura S. Walker State Park - Waycross, GA

Laura S. Walker State Park - Main Entrance

Bluebird in Spring

Laura S. Walker State Park is located in southeast Georgia a few miles away from Waycross and across the highway from the northern entrance to the Okefenokee National Wildlife Refuge. The state park is a 626 acre forest area containing a 121 acre lake, an eighteen hole championship golf course, and a delightful 44 site campground. Having given up golf for bluegrass music, we didn’t properly investigate the golf course, but we drove past it several times. It appears to be in very good condition and popular without being crowded at this time of year. The park is also home to the Lions Camp for the Blind.

Our Set-Up for Two Weeks

During our two week stay here, we’ve found Laura S. Walker to be nearly filled on weekend and quiet during the week. The two loops have convenient bath houses which are kept spotless and each also has a washing machine or two. Large long-leaf pines provide plenty of shade and enough open sky for the dish to find the satellite. Sites are large enough to allow for sufficient privacy, but there is not ground cover between sites. The park has paved internal roads and hardened gravel sites.

Campground from across Lake

The lake is very pretty and a number of sites front on the lake, although they are also the most popular. There is no swimming in the lake, as it is inhabited by alligators. The park has a number of nature walks, and we spent an hour or so walking one through a woodland environment with some water running through it. We enjoyed the walk, and several others are provided.

The nearest town is Waycross, GA, about eight miles away. Waycross has seen better days, but offers sufficient shopping to help make a stay at Laura S. Walker comfortable. While we were there in late February, it was chillier than usual. In a normal winter, February is early spring here. The red bud trees are in bloom and the red swamp maples are budding out. The State Park is located about 35 miles north of the main entrance to the Okefenokee National Wildlife Refuge, which is worth a couple of days of exploration. The northern entrance to the Okefenokee is across the street from Laura S. Walker, but is primarily the home of a commercial boat ride into the swamp. Nevertheless, this might also be worth a visit.

We enjoyed our two weeks at Laura S. Walker. People who combine playing golf with a love of nature would find it nearly an ideal destination, particularly during the fall and spring shoulder seasons.

Where Bluegrass is Found II - The Wilson Family Band

We first heard the Wilson Family Band about three years ago at the Spirit of Suwannee Bluegrass Festival in Live Oak, FL. I had taken a pass on the band, but Irene, as often is the case, insisted I give them a serious listen, and I’ve never been sorry since. They were young. Katie was just ten years old and had been playing the fiddle for perhaps six months. She was clearly a novice, but her childlike voice and playing held promise. Clint, fifteen at the time, already had some skill on the banjo. Mother Melissa, on mandolin, added rhythm and an occasional mando break. Robert, the father, contributed first rate rhythm guitar and a fine baritone bluegrass voice to the family’s bluegrass and bluegrass gospel program. The pride and love of his family showing on Robert’s face as they worked through their set, overcame my suspicion of family bands. The crowd went wild to two of Katie’s pieces. She sang a song of her own composition called “The Old Man” and brought down the house with “Five Pound Possum,” a ditty about eating road kill. Three years later, we’re still fans of the Wilson family and now proud to be their friends, too. The band has shown consistent growth and improvement, and their reputation has grown wider and richer in the southeastern region where they play.

Practice in the RV

Melissa

Clint

Kalyn Hall

Katie, Kalyn, & Clint

Professional Musicians at Work

The words “family band” set a certain sense of suspicion off in me. There’s a great tradition in bluegrass music for families to play together at home and then go out on the road to appear at festivals and concerts. Starting with the Monroe Brothers, and moving through an almost endless list, families have contributed hugely to the bluegrass catalog. Today, Cherryholmes and The McCoury family band show the heights to which families picking together can excel. Nevertheless, the potential to parental authoritarianism and exploitation of young children for merely financial gain is strong and concerns me a lot. Plenty of stories revolve around of children being ruined by their parents’ ambitions in all fields of entertainment. As we’ve watched this family grow and develop during the past few years, none of my concerns have found support. The Wilsons are a family first. Being a band is important to them, but seeing their children grow into well-adjusted young people with a balanced set of values built on a base of home, church, school, and music is their main concern. And they’re succeeding beyond all measure.

Rehearsal at Home

Melissa

Robert

Blake Gowen

Katie

Clint in his Studio

Recently, during a period of about three weeks, we had a chance to catch up with the Wilsons on the road at a festival, in their home for a rehearsal, again in their home for supper and some jamming, at a performance in a restaurant in Jacksonville, FL and at a golf tournament where Katie was playing for her school team. The overall picture that emerged during this time was of a close knit group of people living, working, and playing together as a family. We caught up with the Wilsons on a Friday morning at Craig’s RV Resort in Arcadia. There GoldWing Express was hosting a small festival I’ve already written about. I walked over to their Winnebago motor home and heard music coming from the inside, the solid beat of a bass fiddle. The door cracked open and I saw Clint sitting in the passenger seat with his banjo. Melissa curled up in the driver’s seat clutching her mandolin. Robert sat on the sofa with his guitar while his daughter Katie sat next to him. A pretty teenager I later learned was Kalyn Hall stood at the bass, and they were running through their songs for her benefit. She would be standing in for the absent Blake Gowen, a Wilson nephew. Their reception was almost as warm as the crowded interior of the motor home. Clint showed Kalyn a couple of the licks they wanted from her and the songs came jumping from their instruments and voices. Clint and Kalyn ran through a song they had written together called “Along the Narrow Track.” Its refrain goes like this:

“Since that night I’ve followed him along the narrow track

And not one time have I ever looked back

Before that night my life was filled with pain and regret

And thanks to him I found myself while walking down those tracks” ©

Later, they sang it from the stage. The audiences in Florida, Georgia, and South Carolina have come to know and appreciate the Wilsons for their music, their charm, their enthusiasm, and the solidness of their faith. It’s a hard combination to beat.

A week or so later, we parked our rig at Laura S. Walker State Park near Waycross, Georgia with the thought of spending a little time with the Wilson’s. Robert called me on the phone and allowed as how he should probably come out to the road to meet us, as they lived pretty far back in the woods. I suggested that Clint send us directions (Robert claims he can only type with two fingers). The directions brought us right to their door near Folkston, but we never would have found their comfortable and welcoming home without help. We came into the living room where Katie on fiddle and Clint were working on a song. Soon the whole family had their instruments out and Robert’s nephew Blake had arrived to play bass. They practiced for about an hour as we watched the interaction and enjoyed seeing them work out new arrangements, bring Blake up to speed, and just plain enjoy each other’s company. Mellissa served a delicious blueberry cobbler cooked in an iron skillet from local berries. Afterwards we went out to a guest house where Clint has been putting in his own studio. Working with pro tools, he’s produced “Clinch Mtn. Funk” Check it out here. Our instruments never cleared their cases, but we had a great evening.

Jammin' at the Wilson's

The Wilson Home

Clint Playing my Deering 30th Anniversary

Katie Working on her New Song

Multi-Instrumentalists

A couple of days later we travelled down to Folkston for supper and a jam. Katie and Clint, both on guitars were working on a regret song Katie had written. Clint took the lead on developing the arrangement, seeking to help Katie get just the sound she was looking for. The kids worked as Robert watched closely, but only put in a word or two. His critical eye and ear never took over from the loving father. It never seems to. It’s hard to know where a thirteen year old girl gets the understanding that goes into a song of lost opportunity like this one. We had a delicious dinner of Jambalaya, fried cabbage, and cornbread then got out our instruments. Jamming with the pros is not usually a part of our experience. I feel inadequate and Irene’s self-conscious; the Wilsons are thoughtful and play at our speed for songs we know. I try valiantly to keep up on ones they call and, thankfully, Clint is playing bass. Irene does fine on a couple of mando breaks, and we have a great time. We get home a little late, tired but elated.

Road Trip

The adventure came to a climax on Saturday with our getting to sample a performance from beginning to end. In mid-afternoon we arrived at the Wilson’s home to find their Suburban hitched to an equipment trailer and everything ready for their trip to Jacksonville, FL, about 50 miles south, for an evening performance at the European Street Café. The venue is a pretty up-scale café with fancy sandwiches and fancier deserts serving several dozen beers from around the world. It’s very pleasant and provides a good room for live music, although there’s no stage. When we arrive, the trailer door is opened and everyone helps carry gear in. Speakers, monitors, mics, and a soundboard are all in fancy suitcase style wheeled carriers. Gear and instruments seem to take up much more room in their cases than they do as they are assembled and the balanced to provide good sound in the room. Robert’s sister Elizabeth and her husband Hamp have brought Blake, the bass player with them. Clint and Robert do the setup and sound check to provide the right volume and balance for the room, and Clint tunes all the instruments. As people begin to drift in, we eat supper from the varied and interesting menu.

At eight o’clock the Wilson Family Band, somehow made larger by the capital letters than the family we enjoy spending time with, kicks off their ninety minute set. The audience seems to be about half band friends and relatives with a good sprinkling of people who’ve come for supper and stayed. The Wilsons’ set includes, perhaps, fewer gospel songs than they might offer at a bluegrass festival, but includes their good mix of bluegrass standards, some grassed country classics, and songs written by Katie and Clint for them. The response is enthusiastic and as they finish their set with Mule Skinner Blues, one of Bill Monroe’s first recorded songs, they get a standing ovation. For an encore they sing “Five Pound Possum,” a Katie Wilson crowd favorite because of the contrast between her youth and the song’s picture of a hungry working seeing a possum in his headlights and knowing it represents dinner for his family. The crowd clears quickly, after buying a solid number of the band’s CDs. We pack the trailer and head for home. The conversation on the return trip combines analyzing the performance just past with a general sense of satisfaction on a job well done. Clint’s raw throat and empty stomach require a pit stop. Soon we pull into the drive, and Irene and I head for home. It’s been a good couple of weeks, and we’ve come to know and appreciate in a new way, a family whose life is rich in the music they make, the faith they share, and the closeness they experience. We feel privileged to have been given a chance to enter into it.

The Gear

Robert with Strange Woman

Blake Gowen on Bass

Robert & Melissa

Wilson family CDs can be purchased directly from their web site or their MySpace page. Give this emerging band a try and recommend them for booking at your local or regional bluegrass events. You’ll be glad you did.

Katie & Clint Sing Her New Song

Teacher Man by Frank McCourt - Book Review

If I were teaching Education 101, I’d assign Frank McCourt’s Teacher Man as one of the first texts. Any experienced teacher reading through this excellent memoir will instantly recognize situations facing every teacher nearly every day – classroom management (an awful term for discipline), parent conferences, mindless mid-level bureaucrats, the kids who falls between the cracks, grammar and the research paper for students whose lives will never require either, and more. The book clearly and thoughtfully explores, through McCourt’s assumed confusion and lack of self-confidence, the chasms of despair and the few peaks of exaltation every teacher seeking to move kid’s experiences.

People who read McCourt’s Pulitzer Prize winning memoir Angela’s Ashes will be familiar with the framework of his story. Born in Brooklyn in 1930, McCourt’s family returned to their native Ireland when he was young. He lived in dire poverty throughout his childhood and youth, watching his alcoholic father and desperate mother through the loss of children, jobs, self-reliance, and every other source of any comfort. The book is filled with guilt, poverty, and darkness. McCourt finally escapes America as a young man and begins his odyssey towards some sort of reconciliation with his damaged self.

McCourt is nearly 30 when he enters teaching with his newly minted degree from New York University and his love of literature and language. Like many young English teachers, he appears to believe that he will be able to enter a life of reading great books and talking about them with interested and interesting students. Also like many young English teachers, he enters the system teaching vocational students with no interest whatsoever in literature or language, let alone clear communication in writing and speaking. And also like many young English teachers, he is pretty much left to flounder, to find his own way, in a system that’s more about managing kids’ behavior than it is about freeing them to learn and to love learning.

Unlike many young English teachers, McCourt is also saddled with a nearly unbearable and often humorous load of Irish Catholic guilt and a self-image approximating that of his most damaged immigrant students who come from a wide range of ethnic backgrounds. Slowly, he learns to allow his authentic self to emerge in the classroom, beginning to tell his own story and elicit the honest stories of his charges in return. His willingness to step aside from himself and ask “What’s going on here?” represents an important step in his development. Such questions are ones students in pedagogy courses rarely learn to ask of themselves. McCourt begins to understand himself within the context of his life with his students. Along the way, he drifts from school to school and even spends a couple of failure filled years vainly trying to re-connect with his Irish self by seeking a PhD at Trinity University, Dublin. His abject failure at this goal begins his road toward rehabilitation and success. McCourt falls into teacher hell as he is relegated to working as an itinerant substitute teacher in the vast New York City school system. Meanwhile, his marriage falls apart and he finds himself living in a dingy apartment over a waterfront bar in Brooklyn. He has hit bottom.

McCourt, over the years, develops an idiosyncratic teaching style which reaches its culmination when he is hired for a long-term substituting position at Stuyvesant High School, one of New York’s elite, competitive entry schools. There he is blessed with an enlightened English department chair, who offers him a full-time position. In a series of events featuring a feast of student produced ethnic foods and developing into a reading of recipes soon accompanied by student produced music and parental visits, McCourt develops a strongly student oriented, open ended teaching style which relies on asking questions and following student leads to triumph. Soon, his classes are filled with questing, able students, many of whom have never before had an opportunity to explore and develop their own stories.

As I read, I marveled at his versatility and shear courage in the face of administrative conformity and student apathy. And then I had a true epiphany. I knew, for certain, that the lesson would be read and picked up by some pedagogue who would write it up as a model lesson (or even unit) plan and publish it for other teachers to replicate, sending it irretrievably to the dustbin of educationalism. The real lesson in Teacher Man lies in Frank McCourt’s search for an inner authenticity that allows students the freedom to tell their own stories. The search is sometimes agonizing, often inspiring, and always compelling. As McCourt comes to accept who he is, his students can learn to learn from him. The lesson for prospective teachers lies more in their becoming than it does in the tricks of trade so many rely on. Teacher Man is a lesson in becoming a real person.

Teacher Man is published by Scribner and can be found at bookstores and libraries everywhere, often on the remaindered pile. Support your local independent bookstore.

Palatka Bluegrass Festival 2009 - Saturday

Well designed bluegrass festivals have a way of building to a rousing climax. Good promoters know how to start strong and keep on rolling. Saturday at Palatka, despite threatening weather and a little rain, managed to provide great music from big names in a rousing finish to a fine festival. Norman Adams and Tony Anderson, collaborating with Rodeheaver Boys Ranch, have produced another crowd pleaser.

Barry Scott & Second Wind

Barry Scott

Mathew Munsey, Jason Leek & Barry Scott

Zane Petty

Barry Scott, who is a member of the Doyle Lawson & Quicksilver alumni association, opened the day with a pleasant, but unexceptional bluegrass set. His band is young and solid. Scott’s voice would have blended well with Jamie Dailey’s when they were together with Doyle, and he has found a high tenor to sing above him. The band’s performance emphasizes a significant proportion of bluegrass gospel music in a mix the audience at Palatka appears to appreciate. I found it a bit off-putting to be asked, by show of hands, how many in the audience were Christians. Furthermore, Scott’s bringing an electric keyboard on stage for part of his second set was not entirely in keeping with the ethos of bluegrass. Nevertheless, his performance was pretty solid.

The Primitive Quartet

Reagan Riddle

Michael Riddle

Larry Riddle

Jeff Tolbert

Ninety minutes is a long set. The Primitive Quartet presented its fervent, Primitive Baptist brand of gospel music based on shaped note singing in a ninety minute program of music and testimony that entertained and inspired the large number of people remaining in the shed. Their rousing music is hardly bluegrass, but that didn’t seem to matter to those who stayed to listen and participate.

The Bluegrass Brothers

The Dowdy family received a very strong reception from the crowd and responded in kind with the strongest performance I’ve seen them give. Victor commented that he had learned from Marty Raybon a way to signal the crowd about the kind of response he wanted – huge applause, left, right, diminishing, or standing ovation. He took delight throughout both sets in directing the responses and we enjoyed his enthusiasm in kind. Brother Robert’s facial contortions, Donny’s upside down left-handed play on three instruments, Steve’s intense flatpicking, and Victor Dowdy’s dynamic slap bass style combine with Billy Hurt’s fine fiddling to create a forceful musical experience. Hurt, who had only recently joined the band when we saw them in South Carolina in early January has jelled with this band to complement their performance with his lyrical fiddle style. Providing a marked contrast to some of the other more polished show bands at Palatka, The Bluegrass Brothers keep their rough country roots while offering highly satisfying performances. For an encore to their second set, Victor chose to embed David Alan Coe’s “You Don’t Have to Call Me Darlin’, Darlin” in Ruby for a rousing finale.

Victor Dowdy

Robert Dowdy

Donald Dowdy

Steve Dowdy

Billy Hurt

Rhonda Vincent & The Rage

Rhonda Vincent’s band has undergone significant change in the past couple of months, and I was eager to see and hear the effect those changes would have on the performance of this hard working and much recognized group. Rhonda has been a super star in bluegrass music for some years. At the same time, she has been generous with her band in providing members with opportunities to showcase their own talents. In adding Aaron McDaris (formerly of the Grascals) and Ben Helson (from Ricky Skaggs) to The Rage, she has increased flexibility while not suffering any loss of musical ability. McDaris, who, in addition to being a first rate banjo player, can also contribute on bass, guitar and harmony vocals, has moved the banjo more towards the center of this group. Ben Helson is a tremendous flatpicker while also offering good harmony vocals. A touching moment of their second set happened when three of Helsen’s former band mates and his successor with Kentucky Thunder (Cody Kilby, Andy Leftwich, Paul Brewster, and Eddie Faris) sat in the first row and gave Ben a standing ovation after he sang his first solo.

Ben Helson

Faris, Kilby, Brewster & Leftwich
Appreciate Newest Addition to the Rage

Aaron McDaris (No Longer Boo)

The changes to be seen in this week’s performance of Rhonda Vincent & The Rage were subtle, but real. The sound veers a little toward the country side, without ever giving up its essential bluegrass sound and feel. My having Mickey Harris play resonator guitar on one piece, the band managed quite a different sound. In “Missouri Moon,” Helson picked mandolin, Rhonda guitar, and Hunter Berry was able to keep to his fiddle. The band will have a new CD out later in the spring featuring this new lineup. I look for continued development without radical changes in their sound. Rhonda Vincent continues to put it all out on stage while responding with both time and what appears to be genuine interest to her fans. A performance of Rhonda Vincent & The Rage is never a disappointment.

Hunter Berry

Mickey Harris

Rhonda (if anyone wanted to know who)

Ricky Skaggs & Kentucky Thunder

While we’ve seen Ricky Skaggs before in larger venues, we’ve never been able to be as close or see him be as responsive to the audience as he was at Palatka. Skaggs’ story is well known – he appeared on stage with Bill Monroe and Ralph Stanley when he was still a child and has been a standout performer his whole life. He left bluegrass music for a successful and lucrative career in country music, where he won a number of Grammy awards as well as many CMA awards. His return to bluegrass music a few years ago has yielded attention to a genre that needs all the star power it can get. A seven man band is large. Kentucky Thunder is not only large, it is filled with first rate musicians playing in support of a star with an electric personality. Andy Leftwich on fiddle and Cody Kilby on guitar are at the absolute top of their games. Kilby was nominated for IBMA guitar player of the year for 2008 and Leftwich was nominated on fiddle. Though neither won, they are both at or near the top. Jim Mills on banjo has been named banjo player of the year six times, more than any other individual player. His banjo play is merely spectacular. Eddie Faris, from the Kansas-based Faris family band, has joined Skaggs. Paul Brewster’s solid rhythm guitar and very good tenor voice complements Skaggs’ voice very well, contributing the Monroe-like upper register Ricky can’t reach. Mark Fain on bass is strong, providing a solid beat in the background. Skaggs himself is an engaging emcee, talking about the history and background of bluegrass music as well as his own place in it. His religious faith is deep, but never too intrusive. His voice and mandolin playing are still strong. His allegiance to the Fathers of Bluegrass as well as his openness to newer sounds shows through in his entire performance. A huge crowd stayed underneath the Rodeheaver Ranch music shed until the last note and left tired and satisfied.

Jim Mills

Cody Kilby
Andy Leftwich
Paul Brewster
Mark Fain
Eddie Faris

Ricky Skaggs

An Adams & Anderson festival is always well-produced. Much of the credit goes to their very high quality staff. Sherry Boyd is one of the most experienced and effective emcees in the business. A good emcee keeps the focus on the music while highlighting the vendors and the cause. Sherry always does this. Her focus is always on what’s important, and it’s never about her, a failing with many others. By staying in the background and being unobtrusive, she highlights what’s important and shows herself at her very best. Similarly, when the sound is good it’s hardly noticed, but when it’s bad, it’s awful. Gene Daniell, along with his wife Johnnie and the very professional Madison Gibson, is superb at making sure the music is heard and the vocals are understood. The music is loud enough while never being over-powering. The squeal of feedback is almost never heard. At Palatka, Daniell was working with a very long and rather narrow shed. From every point in the shed and on its fringes, the sound was excellent. The fifth annual Palatka Bluegrass Festival was a huge success. There will be a second fall festival in 2009, and the sixth annual festival will be a week later in the calendar next year.

Emcee Sherry Boyd

Judy & Norman Adams

Anonymous Photographer

The Party's Over Now

Palatka Bluegrass Festival - Fri

Friday at Palatka dawned bright, clear, and warm, staying that way all day until the sun dropped below the horizon and a slight chill descended. People returning from supper carried snuggy clothes with them, and, if they stayed until the last note, needed them. Five bands performed. Four of them exemplified all that’s good in bluegrass music. They ranged from one of the standout traditional bands touring today to two high concept show bands combining secular and gospel music into entertaining and often inspiring music through an amusing and entertaining band with a distinct seventies look and contemporary feel. I’d like to say a few words about Rodeheaver Boys Ranch.

Several years ago, under the influence of Board member Carlton Spence, the Ranch decided to offer a bluegrass festival as its major fund raiser. Not a place to take on new projects without due consideration, the Ranch’s development department under the leadership of Jeff King spent a couple of years attending festivals and looking for a promoter who could make bluegrass at Rodeheaver work. They convinced the very successful promotion team of Norman Adams and Tony Anderson to take on the effort and set about preparing the grounds to accommodate a number of visitors. They installed water and electric hookups for a few hundred RVs, built a performance shed and associated support buildings, booked some national acts, and kicked their fist festival. The first event succeeded beyond their wildest hopes. Despite sometimes encountering chilly and wet weather since, each year’s festival has exceeded the previous year’s.

Promoter Norman Adams

The Ranch houses about fifty boys, most of whom are young people whose parents, for one reason or another, are not capable of providing an appropriate home for them. The boys live in houses on campus with house parents. They eat their breakfasts in their campus home, attend school, do chores, study in the campus library, attend services in the lovely campus chapel, and eat their evening meal with the staff in a large and pleasant dining room. The environment is distinctly Christian. The boys receive love, discipline, and structure while having plenty of space to grow and develop. Attendees at the festival get a good chance to see the boys and interact with them on Friday afternoon and Saturday once school is out. Ken Johnson, President of the Ranch is in evidence throughout the festival. Rodeheaver Boys Ranch provides a needed service in a highly professional yet personal and caring manner. While the bluegrass festival helps, the Ranch requires money to operate. Particularly in these hard times, it is worthy of everyone’s consideration as they allocate their giving.

Junior Sisk and Rambler’s Choice

This band was reconstituted about eighteen months ago and has grown in performance ever since. The addition of John Martin on mandolin has been a good one. His voice fits perfectly into the trio with Junior and his cousin Tim Massey. Massey is not only a fine bass player and singer, but has written many of the songs featured in the band’s sets. Billy Hawks brings his first rate fiddling to the group and Darrell Wilkerson is solid on banjo. Junior Sisk is, of course, the center of this band. He’s at his best with sad and pitiful songs like “ He Died a Rounder at 21” and his payback songs like “I Did the Leavin’ for You” are funny and capture the audience’s attention. A genuinely shy person, Junior has, nevertheless, blossomed as emcee and front man for his band. His gentle, self-deprecating smile is perfect. This band was making its first appearance in and Adams and Anderson festival. They will be attracting a wider audience and deserve it.

Junior Sisk

Tim Massey

Billy Hawks

Darrell Wilkerson

John Miller

GoldWing Express

GoldWing express gave its standard performance. They have many fans who appreciate their work.

Dailey & Vincent

This was our first chance to see the 2009 version of the Dailey and Vincent show. This band very clearly shows its lineage. Jamie Dailey spent nine years as lead singer and comic relief with Doyle Lawson, while Darrin Vincent toured for years on guitar with Ricky Skaggs and has produced many of his sister’s very successful bluegrass CDs. Their own carefully constructed shows clearly reflect their experience. In their year on the road, Dailey and Vincent have experienced huge success, high acclaim (seven IBMA awards, a record), and much well-deserved praise. It must have provoked some anxiety for them as they approached revising their show for 2009. They can stop worrying now! Their repertoire has expanded to include much more trio singing and southern gospel quartets. Mandolinist Jeff Parker’s role has been expanded; he plays more and is more active in the comic aspects of the show. Adam Haynes fiddle work has been broadened, and he has responded with the best fiddling we’ve heard from him. Joe Dean, Jr., not yet twenty, is a very fine banjo player who also contributes deep bass to the quartets, a surprise coming from his youthful face and slight frame. The comic interaction between Jamie and Darrin appears much more natural and less forced. Their voices and playing are well-know quantities. Darrin’s voice is strong and provides fine harmonies to Jamie’s high tenor, still without peer in bluegrass music. Fans attending events featuring Dailey & Vincent this year will encounter a new a stronger program, something that cannot always be said of sophomore efforts. Their entertainment value is, if anything, stronger than last year’s.

Jamie Dailey & Darrin Vincent

Jamie Dailey

Darrin Vincent

Jeff Parker

Joe Dean, Jr.

Adam Haynes

Darrin Vincent & Joe Dean, Jr.

By the Mark

Doyle Lawson & Quicksilver

Doyle Lawson has been on the road for 46 years, thirty of those with his own band, Quicksilver. The list of players who have been in his band is nearly as long as those who began their careers with Bill Monroe. He is a noted a demanding task master, which is perhaps the reason he has had so many successful progeny. His perfectionism is well-known and those attending one of his performances always know they’re going to get a first class product. We were eager to see his current band, which, as is often the case, contains some new additions. After a period of time where Darren Beachley took the high tenor role, Doyle has hired the young Darren McGuire on guitar and singing high tenor. Although only with Lawson for a couple of weeks, and obviously still learning the material, it is clear that McGuire has the requisite voice and is a fine rhythm guitar player. His high tenor is up there with the best. The other new addition is Jason Barie on fiddle. Jason has served his apprenticeship with several fine bands and has shown himself up to this challenge. Again, pretty fresh out of the box, his playing was crisp and full-bodied. He plays with dignity and grace, making the difficult look easy – a fine choice for Doyle’s exacting standards. Joey Cox remains one of the top banjo players around and has become more comfortable on stage, now participating in some of the humor and even contributing some singing. Josh Swift on Dobro continues to grow into one of the top Dobro players. I’d really like to see him turned loose for some more progressive resonator work, and perhaps he’ll produce a solo project. Carl White on electric bass is now the center of the comic interaction with Doyle. It’s funny and endearing, seemingly unrehearsed and coming out of left field. His send-up of Doyle’s legendary embroidered jackets is hilarious and not to be missed. Despite his many years of touring, Doyle Lawson’s combination of bluegrass and bluegrass gospel remains fresh and enjoyable.

Jason Barie & Joey Cox

Josh Swift

Jason Barie

Carl White

Darren McGuire

Nothin’ Fancy

Nothin’ Fancy has been on the road together for fifteen years with only one change in personnel. The only change has been at bass, where Tony Shorter, one of the founding members, has returned for a second stint. Mike Andes, on mandolin, is at the center of the madcap group that contributes humor and good bluegrass in equal measure. Andes fine baritone voice permits the band to do covers of Country Gentlemen standards as well as to sing Andes own compositions. Chris Sexton’s classic violin training makes for amusing interactions with bluegrass music. Mitchell Davis on banjo is funny and skilled. Shorter, mugging his way through bass solos, still provides the strong beat and good harmonies on trios. Gary Faris, suffering from a damaged shoulder, never shows it on stage and his tenor voice fills in well.

Mike Andes

Chris Sexton

Gary Faris

Tony Shorter

Mitchell Davis

Gary Faris & Mike Andes

Palatka Bluegrass Festival - Thursday

Norman Adams and Tony Anderson are fair-minded men who put on fine, very well-attended bluegrass festivals from Florida to West Virginia each year. They bring together many of the finest bands on the bluegrass circuit. Rodeheaver Boys Ranch, located along state route 19 south of Palatka, has gone to extensive and expensive lengths to provide a model festival facility for producing bluegrass events. All the care and planning notwithstanding, the most tension producing event of the festival routine revolves around the placement of seats. This year, in order to make the system orderly and fair, they provided placement numbers to attendees on arrival which placed them in numerical order for putting their chairs in place. However, no system is perfect and there are always people who figure out how to cheat the system to their own advantage, and there are always well-meaning people who abide by the rules who get run over by those with less respect for the intent of the system. Thus, individual people with low numbers were able to bring in chairs associated with others who had much higher numbers, meaning that a low number might have brought in a dozen chairs by having a dozen arm bands hanging around their necks. The early seats went down in 36 minutes and most people found themselves acceptable seats, but it’s a shame that some cheaters have the capacity and will to gum up the works.


By Thursday morning, feelings were calmed and a huge crowd kept the seats largely filled for a fine day of traditional bluegrass music and southern gospel. The bands’ performances were first rate, the audience was large and enthusiastic, the weather was warm, and attendance was high, especially for a Thursday.

Lorraine Jordan & Carolina Road

The current version of the Carolina Road Band has had only minor changes in the past couple of years. John Wade’s coming to the band on bass has added maturity and humor to the band as well as a solid and reliable harmony voice. Every member of the band sings as they configure themselves in different ways for different songs. Ben Green, always more than reliable on banjo, also chimes in with an increasingly strong bass voice on gospel quartets. Josh Goforth is a hugely versatile musician on fiddle and guitar as well as tenor vocals. Lorraine makes a humorous point that he’s not allowed to play mandolin in her band. Jerry Butler’s voice and strong rhythm guitar showcase the songs, and his humor and good nature are always on view. Lorraine provides the glue for this highly enjoyable group. She sings and plays well, and her good sense and leadership show through her willingness to highlight the talents of her entire ensemble.

Lorraine Jordan

Jerry Butler

John Wade

Josh Goforth

Ben Green

The Gary Waldrep Band

Gary Waldrep brings his band out of the sand hills region of Alabama largely to festivals in the southeast. His energetic showmanship and fine banjo play in both three finger and Clawhammer styles draw cheers from the crowd. With all members coming from Alabama except the exceptional Mindy Rakestraw on rhythm guitar and vocals, this band deserves much wider attention than it gets. Ken and Donna Townsell (Gary’s uncle and aunt) are strong on fiddle and bass. This week 16 year old Josh Palmer substituted for his mandolin teacher Stan Wildmon to tremendous support from the audience. He’s quick and plays both solos and backup well. Josh will bear watching in the near future as he enters the bluegrass world. Palatka is quite a place to make your festival debut.

Gary Waldrep

Mindy Rakestraw

Donna Townsall

Ken Townsall

Josh Palmer

Gary Supporting Josh

The Chuck Wagon Gang

This pure southern gospel band originated on the radio in Texas about 70 years ago as a western band. Today they’ve become an all gospel group with vocally very strong gospel quartets backed by electric guitar and bass, ably played this weekend by sound man Gene Daniell. They provided a distinct change of pace at this bluegrass festival.

Dave Emery

Penny Green

Stan Hill

The Larry Stephenson Band

Larry Stephenson made a brilliant personnel decision when he hired Kenny Ingram to play banjo in his band. Kenny, from his early days with Lester Flatt through his years with Rhonda Vincent, has been a standout banjo picker. As we walked back to the shed after a brief break, I noticed that Kenny is playing in the center of this band, right next to the leader, rather than on the outer fringe he previously inhabited. He’s an integral part of this band, playing inventive breaks on nearly every song and contributing superb backup and banjo solos. He’s also singing. His power and drive lift the efforts of the rest of the band. Even more important, his obvious joy in his new role energizes the band and the audience. Stephenson’s pure, clear, high tenor voice carries the songs associated with him such as “Knoxville Girl,” “Patches,” and a very fine “Muleskinner Blues” as well as the rest of his large and varied repertoire. Kyle Perkins on bass remains solid and strong. It will be very interesting to see other new members emerge in this band as Mike Fagin, leaving Larry Sparks, will soon join Stephenson’s band, too. Steve Day filled in very well on fiddle here at Palatka. Kevin Richardson, on guitar, is a very good flatpicker, plays reliable rhythm, and sings. Major changes are difficult for any band. Stephenson seems to be improving his sound and dynamism with each of his recent moves.

Larry Stephenson

Kenny Ingram

Kevin Richardson

Steve May

Kyle Perkins

The Grascals

About half way through the Grascals’ first set, Irene passed me a note that said, “No matter how often we see this band, they stay fresh.” And she’s right. When we last saw them in Lebanon, NH in November, Kristin Scott Benson was making her first festival appearance with the band and Danny Roberts was absent because of the automobile accident his wife Andrea had suffered. This weekend, with IBMA banjo player of the year Kristin Scott Benson settled in and Danny Roberts returned, the band seemed to be at the top if its game, despite having had a three week layoff. The Grascals have always been an extraordinarily entertaining band, lively and full of fun as well as good music. Now, with their personnel solidified, they have become not only entertaining, but have moved into the very top ranks of bluegrass bands musically, too. Danny Roberts is one of the very finest mandolin players around. Jeremy Abshire on fiddle, while not nearly as dynamic as his predecessor brings fire and insight to his play. I particularly noticed Kristin’s kick-offs yesterday. While only a measure or so long, they introduced each piece with a unique flair for what was to come in an intricate an often highly figured fashion. Great stuff!! Similarly, Terry Smith on bass uses masterful little flourishes to embellish the oh-so-solid beat he provides the band. His harmony vocals fill in the baritone beneath Jamie Johnson and Terry Eldredge’s fine lead singing. Eldredge is also first rate as a rhythm guitar player. The band works as a cohesive ensemble, always showing humor and enthusiasm. They’re one of the very best.

Danny Roberts

Jamie Johnson

Terry Eldredge

Terry Smith

Jeremy Abshire

Kristin Scott Benson

Larry Sparks & The Lonesome Ramblers

Larry Sparks, as one of the remaining second generation of bluegrass greats, deserves to be heard just for that. He still possesses, however, one of the most distinctive and finest voices in bluegrass music. At a time when high lonesome was the standard, Sparks’ mellow baritone provided a welcome alternative. His voice remains one of the treasures of our music. Having said that, I’ve wondered why a Larry Sparks performance often fails to excite me the way some other performers do. It might be that the music he chooses is just not to my taste. But yesterday, as I viewed the changes in other bands, something else caught my attention. While Sparks himself is undiminished, his band serves only as a support to him and his voice. I wondered to myself what sort of impact a Larry Sparks band would have if he surrounded himself with dynamic performers and allowed their excellence to help burnish his own while using his strength to highlight their excellence. Larry Sparks remains so good he doesn’t need to be concerned about performing in a band designed merely to support him.

Larry Sparks

Tomorrow, I plan on writing a little more about Rodeheaver Boys Ranch. Meanwhile, take a look at their web site and consider making a contribution to this very worthwhile work that can always use additional support. I also want to mention that Irene is now holding a camera, too. Several of her pictures appear in today's blog and more will show up. Her contribution to the content is terrifically important, and I want to thank her, especially as it's Valentine's Day.

Einstein: His Life and Universe by Walter Isaacson - Review

Albert Einstein changed the world forever in 1905. Few people in history have had the impact on how the cosmos is perceived and how science approaches reality than Einstein did in a flurry of papers published in support of what became known as Einstein’s theory of relativity. In his seemingly simple equation e=mc² Einstein undid centuries of adherence to the principles enunciated by Newton. He made possible later thinking that provided the theoretical basis for the development of atomic bomb. And he became a world famed scientist. While he continued to be a productive and thought-provoking theoretical physicist, his work in these few months while working as a clerk in the patent office in Zurich, Switzerland was sufficient to cement his reputation and genius for all time.

I think I remember from my youth an iconic remark that only five physicists in the world understood what Einstein was saying in his great theories of relativity. Today, much of what he said has been proven experimentally and has completely changed the study of physics and the way physical science is conceived. If understand means to be able to internalize an idea so thoroughly that one can satisfactorily explain that idea to another, I can’t say I understand Einstein. If, on the other hand, it means to gain a glimmer of understanding such that a person has a sense of what the thinking is about, I believe I’ve achieved that. Walter Isaacson’s wonderful biography Einstein: His Life and Universe achieves the goal in a lucid presentation of Einstein as a person and as a thinker.

Isaacson presents Einstein with all his warts, and there are plenty of them. Qualities that in later life came to represent the lovable, absent-minded genius, created friction and hostility within his family and served to make his climb up the professional ladder much more difficult than needed. Einstein who, as he grew older, found himself surrounded by friends and family, seemed to have an extremely difficult time forging close personal relationships. His marriage to Mileva Maric, a woman several years his elder, plain, and lame had been a fellow student with Einstein at Zurich Polytechnic. They married despite the opposition of both their families and had two children. Edourd spent much of his life in mental institutions, while Hans Albert eventually immigrated to the U.S. and became a professor of engineering at Berkeley. His second wife, Elsa, was also older than he as well as being his first cousin. According to Isaacson, she apparently provided the mothering care Einstein needed to keep his life sufficiently orderly for him to focus on his science.

Focus, stubborn persistence, and a willingness to question ideas that at the time were considered to be settled emerge as Einstein’s strongest attributes. Einstein studied what he wished, although it’s a pleasant myth that he was far behind in mathematics. He was merely more interested in visualizing the world through what are called “thought experiments.” Later in his life, Einstein became adept at abstract higher mathematics, although he was often aided by math specialists in his explorations. Isaacson describes many of Einstein’s thought experiments. In these, Einstein imagines physical examples and the results to help him state revolutionary physics principals. In a flurry of papers published in 1905, while he was still working as a clerk in the Swiss patent office, Einstein enunciated first the general theory of relativity and then the Special theory of relativity, overturning ideas that had held firm since the time of Newton. Isaacson’s explanations of Einstein’s thought processes are models of popular science writing. Without ever putting an equation on the page (with the exception of e=mc²), he clarifies the ideas by explaining Einstein’s thought experiments and elucidating their meaning. Throughout it all, Einstein’s personality dominates. His nerve in challenging established ideas and taking on more established figures in the world of physics is without parallel. Self confidence, bordering on arrogance permitted the discovery of ideas never before considered.

Einstein went from being an obscure clerk in a minor government office to being one of the most famous people in the world in only a few years. He became interested in causes such as the establishment of Hebrew University in Jerusalem (he was later offered the presidency of Israel), various approaches to world government, and a reasoned pacifist position. As matters deteriorated in Germany with the rise of Hitler he first traveled the world as a stateless person and finally settled in Princeton, NJ as a fellow at the Institute for Advanced Study, where he spent his last couple of decades. While not involved in the Manhattan Project, which developed the atom bomb, his theoretical work made it possible. Later in life, he spent much of his energy in failed attempts to counter the emerging ideas of quantum mechanics and seeking to discover a unified field theory that would combine physics ideas into a universal statement of the cosmos. While never succeeding in this quest, his ideas continued to spur others on. How many scientists have remained productive throughout their entire lives and been honored with tickertape parades down Broadway?

Einstein’s politics were generally left of center but never truly radical. He reserved in his social ideas the same freedom he insisted upon in his science, the right to change his mind. Thus, when Hitler emerged in Germany, he forsook the pacifism that had dominated his thinking through World War I and the immediate post-war period. FBI files assembled at the behest of J. Edgar Hoover were a model of sloppy research, unsupported allegations, and paranoid delusion, but Einstein was never granted the requisite security clearance to become a part of atomic research. Nevertheless, he pretty well surmised what was up. Einstein died, full or honor and the affectionate regard of his adopted country in 1955.

Isaacson’s lucid writing and clear explanations make this book a Must Read for people interested in science but not having the scientific background to focus the problems. It also provides a fine view into the forces at work in the late nineteenth and first half of the twentieth centuries. The social forces swirling throughout the world affected Einstein’s life as well as his thinking. Einstein: His Life and Universe by Walter Isaacson is published by Simon and Shuster and available at bookstores everywhere. Support your local independent book store.

Highlands Hammock State Park, Sebring, Florida

The motto of the Florida State Parks is “The Real Florida.” If the state parks represent the real Florida, then Highlands Hammock State Park is surely one of her crown jewels. Begun in 1932 by the Civilian Conservation Corps on land donated by Roebling family near the village of Sebring in central Florida, Highlands Hammock provides a respite from the state’s current deep recession, just as it did from its rampant development in recent years. An old style campground, it is still capable of providing comfortable camping for all but the very largest contemporary rigs. Most campsites offer plenty of shade along with water and electric. Restrooms with hot showers are convenient to most sites and never terribly crowded. Washing machines are available. A recreation hall provides a weekly (Wednesday evening) pot luck supper, while the original CCC buildings now offer a restaurant and a small but interesting museum detailing the spirit and history of the Civilian Conservation Corps.

Park Museum to Civilian Conservation Corps

Statue of CCC Volunteer

Map of CCC Parks in U.S.A.

Museum Display

Located on 9,000 acres, the park comprises a number of habitats in which slight rises lead to major changes in environment. A tram ride, which costs $4.00 per person and takes about an hour, conveys passengers through areas otherwise restricted from access. Our knowledgeable naturalist, Kevin, talked about the various environments including classic hardwood which contains a live oak tree over 1000 years old and 36 feet in diameter, a cypress swamp, a pine forest, and others. Kevin explained the need for controlled burns in the pine forest. The tram tour runs alongside an old drainage canal which provided some of the more exciting elements of the trip, alligators sunning themselves along the bank. There were lots of birds as well as Kevin’s very informed narrative.

Seen on Tram Tour

19th Century Homestead & Orange Grove Clearing

Great Egret

Anhinga

Cardinal Flower (epiphyte)

The park also contains nine separate trails through park environments. The longest of these is just a little over half a mile in length, and they are all relatively flat. Boardwalks are provided over swampy or wet land. There are 177 species of birds that have been observed in the park. As I was taking pictures this afternoon, I was reminded of the environment in the national parks back in the 1950’s. This park is a true delight harkening back to an earlier and simpler day. Give it a try.

Seen on Trail Walk

Imagine the Spanish explorers trying to make their way through this dense underbrush across the entire Florida penninsula. Filled with palmetto leaves cutting through their clothing, clouds of mosquitoes, Florida panthers, and the snakes.




The campground is usually filled on weekends, but pleasantly roomy during the week. Reservations are recommended. While old style, this is a lovely, quiet place to visit.

The Campground
Our Rig

CCC Shower and Restroom Facility

Gibson Brothers Sign with Compass Records

Signing Photo
Gary West, Leigh Gibson, Eric Gibson & Alison Brown

The Gibson Brothers have signed a contract with Alison Brown and her husband Gary West‘s Compass Records to release their new CD. After four number one releases with Sugar Hill Records, this comes as something of a surprise, but Compass has an interesting and varied Americana/Bluegrass list as well as a number of other artists on both sides of the Atlantic Ocean. This change will inevitably create new opportunities for the band.

Eric Gibson

Leigh Gibson

Eric says this about the new, as yet untitled release, “We have recorded six originals, new songs by Shawn Camp/Paul Kennerly, Chet O'Keefe, Joe Newberry, and Marshall Warwick, and a relatively obscure Tom Petty song, "Angel Dream." Produced by Eric, Leigh, and Mike Barber, the entire album was recorded in 6 days with our road band (Mike Barber, bass; Clayton Campbell, fiddle, and Joe Walsh, mandolin) and guest resonator guitarist Mike Witcher. Gibson Brothers fans can count on this new title to have some surprises and some new sounds as well as the unique brother harmonies and artistic sensibility the Gibson Brothers are noted for.

Compass Studio "Hillbilly Heaven"

The new CD was recorded at the historic “Hillbilly Central” studio in Nashville, now the location of Compass Records. Some albums recorded there in the 1970’s include John Hartford’s “Aereoplane,” “Waylon Jennings “Dreaming My Dreams,” and “Wanted: The Outlaws,” as well as many others. Recently, Dale Ann Bradley, Pauline Scanlon, and Alison Brown have recorded there. Eric commented, “I was proud to look at ol’ Waylon on the wall knowing that he did his songs his own way with his own band in the very space we were recording."

Mike Barber

Clayton Campbell

Joe Walsh

Compass Records was founded in 1995 by Gary West and Alison Brown and currently is home to about 100 bluegrass, folk, Celtic, jazz, and new acoustic artists. According to Wikipedia, the label releases about twenty albums a year. Alison Brown attended Harvard University, earned her MBA at UCLA and worked at Smith Barney investment brokerage before devoting full time to music. She is recognized as one of the most creative banjo players in music.

Leigh & Eric Gibson

Leigh Gibson & Mike Barber

The Gibson Brothers have joined an organization which will give full range to their hard to classify but extraordinarily popular brand of bluegrass music. While never straying far from the bluegrass and classic country roots from which they come, The Gibson Brothers have used rock music and country music as the basis for bluegrass songs that are widely loved yet sufficiently accessible that they are frequently sung in the parking lot as well as from the stage. Their brother harmonies are surpassed by no one in today's bluegrass and Americana field. The addition of Joe Walsh on mandolin will prove to be a plus. The new CD will be released sometime this spring and will be eagerly awaited by many.

Goldwing Express Festival at Craig's RV

Craig’s RV Park & Resort is one of the most pleasant venues in Florida for holding a small to medium sized bluegrass festival. Over the years they have built an excellent covered shed to house the music and a well-designed snack bar and bathroom complex a few yards behind the rear of the shed. The snack bar sells reasonably priced and tasty, but cholesterol-filled, fair food. The rest rooms are kept clean. Rough camping facilities are spacious and flat, making for easy parking and good access to the performance area. There’s ample space for day parking. Since building the rest room-snack bar facility, the owners have stopped providing porta-potties in the camping area, which is a real inconvenience for those whose holding tanks have limited space. Nevertheless, Craig’s is an excellent place to attend a small festival.

Goldwing Express

Bob Baldridge

Paul

Steve

Sean

Goldwing Express has replaced the Southwest Florida Bluegrass Association as host of the festival held the weekend after YeeHaw Junction, usually the last weekend in January. This band, which is more about the show than the music, did a creditable job of assembling a line-up for which they were the only national band with a good sprinkling of competent bands mostly from Florida and Georgia. The Farris Family, coming from Kansas, provided a pleasant surprise. My initial reaction to the effort was that Goldwing was doing a creditable job, despite my often expressed reservations about this band. We attended Friday and Saturday as day trippers. The weather was chilly and dry, turning downright cold at night. We probably would not have come, but our friends The Wilson Family were performing for two days, and we hadn’t seen them in too long.

Palms Bluegrass

Carroll Jackson

Sam Cardillo

Mike LaPorte

Bobby Martin

Ed Pintado

Local Florida favorites Roger Bass and the Hillbillies and Palms Bluegrass each contributed sets on all three days. Bass performs classic country in a style his fans appreciate, presenting pleasant, easy-listening country classics leavened with his country wit. Palms Bluegrass is a straight ahead bluegrass band that performs bluegrass standards with enthusiasm and some skill, although their tempos tend to lag a bit.

The Larry Gillis Band

Larry Gillis

Evan Rose

Alex Leach

The Larry Gillis Band, this weekend with the very talented Evan Rose on mandolin, provided their usual mix of hard driving bluegrass along with some music written by Gillis himself. Recently married, Larry seems settled and happy, which is reflected in his band’s performance. Gillis plays hard and fast, and his band matches his style and speed. Alex Leach on lead vocals and guitar is also a good flat picker. Evan Rose, who played with his family’s band until recently, stands out as an instrumentalist and contributes solid vocals. The Gillis band is a crowd pleaser because of Larry’s fine work on Scruggs style as well as clawhammer banjo. Many fans are awed by his speed and power.

The Faris Family

Bob Faris

JimBob

Ricky

The Faris Family Band, hailing from Kansas, offered four sets of solid and entertaining music. With the departure of brother Edward to the Ricky Skaggs band, the Faris Family has added a new banjo player, Jim Campbell, but who contributes well. The highlight of this band is their excellent instrumental work as well as the humor and energy of bassist brother JimBob. His impression of George W. is spot on. Sorry to say, I missed his Clinton. JimBob bobs and weaves on stage, adding a note of genuine levity to this pretty sober group. Available as either a bluegrass group or for gospel performances, The Faris Family presented four very solid sets of mixed music that the audience enjoyed. While not exceptionally flashy, they are entertaining and lively, as well as providing a welcome change from straight, traditional bluegrass.

The Gandy Brothers

Brandon Gandy

Schuyler Gandy

Michael & Brian Andrews

The Gandy Brothers, from Valdosta, GA, appeared also. Schuyler, age 11, continues to improve on fiddle. He has good stage presence and managed quite well on fiddle virtuoso pieces like “Orange Blossom Special” as well as providing quality backup and solo work. He bears watching. Brother Brandon on banjo is quite good. By adding the talented brother duo of Brian and Michael Andrews on guitar and mandolin, the Gandy Brothers have created a potentially very strong bluegrass band. Brian is emerging as a first-rate flat picker, and his voice has matured well. Michael, who has a remarkable physical resemblance to Jarrod Walker, is emerging as a strong picker, too. The young woman on bass provided a strong bass beat. This was the first performance of this band in this configuration. They would be smart to devise ways to further develop and extend the relationship. Perhaps they would benefit, too, from adding some more contemporary sounds to their good mix of traditional bluegrass. Their emphasis on youth can only help them.

Goldwing Express, as host band, presented their usual canned performance. While it is polished and competent, their show is so predictable as to become quickly tiresome. Despite being larded with fulsome bad taste, they have a large following, which became completely obvious when roughly two thirds of the audience left after their too long afternoon set. The sets of all other bands had been cut to 35 minutes for Saturday, while Goldwing persisted in doing their full hour. This habit annoys other bands who must follow them when they stay on stage well into the next band’s time and persist in throwing the schedule off.

Mystery Karoake Band

Worse still, however, was their inviting an unscheduled guest band to perform. This quartet appeared using a canned music track. The fine bass voice of their lead singer drew us back to the music shed from our truck, where we were resting. Our hearts fell as we saw them on the stage with no instruments performing impressions of classic country groups. Most surprising, however, was the positive response they garnered from at least a portion of the audience. We didn’t come to Craig’s in order to hear or see a karaoke program. A major feature of acoustic music events remains live performance using instruments in the hands of the performers. This group, whose name I conveniently neglected to get, also aggressively pitched its CD. Combining the karaoke band with the length of the host’s set threw the schedule off by about an hour, a major sin in the festival world.

The Wilson Family

Robert Wilson

Melissa Wilson

Katie Wilson

Clint Wilson

Kalyn Hall

We first saw The Wilson Family Band at the late, lamented Spirit of Suwannee Bluegrass Festival three years ago. At that time, the then ten year old Katie had been playing fiddle for about six months. Her skills were negligible and her voice young and unformed. Clint, on banjo, showed real promise, though still quite young. The band received a huge positive response. In the ensuing three years, the kids have matured and improved. The band has gone from being an entertaining novelty to being a high quality regional band that still garners the enthusiasm they evoked when they were just out of the gate. Father Robert Wilson on guitar and lead vocals has always insisted on keeping the band well grounded in their family values: church, family, school, music. This band just does not lose its grounding. Nevertheless, the kids have grown and show remarkable improvement. Now eighteen and in his first year of college, Clint Wilson is a talented multi-instrumentalist who also writes first rate bluegrass songs. On banjo, his primary instrument, he has studied the masters carefully with particular attention to Scruggs, Crowe, and Shelor. Not bad mentors. His work on guitar and mandolin are also featured on stage. We even had the pleasure to hear him on upright bass back in their motor home during rehearsal. Watch for him to continue to improve. Katie, too, continues to add luster to her early promise. She had early on caught the attention of Becky Buller, and her influence on Katie’s work is clear. Her improvement on fiddle comes as no surprise. The increasing maturity of her voice adds significantly to the quality of the band’s performance. Melissa Wilson on mandolin has increased in confidence; her breaks are solid and her chop strong. Robert has had a long career in bluegrass, first touring with River Bluegrass back in the eighties. His strong voice and very good rhythm guitar provide guidance and strength to this band. This weekend, the Wilson Family were joined on bass by the winsome Kalyn Hall, replacing an ill Wilson cousin. Kalyn, who normally sings in her family’s band, Tomorrow’s News, played and sang well. The Halls will be hosting a festival at Craig’s in March of 2010. The Wilson Family band performs in churches and at bluegrass festivals from Florida to South Carolina. As they are heard and seen, their fan base will grow. Their three CDs are available through their web site.

All in all, last weekend’s bluegrass festival at Craig’s was a success, despite the stumbles. If you’re in south-central Florida, check to see what’s going on there and give it a try. They feature some sort of bluegrass event almost every month.