There's a rhythm to a good bluegrass festival as the event builds through its first couple of days to increased enthusiasm, participation, and excitement growing into a Saturday night climax. Despite having huge headliners on previous nights, Saturday often feels like a high time. There's also a daily rhythm. On Thursdays, people who've often waited several days for the music to start are eager to get to the stage. As the long weekend proceeds, the early afternoon is often quieter. People come in for the climactic evening to fill the space available and cheer on the show. The crowd wants to keep favorites on the stage longer, and it becomes ever more difficult to keep the event on schedule.
Open Stage
Backstage Bluegraass
Rick McClure
Jarod
Bluegrass Revolution
Ernie Evans & the Florida State Bluegrass Band
Ernie Evans plays a variety of roles in bluegrass - promoter, radio broadcaster, media developer, and performer. He's also spearheaded and helped maintain instrument and band contests to highlight and develop Florida-based performers. While claiming he'd rather just have a band and perform, he's a talented and able guy who makes his best contribution to bluegrass with his hands in many pots. His current band has breadth and quality. Their work at Palatka represented the region well, and we look forward to hearing more from him.
Ernie Evans
Deb Evans
Isaac Taylor
Nate Lee
Mike Downey
Vendors
The Little Roy & Lizzy Show
For more than fifty years Little Roy Lewis has been a featured performer, first as a member of the Lewis Family Band and now as a featured performer, with his foster daughter/ward Lizzy Long, in their own show. Little Roy is a hyper-active ball of energy, enthusiasm, and much under-rated skill, as a musician. perhaps for his classic clowning, a role going back to the country music days before bluegrass. While the Little Roy & Lizzy show continues to highlight plenty of bluegrass gospel, much of it from the Lewis Family tradition, Little Roy is now free to sing secular lyrics, widening his repertoire and showing off more of his versatility. Lizzy continues to grow as the front person in the band. Her emcee skills are smoother and more spontaneous appearing, her singing more warm and lyrical, and her musicianship on banjo, fiddle, and guitar solid and regularly improving. Audiences love this band and reward it with plenty of laughter, applause, and well-earned encores.
Little Roy Lewis
Lizzy Long
Nathan Stewart
Al Hoyle
Lisa Hoyle
Ben
Little Roy & Lizzy - Remember Me - Video
The VW Boys
Substituting on short notice for the Moron Brothers, who encountered family health problems, the VW Boys were a truly enjoyable surprise. Combining excellent singing, good musicianship, humor, and magic, this band provides an excellent, and tasteful, change-of-pace for any bluegrass festival. Composed of bluegrass promoter and performer Tim White (Song of the Mountains on PBS among other accomplishments), Dave Vaught, a veteran performer and magician, and Albert Blackburn, a member of several Virginia bluegrass bands whose voice carries both strength and conviction have come together with this truly delightful act. Promoters looking for a delightful addition to a bluegrass lineup should seriously consider booking this band.
Dave Vaught
Tim White
Albert Blackburn
Dave Vaught's Magic
The Larry Stephenson Band
We've seen a lot of the Larry Stephenson Band over the past year or so, and we don't get tired of hearing or seeing them. Larry's fine tenor voice sets a contemporary standard for high, not-so-lonesome tenors. Each member of the band is excellent. Veteran banjo picker Kenny Ingram, who was installed in the SPBGMA Hall of Honor earlier this month, sets a standard for Scruggs style banjo players in today's bluegrass world. Kevin Richardson has a fine harmony voice and plays excellent guitar. Danny Stewart, Jr., Adjunct Professor of Music at East Tennessee State University, more than capably handles the bass and bass vocals on gospel quartets. The band has a full sound and always keeps the show moving. This weekend, a friend of Larry's dropped in for the show in a surprising fashion. Look for Larry's new CD soon.
Larry Stephenson
Kenny Ingram
Kevin Richardson
Danny Stewart, Jr.
Larry's Friend Arrives
Bobby Osborne & the Rocky Top X-Press
Bobby Osborne has been in bluegrass music since playing with the Lonesome Pine Fiddlers back in the 1940's and played with some of bluegrass music's greatest performers during his long career. With his brother Sonny on banjo, the Osborne Brothers achieved their greatest popularity in the fifties and sixties. They hold the distinction of being the only bluegrass performers to have popularized two state songs, Rocky Top, the Tennessee state song, and Kentucky. They are still remembered for Bobby's fine tenor voice and Sonny's remarkable ground-breaking banjo work. Bobby continues to tour with his son Bobby, Jr.
Bobby Osborne
Bobby Osborne, Jr.
Mike Toppins
Joe Miller
Susan and co-promoter Tony Anderson
IIIrd Tyme Out
IIIrd Tyme Out, in its twentieth year as a band, keeps on getting better. The band's been highly recognized with awards and huge popularity over the years. Currently, they have a hit song heading the charts now (Pretty Little Girl from Galax) on their 15th album. Their first album also had a number one hit in "Erase the Miles." Russell Moore has been named IBMA Male Vocalist of the Year four times, again with several years between his early wins and the most recent ones. This record of consistency and achievement is both rare and wonderful. Relying on fine music and the funny patter of banjoist Steve Dilling, the band just keeps on delivering. What a great group to close out a fine festival!
Russell Moore
Steve Dilling
Wayne Benson
Justin Haynes
Edgar Loudermilk
IIIrd Tyme Out - Pretty Little Girl from Galax - Video
The Rodeheaver Boys Ranch is an almost ideal place to hold a bluegrass Festival. The music shed, newly paved provides cover from the weather and has been tuned to help a good sound-man like Madison Gibson, who, sadly is retiring this year, give excellent sound. Former seating issues have been largely resolved. The Ranch and its hard working, warm-hearted staff make visitors welcome throughout the week. The campground has been hardened to make it a reliable spot for hundreds of RVs. The grounds are kept immaculately clean. The boys, who are, after all, the reason for the festival, are often in evidence on Friday afternoon (after school) and all day Saturday. They work to help make the event successful, but more important show, through their deportment and presence, the reason they're so highly valued by the ranch. People wishing to learn more about the Ranch can do so here and make donations to support their efforts here.
Ken Johnson - Rodeheaver Boys Ranch Executive Director 
Norman Adams (co-producer) and Judy Ellis Adams
IIIrd Tyme Out - Erase the Miles - Video
Irene shot many more videos at Palatka during all three days. They'll appear on my YouTube channel over the next few months. Sadly, because of severe band-width restrictions, I can't upload them any more quickly. Keep looking at the channel for new material.
Ted--who was Larry's surprise friend that heloed in?
ReplyDeleteSteve - A friend of Larry's from, I think, some place in Florida. Fortunately, I wasn't introduced nor did I ask Larry about him with any specificity, so I really don't know. Sorry.
ReplyDeleteNot a problem; just thought it might be someone we'd know who came to play with the band or something. So it really was a personal friend who just happened to fly his helo in. Nice!
ReplyDeleteExcellent photos. Really capture the spirit of Bluegrass.
ReplyDeleteI have read with great interest your posts about the Palatka 2012 festival.
ReplyDeleteHaving been an on and off follower of your blog for sometime I must say I enjoy your photography very much. That is what I enjoy most from the Blog
I'm of a firm belief that any individual is entitled to his or her opinion. With that being said I found some comments in these three posts quite disturbing.
I find the comment "Danny Paisley's rough, edgy voice may not be to everyone's taste, but he serves up traditional bluegrass..." to be crude. Of course Danny's music and voice isn't for everyone's taste. Neither are any of the other bands and entertainers you write about. I can truthfully say the popular bands in Bluegrass today aren't to my taste. I've got little doubt that Danny played the most traditional, down the line, the way it is meant to be played and sung, bluegrass of the weekend at Palatka. There's none out there today that can do it any finer. There are a few equal but none finer, that's my opinion but I know a lot of other people that share that same opinion.
The comment that I find most disturbing has to do with the legends of the music. "It's always a genuine treat to hear and see these people, despite their being past their prime...". Come on now. Isn't that just a little over the top? We are so fortunate to have Jesse and Bobby (and there are others of that generation) still out there doing their thing and doing it well. They have contributed so much to the world with their creativity. Don't be demeaning to these pioneers by saying they are past their prime. There are few musicians half these gentleman's age that will ever come close to making the huge number of contributions the first generation players made to Bluegrass. These people who have devoted their life to the music are still being creative and adding to the styles they created so many years ago.
Now for a constructive correction or two; The Osborne Brothers did not author either state song. Rocky Top was written by Boudleaux and Felice Bryant. Kentucky is credited to Karl Davis of the famous duo, Karl and Harty. To be very nit-picky (on my part), Bobby Osborne recorded with the Lonesome Pine Fiddlers in 1949. I'm not sure when his tenure with the group ended but he was with them in the late '40's.
It's important to get these historical facts accurate when posting to blogs. Future generations researching our music will undoubtedly take information from your blog.
I hope you take my comments into consideration with future posts to the blog.
Bluegrasser - Thanks for your comment. Please contact me off-line. I have some responses I'd like to make directly to you. e-mail me at KeeneValleyGuy (at) gmail (dot)com - Ted
ReplyDeleteJust a quick comment on Bluegrassers post ...... Ted said The Osborne Brothers "Popularized" those tow songs .... he never said they wrote them and as for the Lonesome Pine Fiddlers .... He stated Bobby played with them in the "1940's" so that pretty much covers 1949 ...... so once again .... as always .... Ted is correct in his blog .... There is an old saying that states " It is better to be silent and be thought a fool than to open your mouth and remove all doubt" ..... Just my two cents worth ..... Keep up the good work Ted ..... Johnny Harvey
ReplyDeleteJust a quick comment on Bluegrassers post ...... Ted said The Osborne Brothers "Popularized" those tow songs .... he never said they wrote them and as for the Lonesome Pine Fiddlers .... He stated Bobby played with them in the "1940's" so that pretty much covers 1949 ...... so once again .... as always .... Ted is correct in his blog .... There is an old saying that states " It is better to be silent and be thought a fool than to open your mouth and remove all doubt" ..... Just my two cents worth ..... Keep up the good work Ted ..... Johnny Harvey
ReplyDelete