Ted Lehmann's Film, Books, Music & Commentary: Gettysburg Bluegrass Festival - August 2012

Monday, August 20, 2012

Gettysburg Bluegrass Festival - August 2012 - Thursday

Maybe the Best Stage in Bluegrass

Attending a festival for a single day is profoundly unsatisfying. much like smelling the aroma as dinner cooks and even eating the first few bites before reluctantly pushing back from the table and walking away while others stay to enjoy the food and each others company for a few more hours. Nevertheless, we had one day only, Thursday, to attend Gettysburg last week, and it was a wonderful day of fine music and always too brief reunions with friends at a venue we've both come to love. Four bands began at 2:00 PM, Warm and Sunny weather, an excellent Thursday crowd for four bands with nominees for countless IBMA awards this year,

Katy Daley Prepares Backstage

Chris - Backstage Major Domo

Rachel Johnson Boy & Brooke Aldridge

Darin & Brooke Aldridge

Darin & Brooke Aldridge have been nominated for IBMA emerging artist of the year, a recognition they deserve and have worked hard to achieve. Hard working, hard touring, constantly growing musically and personally as they develop, this band has achieved their level of excellence in a remarkably short time, having been on the road only a little over three years. New banjo player Matt Love has shown remarkable improvement in poise and impact on banjo while also adding good work on guitar. Brooke Aldridge and Rachel Boyd have a warm and amusing onstage relationship, mirroring their affection for each other offstage and counterbalancing the byplay between the two principles. Colin Willis on Dobro is always strong. Dwayne Anderson on bass deserves recognition as one of the best. His jazz tinged bass solos are superb. Maybe you'll be lucky enough to see and hear his solo work within David Grisman's "EMD" along with Darin's virtuoso mandolin. A truly worthy performance by a truly worthy band.

Matt Love

Rachel Boyd

Dwayne Anderson

Brooke Aldridge

Darin & Brooke Aldridge - Every Scar - Video

Twin Mohaws

Paul Kramer Warming Up Backstage

Playing Harmony to Rachel

Charlie Sizemore

Charlie Sizemore brings wit, compassion, and insight to the songs he writes and chooses. Moving with skill and passion from ironic self mockery to a deep understanding of people at risk and the misbegotten, his music offers some of the best lyrics around. Supported by a strong band which listens to and carefully reflects his manipulation of color and mood, his work offers much to those who let themselves tune in to it. He brings the sensibility of a bluegrass singer who cut his teeth with Ralph Stanley's Clinch Mountain Boys and an urban lawyer who has a rueful and sardonic view of his own and other's weaknesses. He delivers! Ashleigh Caudill, filling in on bass, was superb.

Josh McMurray

Danny Barnes

Paul Kramer

Ashleigh Caudill

Charlie Sizemore - Devil on a Plow - Video

Family Friendly Isn't a Code Word at G'burg

The Workshop Tent

Dale Ann Bradley

Nominated for Female Vocalist of the Year at IBMA this year along with several song nominations, Dale Ann Bradley seems happier on the road than we've ever seen her. Relieved of some of the onstage pressure by the close harmony and creative solo work of Steve Gulley and supported by a very strong band, Dale Ann has been extremely strong every time we have seen her recently. Audiences are responding to her warmth and sincerity by reciprocating in spades. Gena Britt filled in on banjo wonderfully well, while Brandon Godman and Clint Hurd are strong at fiddle and mandolin.

Brandon Godman

Steve Gulley

Clint Hurd

Gena Britt

Dale Ann Bradley - Rita Mae - Video

Pie Camp Graduate Practices for Luckett's Fair

Photographer Jack Baker Samples

Kids Academy

Ira Gitlin - Director

The Gibson Brothers

The Gibson Brothers have been nominated for Entertainer of the Year at the upcoming IBMA awards in September. Not a band with a slick, carefully produced show, they entertain by being themselves, which is more than good enough. Working without a set list with a keen eye and ear for the audience they face each night, they select a carefully balanced program of songs from their now quite deep catalog. Above, they play their new Henderson guitars, cut from the same piece of wood and now dubbed "the twins," an apt name for two brothers who celebrate in song a world view nurtured on a practically subsistence dairy farm in far northern New York near the Canadian border. Their new song "They Call It Music" is a certain hit, sure to become an iconic bluegrass song when their new CD is released. Their humorous interactions, always off the cuff, are the stuff of genuine wit and humor. It's the kind of entertainment that stays fresh and lives in the hearts of their fans.

Leigh Gibson

Eric Gibson

Never underestimate the quality of the band supporting the Gibson Brothers. With virtuoso musicians at each position, they form a five man ensemble always attuned to the needs of the song, presenting it for maximum impact with each performance.

Mike Barber