The Palatka Bluegrass Festival opened for its ninth season at the Rodeheaver Boys Ranch to the largest crowd ever seen here on a Thursday. The vendor space was completely filled with some familiar and some new vendors. A new bathroom area has been built in what was once the Executive Director's home and will now be the ranch museum. This welcome facility provides relief for the bath/shower area behind the main performance shed for both day trippers and campers who prefer not to use the frequently cleaned portable facilities. A fine opening day lineup helped draw the largest day crowd I've ever seen here. The campground is nearly filled and the weather was warm and pleasant right into the evening. It was a fine day!
The James King Band
James King
James King arrived at Palatka seventy-two pounds thinner and in the best voice we've heard from him in years. James has had an extremely difficult year with the loss of his eighteen year old daughter Shelby in a tragic automobile accident and struggles with his health. His voice and playing were strong and he brought an experienced band with him that provided the sort of support that turns him from a good singer to a star performer. We're told that his upcoming CD, to be released in about a month, is wonderful. Make it a point to see James this year.
John Marcus
Barry Crabtree
Dorse Sears
Merl Johnson
James King
The Crowe Brothers
The Crowe Brothers brought their Maggie Valley brother harmonies style to Palatka with enthusiasm and a full sound. Their traditional sound is raw and hard edged delivered with speed and confidence. Their song choices are a combination of familiar covers and new material carefully chosen to fit them.
Josh Crowe
Wayne Crowe
Bryan Blaylock
Steve Sutton
Gilbert Nelson Teaching
The Bluegrass Brothers
The Bluegrass Brothers are a hard working blue collar band that proves to bluegrass fans that it's still possible to move from jamming in the parking lot to playing on major festival stages. It was particularly nice to see banjo playing brother Robert return to the band. His style and solid singing add a dimension to the band that's been missing. Sadly, band leader Victor Dowdy, responding to an encore request for the gospel song "Working on a Building," gave in to his worst impulses and called the President of the United States a liar in the "if I were a politician" verse. Bluegrass festivals are generally places free of partisan politics where attendees can put aside their differences for the love of the music.
Victor Dowdy
Robert Dowdy
Steve Dowdy
Cason Ogden
Chris Hart
Robert & Victor Dowdy
Robert, Victor & Steve Dowdy - Together Again
Vendors Row
The Grascals
The Grascals, assembled from a set of Nashville pickers who appeared regularly at the Station Inn as "The Sidemen" are approaching their tenth year on the road. The band has been remarkable stable and has retained a high level of popularity. Their allegiance to their original combination of respect and affection for the Osborne Brothers, Jimmy Martin, and Bill Monroe coupled with wise selection of new material written within the band or from contemporary song writers showcases their versatility and traditional roots. Kristen Scott Benson has been named IBMA banjo player of the year in four of her five years with The Grascals. Darrell Webb filled in more than capably for Jamie Johnson, who's recovering from some contagious affliction and will be back soon.
Terry Eldredge
Darrell Webb
Jeremy Abshire
Danny Roberts
Kristin Scott Benson
Terry Smith
Irene & John Marcus at the Grascals Merch Table
Nothin' Fancy
Nothin' Fancy has parlayed its combination of covers of Country Gentlemen material, original songs written by mandolin player Mike Andes, plenty of humorous hijinks, and the virtuoso fiddle work of Chris Sexton to create a show band of unusual versatility and long-standing popularity. Justin Tomlin has ably settled in to the hole left when founding member Gary Faris retired, remarkably consistent band has continued for nearly twenty years with only one personnel change. Their song catalog is deep enough to insure they remain fresh with repeated exposure, a difficult task for many bands to accomplish.
Mike Andes
Mitchell Davis
Chris Sexton
Tony Shorter
Justin Tomlin
Mike Andes & Tony Shorter
Emcee Sherry Boy
Sound Man John Holder
Promoter Judy & Norman Adams
Dailey & Vincent
Dailey and Vincent hit the stage with hard driving bluegrass, fervent evangelical gospel, humorous set pieces, and country impressions in a fast-paced melange that consistently entertains. Their program is lively, varied, and hard hitting. Their insistence on presenting a single ninety minute set continues to disrupt the flow of an orderly festival, making it difficult for the bands that have to follow them and for fans to remain after sitting for a full ninety minutes. Their delivery is slick and well-rehearsed. Christian Davis has relaxed considerably on stage and become a much more effective performer. Jeff Parker's fine singing, mandolin play, and seemingly irrespressible clowning are always welcome. Jesse Baker's banjo play is exciting and his impressions dead on. B.J. Cherryholmes says almost nothing, preferring to let his fiddle and mandolin speak for him. Both Jamie Dailey and Darrin Vincent sing well and keep proceedings moving. According to Jamie Dailey, from the stage, their 2013 show is still in preparation, but seemed already to contain fresh material from the time we last saw them.
Darrin Vincent
Jamie Dailey
Jeff Parker
Jesse Baker
Christian Davis
B.J. Cherryholmes
Christian Davis & Jesse Baker
Jeff Parker & Jamie Dailey
Darrin Vincent
In re Jamie and Darrin "disrupting the flow of an orderly festival" with a 90-minute set, that wouldn't be the case if single, long sets were the norm throughout the day. I've played more than a couple of festivals where that was the case, I think there's a lot to recommend it, and at the least, such festivals are properly described as "orderly." ;-)
ReplyDeleteIs BJ Cherryholmes a regular with Vincent & Dailey now, Ted? I see that the old banjo picker is not there either, so looks like they might be making some changes...or is this temporary?
ReplyDeleteI see, too, that the Grascals were shorthanded...illness is a crippler to bands but I suspect these guys still put on one heck of a show.
Right, Sam. Darrell Webb does a lot of work as a sub for various people on various instruments. Always does a good job. BJ Cherryholmes has been with D&V for over a year and doing a fine job. Jesse Baker on banjo for longer than that. Brings lots of versatility along with his priceless vocal impressions.
ReplyDeleteTed, I agree that it was tasteless for Victor Dowdy to use a gospel song as an occasion to take a shot at the president. But sadly, the bar has been lowered in the last 20 or so years by liberals who have on many occasions made vile remarks about conservatives in ostensibly non-political public forums, like the Grammys, Oscars, or concerts. (e.g. the Dixie Chicks.) You can chalk this up as sauce for the gander. Nonetheless, I hope that bluegrassers, most of whom I would surmise are conservative-leaning, don't start sliding down that slippery slope.
ReplyDeleteUnfair comment to day DV interrupt the flow of.a festival.
ReplyDeleteHello Ted,
ReplyDeleteI'm amazed at your excellent reviews and the timely manner in which you post them. And your photos are terrific.
Wish I had stayed for the 2nd Bluegrass Bros. show, considering it was my main reason for attending. But I left and missed the slur. I'm so sorry that happened and your comments regarding that are right on target. Fortunately for Victor, he chose a friendly venue for his opinion. I hope he never does that again!
Thank you for your work! Have a blessed tomorrow.
Funny how Mr. Ted never comments on disparaging political remarks made by Ron Thomason during his sets. Ron repeatedly takes shots at what he deems "so-called" conservatives: Jesse Helms, Phil Gramm, Rush Limbaugh, Vice-President Richard B. Cheney, and President George W. Bush. Never a mention from Mr. Ted about stooping to a new low concerning partisan political remarks at Bluegrass festivals? Me thinks Mr. Ted probably agrees with Ron's "thoughtful satire" and sees no need for any criticism. 'Tis strange how liberals think, ain't it? Are they capable of thought?
ReplyDeleteShannon - Next time we're at the same festival, I'd love for you to step forward so we could have a civil discussion regarding our differences. Meanwhile, this festival provided a good opportunity to measure humor vs. mean thoughtlessness in a risk free environment. Ron Thomason continues to be an equal opportunity satirist. The Moron Brothers, too, were side splittingly funny and pointed without ever stooping to just plain name calling. Try really listening one of these days.
ReplyDelete