Sam Bush and Infamous Stringdusters Lead at Otis Mtn..

Saturday evening August 18th at the Otis Mountain Music Festival in Elizabethtown, NY was cool and clear, but neither the fans nor the bands felt cold as the Sam Bush Band and the Infamous Stringdusters heated up the night. Promoter Jeff Allot has worked hard to make this small festival in the rugged Adirondack Mountains a success. In bringing one of the great bands of bluegrass history as well as one of the hottest young bands on the circuit together for a day, Allot scored a huge artistic success. Whether this proves to be a financial success and allows him to continue this great festival remains to be seen, but this festival deserves support and encouragement. I’ll write a longer appraisal of the two day even later in the week. For now, here’s a set of highlight pictures.

New England Bluegrass Band

Infamous Stringdusters

Andy Hall

Chris Eldridge

Jeremy Garrett

Chris Pandolfi

Jesse Cobb and Travis Book

Travis Book


Sam Bush Band


Sam Bush Workshop


Sam Bush Band

Scott Vestal

Byron House

Sam Bush

Sam and Jesse Jam

Bush Band and Stringdusters Jam

Promoter Jeff Allot

The closing jam provided one of those thrilling moments that may only happen in bluegrass festivals. In the encore, Sam invited the Stringdusters to join him and they jammed for half an hour to the delight of the crowd that whooped it up for more. It was simply a great night. The New England Bluegrass Band, Big Spike, and Three Doug Knight all deserve credit, too, and I'll be posting more later in the week.