US Navy Band Country Current at the 2023 Remington Ryde Bluegrass Festival – photo © Bill Warren
We are home after two weeks on the road at two festivals. The Remington Ryde Bluegrass Festival is now under the guidance of Larry Efaw. He has taken over from Ryan Frankhouser and has kept the festival growing. Larry said there were over a thousand campers on site. I doubt anyone failed to have a good time. Rain threatened on and off throughout the weekend, and finally came down about five minutes after Rhonda Vincent finished her last song on Saturday night. It was dry by Sunday morning.
The Saturday kids performance was a highlight of the show. A group of youngsters spent time Thursday and Friday preparing a set that ran nearly ninety minutes. They played and sang individually and in groups, with a couple of them groups as families. Pennsylvania bluegrass is in good hands.
The rest of Friday and Saturday was a whirlwind of excitement and emotions.
Larry Stephenson closed his sets with The Sound That Set My Soul On Fire in tribute to The Osborne Brothers.
I found myself reminiscing through various performances. Five young adults have gone from teenagers to sailors playing the biggest stages with the U.S. Navy Band Country Current. I watched Stanley Efaw as an eight year old playing mandolin with his Dad at a hundred miles and hour. Now he’s a Clinch Mountain Boy. Rhonda has gone from the young mother on top of her game to a grandmother who is still the very best.
I guess the passings of Jesse McReynolds and Bobby Osborne in less than a week gave us all pause and time to reflect. They were both fondly remembered by all of the performers at Remington Ryde.
Centre Hall, Pennsylvania will be the place to be again in one short year.
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