Michael Cleveland with The Travelin’ McCourys at GMBR ’24 – photo courtesy of the festival
Green Mountain Bluegrass and Roots festival’s fifth season once again included a mixture of traditional bluegrass and roots artists, singer/songwriters, and three days of a well-managed retreat with relaxing music in a beautiful Vermont setting. Festival goers saw promoters Jill and John Turpin buzzing around the grounds all weekend with their growing team of volunteers. No detail escaped their notice and attention. They clearly care about this event, including those enjoying the music, all of their volunteers, and the musicians themselves.
Located at Hunter Park in Manchester, VT, the festival included several new vendors, free showers, and a variety of campsites, ninety percent located on flat ground. This year also saw some new features, like a repositioned main stage layout, a second additional stage, The Shady Grove Tent, and VIP Tickets.
The gates opened at 10:00 on Thursday morning with a variety of bands and activities in the Shady Grove tent. Carling and Will, Noam Pikelny and Friends, dance lessons, Point Noir Cajun Band, the Slocan Ramblers, and Donna the Buffalo were there for all to see. The stage overflowed with an audience ready to begin the festival fun.
The main stage line up started on Friday at 11:00 with Alison DeGroot and Nik Gareiss, Christian Sedelmyer, Viv and Riley, and the Foghorn Stringband. The evening set included Michael Cleveland and Flamekeeper, a rousing performance by the Lil Smokies, and the much anticipated Travelin’ McCourys with a guest appearance of Micheal Cleveland. After the McCourys incredible performance, the audience walked over to the Lamplighter Stage, just a short distance on a magically lighted woodland path. There, The White Eagle Stringband, followed by Jordan Tice and Friends, entertained a large and appreciative crowd.
Saturday got off to a start with the Eli West Quartet, New Dangerfield, The Tim O’Brien Band, and Aoife O’Donovan. Next came the GMBR All-Star band performing the Bluegrass Album Band Vol. 1, dedicated to Bobby Hicks when news spread of his passing. Watchhouse followed as did AJ Lee and Blue Summit, with The Brothers Comatose closing out the night on the main stage. Once again late-night listeners headed over the to Lamplighter Stage for two incredible sets, the first by Tim O’Brien and Friends, and then a GMBR festival favorite, Twisted Pine.
The music did not stop on Sunday. Alexa Rose started the day at 10:30, followed by Bryan Sutton and Chris Eldridge, the Jerry Douglas Band, Rayland Baxter, and a reunion of Crooked Still. Despite Sunday’s heavy rain, many festival goers stayed right to the final act, unwilling to miss a much-anticipated reunion of Crooked Still after their three-year hiatus.
Not surprisingly, word has gotten out that this is a festival that rivals some of New England’s best, and thus, according to the site manager, his early assessment was that the festival had increased by about fifty percent since 2023. What we saw and experienced echoed that impression. Sold-out camping required the Turpins to open camping in a field just outside of the festival gates. This, combined with more day ticket sales, led to much larger numbers at all stages, and a more strictly organized camping area with delineated streets.
When asked about the possibility of the festival’s growing popularity and increased in sales in 2023, Jill Turpin said that her and John’s primary goal is to maintain an event that feels intimate and lively. As word spreads about this gem of a festival, that will be a challenge.
We found that one upside of the increased attendance was more campsite jamming than in past years. Those jam sessions were dominated by incredibly talented musicians who played well into the night and early morning. At times, we were faced with the choice of playing in amazing jams or heading up to the stage to listen to the bands.
We hope to return in 2025 and avidly support the Turpins’ goal to keep Green Mountain Bluegrass and Roots festival an intimate gathering, managing their success with careful planning.
Photos by Dale and Darcy Cahill, Erin Kiernan Photography, Maggie Yurachek Photography, @jstrausser_visuals, @samwatson.co, @taylorlewis_photography.
