Dale and Darcy Cahill, Author at Bluegrass Today

Lonesome Fest – New Hampshire’s friendliest fall music festival

The Bagboys at the 2018 Lonesome Fest – photo by Dale Cahill

The question was asked; How do you get lonesome harmonies? We don’t have the answer, but we did have a ball at this year’s Lonesome Fest. Held at Rock Maple Woods in Strafford, NH, this event grows slow but sure. Low key is the name of the game for founder and owner of the property, Cecil Abels. He grows his Festival like he makes his world-famous Mr. Sippy BBQ, low and slow!

Joe K Walsh returned this year, this time with three Berklee performance students, Ella Jordon on fiddle and vocals, Korey Brodsky on guitar and mandolin, and Brittany Karlson on vocals and bass. Watch out for this young fiddle player, you will hear her down the road as her voice could make the angels jealous. As for Joe, a full-time strings instructor at Berklee College of Music, he will be playing a couple of gigs out west this fall with Scott Nygaard. He also plans to do some touring with Danny Barnes and Grant Gordy.

This year’s line also included singer /songwriter Rachel McCartney who returned this year and was better and more soulful then ever. You may have seen her at Ossipee Music Festival in New Hampshire this past summer. She will be returning there and to Lonesome Fest again next year. Harvey Reid and Joyce Andersen, musical troubadours, returned for their 5th year at Lonesome Fest. Their combined talents and musical synergy make them a festival favorite. The Bagboys (a 30 plus year old band out of Boston), who play a combination of traditional and original bluegrass, as well as some Western Swing were new to the lineup and delivered two great sets. Cormac McCarthy, Green Heron, and The Dale and Darcy Band rounded out the lineup.

The weather cooperated with seasonally cool evenings, just right for hot fires and cold beer. New this year was a giant movie screen and projector system. Everyone enjoyed an oldie but a goodie, Cool Hand Luke, with Old blue-eyes, Paul Newman, and the now famous line, “what we have here is a failure to communicate!”

A new sound board and sound man, Joe Goodin, came up from DC to make sure there was no failure to communicate the sweet sound coming from the stage. He is one of many volunteers who make sure that Rock Maple Woods is ready for Lonesome Fest each year. Much of the crowd is made up of day-visiting locals, but there was also a group of “in the rough” campers who came from Maine, Vermont, and Massachusetts. The Rock Maple Woods stage is in a natural amphitheatre located under a beautiful grove of maples, which when lit at night by tiki torches glows with warmth.

So back to the question; How do you get a lonesome harmony? Seems like an oxymoron, right? Well we heard plenty of harmony that night. So lonesome!

Already looking forward to next year.

Stay lonesome my friends!!

Thomas Point Bluegrass Festival does it again

Larry Sparks at the 2018 Thomas Point Beach Bluegrass Festival – photo by Dale Cahill

Just before the final act on Sunday at the 2018 Thomas Point Beach Bluegrass Festival, promoter Michael Mulligan made a surprise announcement. There will be a festival next year and Rhonda Vincent has already been booked. The long running event had a few years since 1979 when there was no festival, founded and run by Mike’s mom, Pati Crooker, but after her passing in 2016, Mike agreed to try again in ’18.

This year’s festival met everyone’s expectations and more. The weather was almost unbearably perfect. Camping under the pines or in the fields was a pleasure. Swimming in the ocean in Maine in Sept. was the perfect way to stay cool during the mid-day Sun. Mike and his crew ran a smooth operation and the line up this year offered something for just about everyone, even a few newgrass acts.

Folks poured into the camping ground starting on Monday and picking got off to a robust start. The chairs in the stage area reached back 30 or so rows by Wednesday. The lineup included big names like The Lonesome River Band, Earls of Leicester, Sierra Hull, Sister Sadie, Balsam Range, Larry Sparks, The Gibson Brothers, and one of our favorites, Hot Rize with a 40^th anniversary performance. Red Knuckles, Waldo Otto, Wendell Mercantile, and Slade showed up in the middle of the Hot Rize set and everyone agreed that they are sharp dressers and pretty good musicians.

While traditional fans got their dose of straight up bluegrass music with the Earls of Leicester, The Gibson Brothers, and Larry Sparks, Sierra Hull and Justin Moses treated the crowd to Sierra’s new act as a duo, and Twisted Pine (last year’s winner of the Band Contest) added some newgrass to the stage. Congratulations go out to this year’s contest winners Beg, Steal, and Borrow.

Between the workshops, swimming in the Atlantic – which was surprisingly warm – catching up with old friends, and just walking around the scenic campground, this festival gave us an excellent chance to wrap up a busy summer season of bluegrass festivals. Booth Shot Lincoln and Waynesboro were this year most talked about and played songs we heard in the jams. We plan to learn them over the winter so that we can play them up to speed next year. Between the Long Island Crew, the Maine Blue grassers, and pickers from Boston and the Hudson Valley, and of course our buddies from Vermont, we always had a jam to join or to just listen to from the comfort of our campsite. As always, the picking went on well into the wee hours every night. Showers, sleep, and food were snatched between jams and shows.

The Thomas Point Beach Bluegrass Festival is in good hands. Mike, Jen, and Shari, and all their volunteers are ready for next year’s celebration of 40 years of bluegrass music, friends, and Maine seafood. And we all look forward to joining them again.

Beg Steal or Borrow wins Thomas Point band competition

Beg Steal or Borrow competes in the 2018 Thomas Point Beach band competition – photo by Dale Cahill

“Beg, steal, or borrow two nickels or a dime and call me on the phone.” These lyrics of Peter Rowan, from the groundbreaking bluegrass album Old and In the Way, was partly how this band got its start and its name. When requested that this group of friends and musicians if they could cover that famous album, they said sure. The name came quite naturally. Last Thursday, they won the Thomas Point Beach Bluegrass Festival band competition, a triple crown so to speak, as they had won at Podunk and did the showcase and then the main stage at Grey Fox. They are psyched to return next year to play on the TPB main stage.

All five band members met in Northern Vermont where for the past ten years they have played together and separately in a variety different bands, Granite Junction, The Mud City Ramblers, and The Hillside Ramblers being just a few. In 2013, when banjo player Luke Auriemmo, was asked to throw together an Old and In the Way tribute band for a Grateful Dead show at Burlington’s Higher Ground, he knew just who to ask: Jeremy Sicely on guitar and vocals, Fran Forim on vocals and bass, Geoff Goodhue on vocals and mandolin, and Roland Clark on fiddle. All five band members agree that it was during that show, at Higher Ground, that they liked what they heard from one another and decided to make a go as a full-time bluegrass band. When asked informally what the musical influence that started them down the bluegrass path might have been, each member cited the Old and In the Way album.

While they kept performing songs from the album they soon expanded their set list to include other traditional bluegrass songs, and many originals from members Jeremy Sisely and Roland Clark. They have succeeded in developing a fine reputation for themselves. Playing at the Grey Fox showcase stage in 2017, and that same summer winning the Podunk Bluegrass Festival Band contest, sealed their commitment to the group. It was after the band members saw Hot Rize perform at the Barre Opera House in Barre, Vermont during the winter of 2018 that they decided it was time to start writing their own material. Sicely says that night Pete Wernick encouraged the musicians in the audience to create more original material, and they took that advice to heart. It wasn’t long after that they started writing and performing their own material. Their win this summer at Thomas Point has fueled their desire to record an entire album of originals.

While the crowd responded with enthusiasm to the band’s versions of Working on a Building and I’m Knocking on Your Door it was Roland’s fast paced instrumental Mountain Rills, and Sicely’s song Harder Than Time, about working in the Rock of Ages granite quarries of Barre, VT, that revealed the band’s depth and versatility. They plan to take some time off this winter from their hectic performance schedule to collaborate on more originals and to set a course for their future. At this point, that future is looking and sounding pretty good!

You can learn more about Beg, Steal or Borrow online.

Thomas Point Beach Bluegrass festival – Day 1

Thomas Point Beach Bluegrass festival begins today. We arrived on Monday and have enjoyed swimming in the ocean, sitting on the beach, reconnecting with old friends and picking far into the night. Thomas Point is famous among bluegrassers for its excellent camping and parking lot picking.

Mike Mulligan, the festival promoter has been busy holding true to his mom’s (founder Pati Crooker) ideas on how to hold a successful festival. Keep up the Good work, Mike, and thanks from all of us bluegrassers.

About two hours after setting up camp we were enjoying a cold brew, and with instruments in hand, set out to find some hot pickin’. Our friends from right here in Maine, Joe and Nellie Kennedy and most of their old band Evergreen, were the first folks we ran into. Mike Burns soon joined us with his guitar and it was off to the races.

Day two, and who should we meet but our old friend Richard Heepe. This time, not wearing his Volunteer T-shirt, he is here for some well earned R&R.We hope to see him again soon with an instrument in his hand.

The line up this year includes an excellent group of traditional bluegrass bands, including The Earls of Leicester, Larry Sparks, The Gibson Brothers, Balsam Range, Sierra Hull and many others. Today seven bands will compete in the Showcase Contest. Last year’s winner, Bluegrass Unit, will close out the first day of music.

You might remember we mentioned the Ye Old English Fish and Chips concession in our story about the Jenny Brook festival, held earlier this year. Well imagine our exitement to see them setting up here. The Loose Caboose, the late night place to be for midnight jams and late night snacks were also gearing up for the festival. Cool Beans, TPB Ice Cream shoppe, and Papa’s Roadhouse round out the food vendors. Shari Elder, one of the festival’s original coordinators, says that turning the Main Lodge’s public room into a living room last year was a huge hit and will be open again this year. Over the course of a day, visitors to the living room will be found charging phones, knitting, catching up with friends, quietly reading and new this year, attending workshops. We suspect that the living room will be full. Standing room only.

Now it is to time for us to head over to the main stage to see and hear what’s cooking at the band competition. We suspect we will see some new talent to add to the already deep roots of the world of bluegrass. Stay tuned as we will have more to say soon.

2018 Podunk Bluegrass Festival wrap up

Fairgrounds at Podunk 2018 made for easy, organized camping – photo by Dale Cahill

It has been ten years since we last attended the Podunk Bluegrass Festival, and boy how it has changed. This summer, we finally returned to enjoy Podunk’s 22^nd annual fest and are glad that we did. Through its 22-year evolution, with changes in leadership and location, the organizers and the festival’s one hundred plus volunteers have honed their ability to throw a bluegrass party. The entire weekend of music, workshops, vendors, camping, and jamming was enjoyable first to last. This was due in part to an excellent musical line up on both the main and showcase stages, but even more to the unified, well-organized veteran crew who clearly love putting on their festival.

When we entered the gate to The Hebron Fairgrounds Wednesday, we were surprised by the level of service everyone got as they began their weekend at the festival. Rich James, the festival’s jack of all trades, welcomed us with a smile and a golf cart tour of our camping options. That Podunk greeting set a positive and relaxed tone for the rest of the weekend. There was no feeling of being rushed and harried as we settled into our campsite, and the fairgrounds steadily filled in with campers over the next three days.

Podunk committee members Rich James and Shawn Szirbik, their wives and most of their volunteers, have been attending festivals much all their adult (loosely used term) life. They measure time by comparing past and present using older festivals they’ve attended. Like “since Grey Fox was Winter Hawk and Winter Hawk was the Berkshire Mountains Music Festival.” James attributes the success of this year’s festival in large part to a group of new and old volunteers who know how they like to be treated, and showed the same respect and kindness to others while they did their jobs. They all stepped up when faced with unexpected challenges. Between Kevin Lynch booking the bands from his home in Holland to Thirsty Lizard’s Malin Zergiebel’s willingness to devote extra time and energy to the website, James is thankful that everyone’s hearts were in the game. A lot of thought and planning went into Podunk’s festival and it showed.

Some highlights were Tim O’Brien‘s mandolin workshop which overflowed with people, Kristy Cox and Jerry Salley’s song writing workshop, Neil Rossi’s fiddle workshop, and Dale Ann Bradley and Flatt Lonesome’s workshops, which also had great attendance.

The first year of the Showcase stage was a big success. James says that for next year the organizers have already decided to expand the budget for the Showcase stage as well as the size of the tent.

The Honey Dewdrops, Flatt Lonesome, Balsam Range, Flashback and newly emerging Beg, Steal or Borrow were all crowd pleasers, and despite the threat of rain on Saturday night, Tim O’Brien’s hour and a half closer pulled in just about everyone in the campground.

Most importantly for us, the day time and late-night jamming included all kinds of energy and talent, and we got the chance to play with old friends and new acquaintances. By late Thursday night everyone knew where the hot pickin’ parties were. Up on the hill above the shower and restrooms, the Zolla’s, the grillbillies, and over by the choo choo train. We knew that we could play or listen to excellent jams till the wee hours.

The Podunk crew has figured out the formula for putting on a successful bluegrass festival and if they stick with it, the 23^rd annual is sure to be a success.

Pretty Saro wins 2018 Telefunken Band Competition at Podunk

Kevin Hale, winner of Podunk’s 2017 songwriter’s competition, returned to Podunk Bluegrass Festival again this year this time to judge the 2018 Telefunken Band Competition. His winning song from the year before, Angels from Appalachia, was one of the required tunes for the competition bands, and he says that it was total treat to hear his song played by four different and talented bands. However, it was the band Pretty Saro’s version of his tune that he says really nailed it. Kevin explains, “Maxfield sang with intense emotion in his voice, and the instrumentation was really exciting from the way the fiddle wove its way in and out of the tune to the mandolin’s clear, crisp chunking.” Pretty Saro won the contest, were fan favorites at the festival, and impressed Hale with their version of his tune.

Pretty Saro is a young group of musicians who all attend or have attended Berklee School of Music in Boston. Maxfield Andersen is on vocals and mandolin, Alex Formento on vocals and guitar, Devon Gardner on vocals and fiddle, and Joe Everett on vocals and bass. Maxfield says that his band liked Podunk’s contest format which allowed each band to play for thirty minutes rather than just perform one or two songs, giving Pretty Saro the chance to present a full picture of their band’s sound and abilities. He also said that it added pressure to the competition knowing that the songwriter for Angels from Appalachia was listening to their version of his song, and would give them feedback about their performance after the competition. Happily for them, the feedback was good!

All the band members in Pretty Saro are young, classically trained musicians who are acutely aware of bluegrass’s old traditional roots. Part of a of a new wave of college trained bluegrassers, Maxfield says that the band’s musical goal is to blend traditional styles with modern ideas of how to create unique and exciting music.

This is Pretty Saro’s first band competition and they plan to enter more in the 2019 festival season. They will start recording their first album next month entitled, The Art of Leaving. The album will include all original work inspired by the concept of leaving, a concept Maxfield says that he and his fellow songwriter Devon Gardner have explored and experienced, for better or worse. The band hopes that the new recording will be out in January some time. Till then, they will practice, practice, practice and play lots of gigs in the Boston area, specifically at The Burren and Club Passim, two of their favorite venues in town. Check them out on their Facebook page.

Nick Anderson, winner of Podunk’s 2018 songwriter’s competition, will hopefully return to the Podunk Bluegrass Festival next year to hear his winning song House on the Farm played by the four aspiring bluegrass bands in the 2019 Telefunken Band Competition. It must be a thrill to hear a song you have written performed by multiple bands in front of an enthusiastic bluegrass audience. We suspect that it also must be just as thrilling to win the band competition!

Podunk Bluegrass Festival kicks off in Connecticut

The 22nd Annual Podunk Bluegrass Festival is underway in Hebron, Connecticut. This is the fifth year Podunk has been held at the Hebron Lions Fairgrounds and the organizers and their team of over one hundred volunteers clearly know what they are doing. While many campers have attended before and know where they want to camp, all newcomers are given a personalized golf cart tour of their options. Shawn Szirbik, one of Podunk’s loyal volunteers, calls this the “consierge” treatment. We liked it!

Between the friendly and well organized folks who met us at the gate, the fairground’s flat terrain, an abundance of electric and water hook ups and easy access to bathrooms and free showers made pulling into this festival stress free, always a plus! It also didn’t hurt to get a wave from our good friend, mando picker and festival volunteer, Richard Heepe. It is hard to imagine attending a bluegrass festival in New England without seeing him hard at work.

In response to the feedback they received from their 2017 festival, Podunk’s Festival Committee have added a Showcase Stage which will feature local and regional bluegrass bands. Bend in the River opens the festival at 4:45 today. Both members of the band, sister and brother Clara and Evan Guilmette, participated in Podunk’s Kid’s Academy and live just down the road in Portland, CT. About the same time, the Telefunken Band Competition will take place on the Main Stage. We are happy to report that last year’s band competition winners, Beg, Steal or Borrow, from the state we call home, Vermont, are returning this year to play a few sets on the Main Stage. Looking forward to that !

Another popular addition to the festival is a Thursday night open mic. Musicians started signing up for the open on Thursday in the early afternoon.

The headliners on the main stage this year are Flatt Lonesome, Balsam Rang, Dale Ann Bradley and Tim O’Brien. Not too shabby!

The Hebron Fairgrounds is Podunk’s third, best, and hopefully permanent location. The festival started in 1996 thanks to a few bluegrass music lovers and an enthusiastic mayor who fully supported holding the festival at East Hartford’s Martin Park and offered the park, the park’s department staff, and police force at no cost to the festival promoters. The festival stayed there for sixteen years and then, after outgrowing the Park relocated to Norwich, CT ball park. The following year in 2013 the festival was canceled but the one hundred plus volunteers rallied together and moved Podunk to Hebron. Now a non-profit, Podunk has no paid staff and relies solely on their volunteers like Rich James and his wife Julia who find enormous satisfaction in looking around the festival, seeing the crowds and knowing that they were part of making it all happen.

Stay tuned for more photos and news from Podunk. If you are on the fence about attending this festival, come check it out for yourselves. It is just off of I-84 in Hartford and you don’t need a GPS to find it as the way is clearly marked with signs. It is time for us to grab a cold beer and go watch the morning music.

2018 Jenny Brook Bluegrass Festival – Better than ever!

Rhonda Vincent & The Rage at the 2018 Jenny Brook Bluegrass Festival – photo by Dale Cahill

The 18^th annual Jenny Brook Bluegrass Festival is in the books and what a festival it was! Even a little bit of rain on Saturday night didn’t dampen the spirits of the performers, the audience or the many pickers in the fields. Seth, Candi and all their volunteers buzzed around the festival in their golf carts making sure that everyone had what they needed, and felt welcomed and as comfortable as if we were visiting the Sawyer’s home.

The house band, The Seth Sawyer Band, set a positive tone for the festival on Thursday with a 4:00 p.m. set which featured both his vocal power and his songwriting skills. Another local band that took the stage that same day was Bob Amos and Catamount Crossing. Some of you might remember Bob from his days as the front man for a Colorado-based band – Front Range. Luckily for Vermont, he has returned to his home state and has put together a tight and experienced group of musicians including Freeman Corey on fiddle and his daughter Sarah on vocals. The father daughter harmonies delighted the crowd. Audie Blaylock and Redline finished out the night and then returned on Friday for a Jimmy Martin tribute performance on the Weston Stage. If you look at the photos it is almost as if Jimmy Martin himself was in attendance.

Two bands from neighboring NY state included the Feinberg Brothers from Long Island and the Gibson Brothers from across Lake Champlain in Ellenburg Depot, NY. Both entertained the crowd with beautiful brother harmonies. Ron Feinberg, guitar player and vocalist for the Feinberg Brother’s band, added depth to his sons’ singing and was clearly proud to share the stage with his two talented sons. They played some old favorites from their first CD and new ones off their recently released album, Party For One. Eric and Leigh Gibson did not disappoint either. They got a chance to show off tunes from their recently released album, In the Ground, made up entirely of original songs. Between tunes, they kept the crowd laughing, sometimes in tears, with their brotherly banter that felt fresh and unrehearsed. They assured the crowd that they really do love each other.

The US Navy Band practically glowed in their dress whites, and were a crowd pleaser as well. Their set on the Weston Stage, and later that night on the Main Stage, clearly won them admiration for both their musicianship and for the way that they represent the US military. Hard not to feel intensely patriotic when they play their medley representing each branch of the military.

It’s little wonder that the Po’ Ramblin’ Boys got their share of praise on Friday. Their 1940’s style Tennessee bluegrass, and their high energy antics, make it small wonder that they are up for awards at the IBMA this year. They were excited to tell the crowd that they had just signed a deal with Rounder Records for their next recording. Folks who later attended any of their Friday workshops got an excellent taste of each musician’s high energy and precision musicianship. This band has a blast on stage and their excitement is contagious.

Saturday night brought to the stage two bluegrass favorites, The Seldom Scene followed by Rhonda Vincent and the Rage. Dudley Connell and Lou Reed wowed us like they always do, performing some of Seldom Scene’s beloved repertoire. Rhonda took the stage after their set and was clearly prepared to play in some cold Vermont weather. She sang her first few songs in a full length down coat. Rhonda’s two sons-in-law and her daughter Sally play in the Rage, supporting Rhonda with every note. Rhonda also did not disappoint. If Jimmy Martin is called the King of Bluegrass, Rhonda must be the queen. She never misses a note and she and the Rage played with high spirits and lots of smiles.

Thanks go out to Seth and Candi as well as to everyone who helps them make this festival such a winner. While a festival is defined in part by it’s talent on the main stage, it relies just as much on its orderly camping, clean and plentiful bathrooms, respectful audience, and sense of being at a home away from home.

Seth and Candi nailed it again. See ya next year!!

2018 Jenny Brook Bluegrass Festival report

Jenny Brook promoter Candi Sawyer poses with her Jimmy Martin cutout – photo by Darcy Cahill

Welcome to the 18th annual Jenny Brook Bluegrass Festival!

It seems like Candi and Seth Sawyer have done it again. They are busy this morning getting ready for the music to begin in the green mountains of Tunbridge, Vermont. Always mindful of ways to make Jenny Brook run more smoothly, they have streamlined arrivals with a new system that allows folks to enter in the order they arrive and wait in separate lines while the staff takes tickets, places a Jenny Brook sticker on the windshield, and individually guides each guest to their camping spot. Thankfully their staff knows all the ins and outs of moving big rigs into place, so camp set-up, an event that can cause friction in the best of marriages, was a pleasure.

Some of the Jenny Brook traditions that early arrivals and “repeat offenders” have come to love include the pre-festival Wednesday Night Barn Dance and Potluck Supper, kids’ activities, The Pick’n Place, the Sugar House Stage, and the Bluegrass University are all scheduled over the next few days.

Hone your skills on your favorite instrument at the Bluegrass University workshops or jam at The Sugar House Stage where festival favorites stop in after the night’s program to jam with fans. Tonight the Po’ Ramblin’ Boys will be at the Sugar House Stage (See our article from June 19th about the Po Ramblin’ Boys big news), and on Friday night folks will be jamming with Carson Peters & Iron Mountain and Bob Amos & Catamount Crossing, and on Saturday Mickey Galyean & Cullen’s Bridge and Dreamcatcher will lead the jam.

Candi and Seth have also included some surprises this year. Remington Ryde will pay tribute to James King, and Jimmy Martin’s wife, Barbara Martin Stephens, is here for a book signing of her book Don’t Give your Heart to a Rambler. This is a remarkable story of a woman who pioneered the booking agent industry in bluegrass and country music. This will be followed by a performance by Audie Blaylock and Redline. There are even rumors that Jimmy Martin might show up for a photo op.

It is a comfort to pull into a festival and see old friends and acquaintances. Within fifteen minutes we ran into our old friend, Rich Heepe, who has put in many years volunteering at festivals like Winter Hawk/Grey Fox, Ossipee Valley, and others. This weekend he is here to relax and enjoy the music. Speaking of old friends and volunteers, Kenny Whiton has been with Seth and Candi for the past 18 years. Seth and Candi both agree that without volunteers, large festivals don’t happen. Fan favorites Cool Beans Coffee and Ye Olde English Fish and Chips set up early to serve hot coffee and mouth watering Maine seafood. To be this far inland and be able to order fresh fish is a treat.

It is ten o’clock and the festival is about to begin. Time for us to go make some memories. We agree with Candi’s sentiment and fond wish that, “Bluegrass is music with a long memory – and I hope the memories you make this year never fade.”

We hope so too!

40th Annual Everglades Festival

The 40th Annual Everglades Bluegrass Festival took place during the first weekend of March in North Miami Beach, Florida. Flatt Lonesome and Junior Sisk & Rambler’s Choice headlined the festival, and did not disappoint. Tellico, a four piece band out of Asheville, North Carolina, and the Trinity River Band from northeast Florida gave standout performances, but it is the location of the festival in historic Greynolds Park and the South Florida Bluegrass Association’s long standing bluegrass history that make the festival one to add to your winter destinations.

The South Florida Bluegrass Association began holding monthly concerts the first Sunday of the month in 1970, and continue to do so today. They have also held an annual three-day festival since 1978 and their roster of A-listers has included Bill Monroe, Ralph Stanley, Jim & Jesse, The Osborne Brothers, and many more. Charlie Hudson and his wife Barbara have been active in the association from the beginning, and remember one year when Chubby Wise pulled up for a show, and played a set while his wife waited for him in their station wagon. Bertha McKenzie, President of the South Florida Bluegrass Association, says that SFBA is a non-profit organization that funds the festival with grants, and runs it with a crew of volunteers.

The festivals location in North Miami is both its strength and McKenzie fears, its greatest weakness. She explained that when out of towners see the location of the festival, they often balk, thinking that it must be in a crowded urban setting. However, that couldn’t be further from the truth. Greynolds Park sits just a mile from Interstate 95 and is a natural beauty. The branches of its live Oaks and Black Olive trees create a perfect canopy for the audience, and at the beginning of March the temperatures hover in the mid-70s.

First time festival goer Chris Schuler from New Jersey said that Greynolds Park reminds him of Central Park in Manhattan – an oasis of natural beauty. Even Flatt Lonesome commented on the location’s surprising beauty and mild temperatures. During their set, which transfixed the audience, their mandolin player and singer Kelsi Harrigill looked out on the festival grounds and remarked with pleasant surprise, “Is this really North Miami?”

SFBA organizers hope to draw a bigger crowd next year which will spread the word that this gem of a festival is still alive and well, and bringing bluegrass greats to South Florida. McKenzie is eager to see the festival draw a wider audience. One audience member reflected, “We weren’t sure what to expect but we loved it and will be back again next year.” That rang true for us and for everyone we ran into under the live Oaks.