The venerable Poppy Mountain Bluegrass Festival, held in northeastern Kentucky for more than three decades, has announced a change at the top. Lawrence Conn, the grandson of co-founder Sandy Knipp, who held the first event with his cousin, Marty Stevens, Lawrence’s great uncle, on Marty’s 1,400 acre farm.
Poppy Mountain claims the distinction of being the largest bluegrass festival in US history, at one time drawing 20,000 people in a single night and 40,000 across a week. All the giants of the music have played there during its tenure, and the festival has been an important part of the culture in that part of the country.
Lawrence, now 25 years old, says that he has plans for keeping things on track for a younger audience, without disturbing the customs of his forebears.
“I was raised in Salt Lick, Kentucky, in a single-wide trailer, surrounded by family who lived and breathed this music.
My papaw, Sandy, co-founded Poppy Mountain, hosted Bluegrass Diversion on WMKY for two decades, and helped start the Kentucky Center for Traditional Music. My mamaw, Debbie, still runs Debbie’s Music Theater, a small but mighty venue that’s hosted artists for over 20 years.
Now, I’ve been handed the reins to Poppy, and I intend to honor the legacy of traditional bluegrass while also opening the door to the future. My goal is to create a festival that faithfully represents the roots, but also welcomes progressive bluegrass voices and carefully selected country artists that still speak the same musical truth.
I want Poppy Mountain to be a place where legends are preserved, new generations are nurtured, and the full story of Appalachian music — from the high lonesome to the boundary-pushers — can be heard and felt.”
On top of Poppy Mountain, Lawrence also manages a podcast called Conn’s Country, dedicated to authentic conversations with traditional and modern artists, and is director of the Salt Lick Food & Music Festival, a free one day event in his home town in June.
You can find all about the Poppy Mountain Bluegrass Festival online. This year’s event is set to run September 12-20.
