Danny Paisley at the Camp Springs Labor Day Bluegrass Festival – photo © Laura Tate Photography
Returning for the sixth time since its restoration, Camp Springs Labor Day Bluegrass Festival and its promoters, Cody and Donna Johnson, are celebrating a successful event. Cody reported that the festival was home to the most campers ever since the festival’s revival in 2019.
“Once again, we can’t thank the people who came and the bands that performed enough for a great festival. I also want to thank Blue Ridge Sound for outstanding audio. We continue to see it grow every year. The good Lord looked after all weekend with the weather as it seemed to rain all around us, but not here. We hope to see everyone next year.”
The site had been home to one of the first bluegrass festivals in the United States, hosted and promoted by legendary bluegrass impresario Carlton Haney. Known as Camp Springs Bluegrass Park, it had fallen into disrepair for quite some time until the Johnsons bought the property, rehabilitated and upgraded the facilities, and relaunched the festivals.
Even with Russell Moore belting out Raining in LA on stage Sunday evening, only a very few water droplets fell from the night sky. Fans enjoyed a rain-free weekend cooled by cloud cover. Though there were severe storms in the area that worried members of Appalachian Road Show (with the Raleigh/Durham airport shut down for a time on Thursday) about making the trip to the park for their evening set, Camp Springs remained dry and ARS’ plane landed in time for them to deliver a high energy, crowd-pleasing show to wrap up the first day.
In addition to beautiful weather conditions, it was a time for many of the artists to reflect on the history of the first multi-day bluegrass festival held in North Carolina in 1969, and the site of the filming of the iconic movie, Bluegrass Country Soul, in 1971.
On Friday, Tim Graves praised the promoter and relayed a little heritage. “Cody has done a great job putting this all back to together. There’s a lot of Bluegrass DNA on this stage. We have a bloodline to the first pioneers. I am the nephew of Uncle Josh Graves. On banjo is Don Wayne Reno, youngest son of Don Reno. His dad played the first festival here.”
Joining Tim Graves & the Farm Hands on mandolin for their evening performance was another of Don Reno’s sons, Dale.
Dale recalled, “I spent a lot of years here and saw some amazing things. I saw the Osborne Brothers doing Ruby, and I watched John Duffey stand back stage and sing tenor with Bobby Osborne.”
More history was shared. “At Wheeling, WV, Dad [Don Reno] told Josh [Graves] to put a third pick on his finger for his rolls [on the dobro].”
Farm Hands bassist, Terry Eldridge, added his own blast from the past. “I got to play with the Osborne Brothers here when Carlton was alive. “
Also on Friday, the Country Gentlemen Show took to the stage to sing the songs that the award-winning band had performed on the same spot half a century ago.
Their banjoist, Lynwood Lunsford, noted, “I was here 50 years ago. Good to be back!”
The Show’s reso-guitarist, Darren Beachley, readily agreed. “This is the Holy Grail!”
On Saturday, festival MC, Cindy Baucom, noted the musical genealogy. “It’s good to see bluegrass passing from one generation to another.”
She was referencing the first band of the day, Buttermilk Creek. Three members of the Aldridge clan were on stage: father-Mike Aldridge on mandolin, son-Nathan on fiddle, and grandson (Brian’s son) Carson on guitar.
That afternoon, Tennessee Bluegrass Band brought more festival legacy. Banjo player, Lincoln Hensley, picked a Sonny Osborne Vega, the same model Osborne used in the 1971 movie.
“This is my first time to Camp Springs,” the young Hensley joyfully confessed. “My banjo teacher gave me the DVD of the 1971 festival, and I thought how cool it would be to play there – and now here we are!”
Hensley has forged friendships with several first generation bluegrass legends that recognized his love for musical heritage. During their Saturday shows, the banjoist used a capo presented to him by the late Sonny Osborne, and both Hensley and TBB fiddler, Michael Feagan, were adorned with Bill Monroe belt buckles. Faegan acquired his while touring with the Father of Bluegrass. Hensley’s was recently gifted to him by Bobby Hicks’ widow, Cathy.
Danny Paisley closed out the afternoon set with his own Camp Springs memories.
“TJ Lundy and I played Camp Springs with our dads [Ted Lundy and Bob Paisley] in the mid-70s.”
Danny’s son, Ryan, interjected, “Playing here is something that I can mark off my bluegrass bucket list!”
Closing out the Saturday program, Authentic Unlimited, up for nine nominations at World of Bluegrass, performed an extended set. Carrying on the family legacy theme, Stephen Burwell recognized his wife, Haley, and their seven-month-old daughter, Lydia, from the stage.
“It’s Lydia’s first bluegrass festival,” he shared.
Sunday’s show included more bluegrass relations with an afternoon set by Wood Family Tradition. Rebel Recording artist, AL Wood & the Smokey Mountain Boys, performed at Camp Springs in the ’70s. Wood appeared in a movie scene featuring the banjo ensemble which included such great masters of the five as Earl Scruggs, Sonny Osborne, Jimmy Arnold, and Little Roy Lewis, all picking Foggy Mountain Breakdown” Sunday, Wood’s sons, Mike and Bobby, performed along Mike’s son, Jason, and grandson, Carson. It was a special treat to hear Carson sing his great-grandfather’s original tune, The Hills of Home, in the same spot where the family patriarch had performed it 50 years prior.
During Carley Arrowood’s portion, her husband and guitarist, Daniel Thrailkill, expressed his gratitude. Gesturing to the original I-beam that loomed overhead on the reconstructed stage, he declared, “There’s been a lot of history under this beam.”
Closing out the festival, Wayne Benson, longtime mandolinist with IIIrd Tyme Out, acknowledged the iconic music park. “This is such a legacy place. I grew up listening to live cassette tapes of the Osborne Brothers playing here…so much edgy stuff and creativity.”
Off stage, High Fidelity’s Jeremy Stephens reflected…
“My Camp Springs story was in about 1997. Booked were Karl Shiflett & Big Country Show, Wade & Julia Mainer, and my band at the time. We were called Shallow Creek from Danville, VA. No one was here. It was like all of us that played and maybe five other people. Carlton still owes us $400!”
“I had seen Bluegrass Country Soul. Carlton would bring the VHS tapes that he had copied and sell them for $20. In the ’90s, that was a lot of money for a VHS tape. I was eat up with it. As a young teen, I would watch it over and over and over. To come here and be aware of that with the original stage still here, you came in the back, went up the stairs inside, and came to the top. It was just like it was ([n the movie], except a little more run down.
“I remember standing in the back stage area at the top of the steps where you turn sharp left to be in the middle behind stage and having Wade Mainer’s banjo in my hand. Getting to look at it and play Wade’s banjo is my biggest Camp Springs memory.”
A special attendee on Sunday was Allen Mills of Lost & Found. His genre-impacting group played Camp Springs Blue Grass Park in the mid-’70s, and Mills enjoyed a long relationship with the former park owner and Bluegrass Hall of Fame member, Carlton Haney.
Another festival attendee traveled across the country to attend the festival. Rayne Redman flew all the way from Utah.
“I knew about Bluegrass Country Soul, and I watched that movie over and over. It’s my favorite movie of all time. I had obviously heard of this festival and knew that it was up and going again. I had a chance to come out for IBMA and Monroe Mandolin Camp, which got pushed up to next week.
My friend, Betty Finney from VA, [suggested] ‘Why don’t you come a few days early so you could come to this festival?’ I thought, I’ve got to do this, but I’ve got a husband that is home, and thought I’m already leaving him almost a month. He said, ‘I want you to go and have fun. I’m fine with it. Go!’ So I called Betty back and booked my flight.”
Redman enjoyed the Labor Day festival so much that she is hoping to return to Camp Springs again next year.
“I’m hoping I can get back next year because they’ve moved IBMA to the middle of September. It gives me a chance to get back here (to Camp Springs). I am scheming and planning!”
