Palatka Bluegrass Festival Archives - Page 2 of 2

Photos from the February Palatka Bluegrass Festival

The Gibson Brothers at the February 2019 Palatka Bluegrass Festival – photo © Bill Warren

The 15^th February Palatka Bluegrass Festival held at the Rodeheaver Boys Ranch has begun. Norman and Judy Adams have outdone themselves this weekend.

John Holder has brought his Blue Ridge Sound crew in again. John has the sound system completely tuned to the pavilion. Sherry Boyd does an excellent job as MC at all of the Adams festivals.

The first day was kicked off by long time festival favorites, The Crowe Brothers. They bring the sounds of Maggie Valley to every show, and their sibling harmony is always striking. Donna Ulisse has long been recognized as one of the premier song writers in bluegrass music. She, along with the Poor Mountain Boys, has become a favorite at many festivals. Donna’s music comes from the heart. The back story of every song she writes makes each song special. Find out where she is playing and make it a point to see her.

The Gibson Brothers followed with their superb sibling harmonies and brotherly banter. I think the audience is always on the edges of their seats waiting to hear what Leigh will have to say about Eric. Once in a while Eric gets in a zinger of his own. The Larry Stephenson Band was up next. Larry is celebrating his 30^th year as a band leader, and has maintained his own sound for all of that 30 years. He is touring with all new musicians this year. These young guys are all top notch musicians and singers. Larry stated: “Sometimes change is a good thing.” The band has encouraged him to dig out some of his older chestnuts and put them back in his show. Larry also said: “It’s all good.” It certainly is Larry.

Dailey and Vincent closed out the day with a big set of country, Gospel, bluegrass, shenanigans, and humor. Jamie and Darrin have surrounded themselves with great young musicians. They are top flight entertainers.

Friday and Saturday have more of the same great entertainment. Mountain Faith, The Dry Branch Fire Squad, Doyle Lawson & Quicksilver, Penny Creek, and the Del McCoury Band make Friday special.

Saturday brings The Dry Branch Fire Squad, The Moron Brothers, The Little Roy and Lizzy Show, The Inspirations, and Rhonda Vincent & the Rage to the Rodeheaver stage.

Join us for some of the best in bluegrass music.

Saturday photos from Palatka 2018

Another February Palatka Bluegrass Festival is in the books.

The stage show was kicked off by The Amanda Cook Band. The band provided a good mix of bluegrass favorites and their own original music. The Moron Brothers were unable to perform at the festival due to a family emergency, and the band that filled in called themselves Johnny and the Roundups. A familiar face to the Florida fans was John Apfelthaler. John is the banjo player for Penny Creek. Another familiar face to a lot of traveling bluegrass fans was that of Joe Soward. Joe promotes the Dumplin Valley Bluegrass Festival in Kodak, Tennessee. They played a lot of familiar standards to the delight of the audience.

The Little Roy and Lizzy Show hit the Palatka stage at their typical hundred miles an hour. Roy has more energy than most men half his age! Lizzy has had quite a bad case of the flu and is just getting over it. She did an excellent job for someone who is just nicely out of a sickbed. Ron Thomason once again regaled the audience with his stories of his younger days and his observations on the rest of this. Perhaps his best quote is: “Nobody could make this up.” Ron did his “hambone” at promoter Norman Adams’ request. One of Little Roy’s “characters” joined the Dry Branch Fire Squad to do some picking.

The Gibson Brothers gave another pair of top shelf performances. They are one of the “must see” bands.

The Festival was closed out by the Earls of Leicester. Jerry Douglas opened the show by saying: “If you don’t like Flatt & Scruggs music, you may as well leave.” No one left. The band has arguably some of the very best musicians in bluegrass music. They dress the part, play the part, and sing the part. An audience can not ask for more. They provided the frosting on a great festival cake.

The Candidpix.info cameras will be at the Florida Bluegrass Classic in Brooksville, Florida beginning February 19^th. Join us for more bluegrass fun!

Friday at Palatka Bluegrass Festival ’18

Lorraine Jordan & Carolina Road at the 2018 Palatka Bluegrass Festival – photo © Bill Warren

Friday was a day of great emotion at the Palatka Bluegrass Festival. Promoter Norman Adams addressed the audience thanking everyone and speaking on the school tragedy in south Florida.

Then Lorraine Jordan and Carolina Road took the stage. Lead singer Tommy Long was back on stage for the first time since starting his battle with throat cancer almost a year ago. I don’t think there was a dry eye in the house when Tommy thanked the bluegrass community for all of its help during the past year. There was high electricity in both of the Carolina Road sets. The band drew on Tommy’s strength and put on an unforgettable show. I had the opportunity to visit with Tommy for a while prior to the first set. He was excited, nervous, elated, and ready to sing. Welcome back, Tommy.

The Dry Branch Fire Squad followed with their blend of old time music and Ron Thomason’s delightfully biting humor. Ron holds an audience spellbound and wanting more. The Palatka crowd gets more on Saturday with a second day of performances from the band.

Penny Creek is a Florida band that is growing in popularity in the region. They put on a show worthy of any festival stage.

The Gibson Brothers continue to earn all of the accolades that they get. This brother duo pays homage to the many brother duos that have come before. The brotherly banter is always entertaining even though some people seem to take it seriously. They return on Saturday for a second round of performances.

Balsam Range is certainly at the top of their game. They bring a special energy to the stage that many bands would like to duplicate. Dailey & Vincent closed out the day’s show with one long set. Jamie and Darrin have assembled a combination of veteran musicians and young guns that is top shelf. Jeff Parker and Jamie provide comic relief that is not matched by any other band. The band provides a blend of music that provides something for everyone in the audience.

Thursday at Palatka Bluegrass Festival 2018

The 14th February Palatka Bluegrass Festival kicked off with a bang on Thursday afternoon. The day turned warm and sunny with the temperature reaching 80 degrees.

Sherry Boyd is once more handling the MC duties, She keeps the bands and the audience happy. Blue Ridge Sound’s own John Holder had everything dialed in for our good listening.

The Bluegrass Brothers opened the festival with their high energy show. They got the crowd primed for a great day of bluegrass music. Joe Mullins and the Radio Ramblers followed. Joe formed the Radio Ramblers in 2006 and they have grown in stature with every show. The trio of Joe, Duane Sparks, and Mike Terry is nothing short of excellent. Flatt Lonesome followed. They are arguably the best young band on the circuit. The sibling harmony of Kelsi, Charli, and Buddy Robertson is unmatched. Watch for these youngsters to win more and more awards.

Russell Moore and IIIrd Tyme Out then gave the audience full measure of why Russell has been IBMA’s male vocalist many times. Rhonda Vincent and the Rage closed out the day’s show and showed everyone why she is the “Queen of Bluegrass”. Rhonda spent at least an hour and a half greeting fans, signing autographs, and taking pictures. She also paid tribute to the late Daryl Singletary, as did Buddy Robertson. Both provided touching moments with their memories of Daryl. Rhonda joined the Radio Ramblers to do We Missed You in Church Last Sunday. Rhonda, Mike Terry, and Joe Mullins wowed the crowd.

It was a day that left everyone wanting more. They get that on Friday with Lorraine Jordan and Carolina Road who has lead singer, Tommy Long, back after a year-long battle with throat cancer. They will be joined by the Dry Branch Fire Squad, Penny Creek, the Gibson Brothers, Balsam Range, and Dailey & Vincent.

The Earls of Leicester will be joined by Amanda Cook and Kennesaw Ridge, the Moron Brothers, The Little Roy and Lizzie Show, along with the Gibson Brothers and the Dry Branch Fire Squad to round out the festival on Saturday.

The Rodeheaver Boys Ranch is an excellent host for this festival. Promoters Norman and Judy Adams have developed this and their November festival into showcases for the Ranch. A lot of boys have been turned into good men through the efforts of the wonderful staff at the Ranch.

Join us this weekend for top flight blue grass music.

Saturday at Palatka 2017

Saturday at the Palatka Bluegrass Festival was another day of award-winning bluegrass music. The day opened with a Gospel sing hosted by Mike and Mary Robinson.

The Spinney Brothers hit the stage with high energy for their second day at the festival, and Ron Thomason kept the audience spellbound with both Dry Branch Fire Squad music and his distinctive humor. The Gary Waldrep band is always a crowd favorite and a fixture at Norman Adams produced festivals. Gary gives an audience traditional bluegrass, Gospel, and hard driving old time clawhammer banjo tunes. Balsam Range is one of the “traditionally modern” bluegrass bands that gives full measure in every performance.

Rhonda Vincent makes an audience fall in love with her during her performance and after. Her first set was just prior to the supper break. She spent all of the supper break plus about an hour getting pictures with fans and giving out autographs. Daryle Singletary joined her at the end of her set for a couple songs. He then spent the time greeting fans with Rhonda. They both took a short break for a few special pictures that included Norman and Judy Adams.

Daryle Singletary closed out the festival with a set of classic country music. Rhonda joined him for a few duets and then all of the Rage members joined Daryle’s band for a grand finale.

The Rodeheaver Boys Ranch has hosted the February festival for 13 years and the November festival for 10 years. The ranch is home to around fifty boys at any one time. We, as fans, thank them for the generous use of this wonderful facility.