Weekend report from Nothin’ Fancy Bluegrass Festival

Seth Mulder & Midnight Run at the 2023 Nothin Fancy festival – photo © Bill Warren


The 21st Nothin’ Fancy Bluegrass Festival has come and gone, and it was one for the record books. Something over 200 campers were parked at the Glen Maury campground. The music pavilion was packed with music fans.

Saturday rain tried to put a damper on the festivities. Rain is just a minor inconvenience for bluegrass music fans. The only disappointment of the weekend was when the Navy’s Country Current Band was unable to perform due to the Virginia wide state of emergency declared by the governor. Tropical storms are unpredictable and everyone understood the reasoning.

Shenandoah Valley bands kicked off both Friday and Saturday. Blue Ridge Thunder is a traditional “mountain music” band. Dark Hollow provided both bluegrass and classic country music. They have a full time pedal steel player in the band.

Nothin’ Fancy wore “throwback” Hawaiian Shirts for one of their sets. The shirts were an early signature of the band which will celebrate its 30th year in 2024.

Breaking Grass is a band that does just about all original music written by band leader Cody Farrar. They are high energy entertainers.

Friday also featured the tight harmonies of both Deeper Shade of Blue and Authentic Unlimited.

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