First Bluegrass Festival

[crank]

Kind of spur of the moment we went to a small bluegrass festival yesterday. The Podunk Bluegrass Festival in Goshen, CT. Jerry Douglas Band was the headliner and no one else I'd ever heard of was on the bill. A friend I play with was camping there with some guys from his bluegrass band. Long have I known jamming was going down at these grassy fests and by God there sure is, my Guilded ones, a LOT of jamming going on. All bluegrass all the time. Interestingly, it seemed a lot of what was being picked at campsites were the traditional fiddle tunes. None of the paid acts we saw on stage played any of that stuff. Which, BTW is fine with me - I am no fan of them old fiddle tunes. I jammed for about a half hour or so on some songs like Sweet Chariot and others I don't remember. I played Death Don't have No Mercy and The Ballad Of Pretty Boy Floyd.

I did not bring any guitars. Not even my camping Yammy. What I did notice is all the good instruments folks just leave out at their campsites. Low crime area for sure!

We may even go back next year with a Guild in hand and camp for a night. Still not gonna learn them fiddle tunes though.

 

[Stuball48]

If it was Jerry Douglas and the "Earls of Leceister" playing only Flatt and Scruggs songs--you hear my favorite Bluegrass group.
Be careful crank - bluegrass will get into your blood.

 

[GGJaguar]

I friend of mine would go to them from time to time 35+ years ago. He said they were really snooty. If you didn't have a Martin, you didn't play. Oh, and it had to be the right Martin meaning D-28 or maybe a D-18. Even his '76 Martin D-35 wasn't "right". Glad that it looks like those days are over.

 

[crank]

If it was Jerry Douglas and the "Earls of Leceister" playing only Flatt and Scruggs songs--you hear my favorite Bluegrass group.
Be careful crank - bluegrass will get into your blood.

Lol. No; JD Band were really good and what they were playing was not anywhere close to traditional bluegrass. His guitarist, Mike Seals blew me away and might have been the best player there. Looked at his FB page and from what little I listened to he seems like more of a fusion player, But his entire band: bass, fiddle, Jerry and guitar were all amazing players. As Jerry said, "This stage is dripping with talent."

I've been a bluegrass dabbler for a long time. Learned Deep River Blues and some other Doc Watson stuff half a lifetime ago. Learned some Billy Strings stuff in the past year. got into it a bit from friends and then I loved the Jerry Garcia David Grisman albums so I learned a few of those songs as well.

 

[Stuball48]

Must be a different group.
Members of band do not have same names as Jerry Douglas Band members.
Earls of Leceister are as follows:
Jerry Douglas. - Dobro
Johnny Warren - Fiddle
Charlie Cushman - Banjer
Shawm Camp - giuitar/lead singer
Jeff White - Mandolin

 

[fronobulax]

I friend of mine would go to them from time to time 35+ years ago. He said they were really snooty. If you didn't have a Martin, you didn't play. Oh, and it had to be the right Martin meaning D-28 or maybe a D-18. Even his '76 Martin D-35 wasn't "right". Glad that it looks like those days are over.

My one and only attempt at playing bluegrass with strangers ended when when I was pointedly ignored because I had an acoustic bass guitar and not a standup bass.

 

[Roland]

I friend of mine would go to them from time to time 35+ years ago. He said they were really snooty. If you didn't have a Martin, you didn't play. Oh, and it had to be the right Martin meaning D-28 or maybe a D-18. Even his '76 Martin D-35 wasn't "right". Glad that it looks like those days are over.

I hear that a lot on the internet but I've not experienced it in real life. I belong to the Minnesota Bluegrass and Old Time Music Association and people aren't at all that persnickety about what other people play. No one has ever turned their nose up at my Guild. Not saying you won't run into some snooty folks, but they don't represent all of Bluegrass.

 

[fronobulax]

I hear that a lot on the internet but I've not experienced it in real life. I belong to the Minnesota Bluegrass and Old Time Music Association and people aren't at all that persnickety about what other people play. No one has ever turned their nose up at my Guild. Not saying you won't run into some snooty folks, but they don't represent all of Bluegrass.

But one snooty local group certainly killed my enthusiasm for finding another. Generalizing from my experience is perhaps not warranted but but my choice not to repeat the experience is ;-)

 

[Stagefright]

The JF-55 I bought last year included a card for the Southern Wisconsin Bluegrass Association, so someone attempted to break the Martin monopoly at some point. Be the heretic. Learn those fiddle tunes at lightning speed and let the Guild eat.

 

[lungimsam]

My one and only attempt at playing bluegrass with strangers ended when when I was pointedly ignored because I had an acoustic bass guitar and not a standup bass.

That is so messed up. Their loss!!

 

[Charlie Bernstein]

I was hanging out at as big bluegrass jam once, and decided there were plenty of guitars and dobros. So I pulled out a brace of blues harps.

The players were startled, but they let me run with it, and they loved the sound. Unorthodox, maybe, but it turned out to be a great musical fit. Blues harp solos on bluegrass songs just work.

I also pulled out my guitar a few times and found that they liked three-chord novelty songs.

Mission accomplished.

 

[Brad Little]

Kind of spur of the moment we went to a small bluegrass festival yesterday. The Podunk Bluegrass Festival in Goshen, CT. Jerry Douglas Band was the headliner and no one else I'd ever heard of was on the bill....

I recognize a few of the names, and they're pretty much all regional acts, mostly New England. It's nice to have a festival that does showcase local/regional talent.

 

[Midnight Toker]

The whole traditionalist mentality is often easily muted by talent. It seems it's most often the amateurs that are brand nazis. The pros players aren't looking at the name on your headstock, they are focused on your fingers and listen w/ their ears, not their eyes. Billy Strings could break out a $200 Yamaha and they'd let him play. Traditional Blues Nazis (as we call them...and I know a few!) are the same way.

 

[Stagefright]

If you sing and know the words to obscure traditional tunes they will let you play want you want.....while nude...with your hair on fire. Guitar pickers are a dime a dozen.

 

[davismanLV]

One thing I was surprised to see and hear, is the last time we saw The Travelin' McCoury's (nephew Rob is the banjo player) at Brooklyn Bowl, the guitarist (Cody Kilby, I believe) was playing a Breedlove, of all things!! He many times plays a Martin as well, but that night it was a Breedlove. That was really nice to see.

 

[crank]

I recognize a few of the names, and they're pretty much all regional acts, mostly New England. It's nice to have a festival that does showcase local/regional talent.

Turns out I know the fiddle player in a band we saw there called the Wool Hats from an old pickin' party scene in Bethany CT.

We are now fans of a young group we stumbled upon called Bad Oats.

www.thebadoats.com

 

[Roland]

But one snooty local group certainly killed my enthusiasm for finding another. Generalizing from my experience is perhaps not warranted but but my choice not to repeat the experience is ;-)

It only takes a few to ruin it for everyone. I'm sorry that happened to you. I've gotten into bluegrass and old time music in a big way and I'm glad that no one spoiled it for me before I got far enough into into it to take those kind of folks for what they are. I will say that even at my age I'm more into playing newgrass songs than traditional bluegrass and I tend to hang out with like minded people. My favorite group right now is Mile Twelve so that in itself says something about my tastes.

 

[Westerly Wood]

If it weren’t for the fiddle, I’d be a big bluegrass fan.

 

[Stagefright]

If it weren't for having to sing near the range of a dog whistle, I'd be a bluegrass fan.

 

[Midnight Toker]

If it weren’t for the fiddle, I’d be a big bluegrass fan.

Sorry to hear.....coming from someone who had a violin wedged under his chin since the age of 5!
IMO, it's the instrument that makes or breaks a potential world class bluegrass act.