Mr. B's Bluegrass Blowout - August 27, 28 & 29, 2009 @ Mr. B's Park, Ladysmith, VA

That's right, coming up at the end of August is Mr. B's Bluegrass Blowout.  Before I tell you about the line up let me tell you about Mr. B's Park.  Several years ago Mr. B decided he wanted to host his own Bluegrass festival and he wanted to do it his way, sort like Frank Sinatra, but Bluegrass style!  First he drew out how he wanted his park to be laid out and then proceeded to have a large tract of woods bulldozed until the park we now know at Mr. B's Park was created.  There is a large pavilion with the stage situated out in front of it.  Behind the stage are many picnic tables on which you may eat a variety of items from the kitchen just on the opposite side of the pavilion from the stage.  There you may purchase hamburgers, hot dogs, french fries, BBQ, ice cream and, of course, Mr. B's Famous Fried Chicken.  Many of you may not be aware that Mr. B ran a restaurant in Fredericksburg, Virginia named (Go ahead and guess!) Mr. B's Restaurant, of course.  It was at this restaurant that Mr. B's Famous Fried Chicken got started and also where Mr. B first began hosting Bluegrass music.  I remember well going to shows there 20 years ago and how this was the first place  I ever went to where you sat with folks you just might no know.  Mr. B wanted to fill every table, so that's just the way it went.  I met some really nice folks at these shows that I would not have met were it not for the seating at Mr. B's Restaurant.

Camping is done two ways.  First, if you attended a past festival you are able to reserve your campsite for the next festival before you leave.  If you've never camped at Mr. B's it is first come, first served, so I recommend arriving very early in the week to be assured of getting a campsite with electricity.  There is plenty of rough camping, so don't let the fear of not getting a site deter you.  Click here for more information.

Now to the line up.  On Thursday is the Lisa Kay Band.  Lisa is a fixture around Bluegrass in northern and central Virginia.  She hosted a Bluegrass radio show at the Louisa FM station a few years back and also worked for Bluegrass Unlimited Magazine for a few years.  She has worked as emcee at many shows, especially at Mr. B's.  Next up is a family band named The Church Sisters.  I finally got to see these two girls (twins, although you wouldn't know it) at the Central Virginia Family Bluegrass Music Festival this past May.  If you are gonna catch just one show at the stage at Mr. B's please make it this one.  These girls are great singers and a treat to hear.  I guess the premier band in Bluegrass today is Dailey & Vincent and they'll be on Mr. B's stage on Thursday, August 27th.  There's not much I can add to the many awards they have achieved in their short span as a professional band.  Last up ate Ted Jones & The Tarheels presenting good ol' North Carolina Bluegrass just the way you remember it.

On Friday things get under way with a local band called Milford Station.  These fellows present competent Bluegrass and are fun to listen to.  Dark Hollow is up next and they fill a special niche in Bluegrass music.  They are all great fans of the older styles of Bluegrass as presented by Flatt & Scruggs, Bill Monroe and The Stanley Brothers.  These groups are the ones who brought me to Bluegrass and their music still lives on in Dark Hollow.  The Lewis Family was scheduled to appear at Mr. B's, but due to declining health and age, the band has decided to retire.  However, Little Roy Lewis is continuing on with a band of his own.  I have not heard this new group, so it would be interesting to hear them here at Mr. B's.  If you love good modern traditional Bluegrass then you must see Junior Sisk & Rambler's Choice. Junior has been fronting this band for two years since the breakup of Blueridge. They present brand new songs done in the great tradition of the older groups.  Friday is a full day of Bluegrass with Lonesome Will Mullins & The Virginia Playboys up next.  Will is a fixture at Mr. B's and has a great mix of Bluegrass, comedy and old time music.  Last up on Friday on Gold Wing Express.  No, not the Honda motorcycle, the Bluegrass band, Gold Wing Express.  Gold Wing presents a show filled with a little Bluegrass and a lot of talking.  This may not sound like what you want to hear, but please stick around; they present a great stage show.

Saturday get started with Some Assembly Required.  Their female vocalist, Lynn Stephens, has twice been voted Virginia's Best Female Vocalist by the VFMA.   Now, if you like Stanley style or Jimmy Martin style Bluegrass then Kody Norris & The Watuga Mountain Boys are just what you need.  Catch them on Friday at Mr. B's.  The next band up is Williams & Clark Expedition.  Headed up by a husband and wife team, Williams & Clark Expedition presents great modern Bluegrass with humor sprinkled throughout.  Amelia, Virginia's James King Band is up next singing those soulful Bluegrass ballads.  From Nashville by the way of Fredericksburg, Virginia is the Larry Stephenson Band.  Those of you wondering where Kenny Ingram went after leaving Rhonda Vincent can find out by seeing Larry and the band.  Last up on Saturday is Salem, Virginia' Bluegrass Brothers.  If you want to see a Bluegrass festival end on a up note then look no farther than The Bluegrass Brothers.  They'll certainly do the job up right.

So there you have it; mark your calendar and be sure to attend Mr. B's Bluegrass Blowout this August 2th through 29th.

A Prayer Request from Dreama Stephenson

Below is a powerful letter from Dreama Belcher Stephenson.  Her father, Sterling Belcher, promoter of the "Tripple Creek Bluegrass Festival" has been diagnosed with bone cancer.  This, quite naturally, has Dreama and her entire family in distress.  I felt Dreama's email request was so heartfelt that I wanted to share it with all of you.

Hello everyone,

This week I asked for prayers for my father Sterling as it was believed he was having mini-strokes. After a whirlwind of a week and being told 4 different things it is now pinpointed. My dad has been diagnosed with bone cancer, which came from his prostate.  On Sunday, Daddy lost time for a while and went to the emergency room with blurred vision on Monday. An MRI showed he had several mini-strokes, but this didn't explain the blurred vision as it's not a characteristic of stroke. Next he was told a blood clot formed and went to his brain causing a series of mini-strokes even though they still can not figure out where the clot came from in his body as his heart shows him healthy as a horse.

On Wednesday night I told my mother to please don't let him leave until the blurred vision was explained, because something in his brain must be causing a problem. Daddy himself asked on Thurs. morning for his Sugar, Cholesterol and PSA to be checked. And that is when the doctors found his PSA at 250. This lead the primary doctor to tell Daddy on Thursday night he had brain cancer not damage from strokes. But this sounded strange to us all. Daddy had his prostate removed almost 4 years ago from an aggressive growing cancer by one of the best doctors in the country "Dr. Partin" and we were told they got it all and have believed that ever since the surgery. As it turns out and from my dealings with Johns Hopkins today they knew the cancer had spread outside of his prostate when it was removed. The oncologist (not the primary doctor) talked with my dad this morning explaining that it's unheard of, to have prostate cancer go directly to your brain and the neurologist still believed a clot went to his brain after all, causing the stroke that got him to the hospital.

So last night, and today some x-rays, a cat scan, and a bone scan were all performed and the bone cancer was found in different areas throughout his body.  They don't see it in any organs except around the area his prostate used to be. Testosterone can fuel the cancer and they want to possibly begin there, but as most of you know, bone caner is incurable and it's more about slowing it down and buying him some time. It's a painful way to leave this world.

So I come to you now and I'm asking everyone to please ad my Dad (Sterling Belcher) to your prayer circles and church lists as I believe in MIRACLES. A miracle brought my daughter to me and my husband Larry and I've heard of many cases where cancer just disappears. Our daughter is the first grandchild and Daddy was just talking last week about how he hoped to see her grow. He just turned 70 and for those of you who don't know him... he's a go getter, strong man, work-aholic, would give this shirt off his back, sweet man...I'm not ready to lose him yet and I thank you from the bottom of my heart for any prayers you can lift up for him

Thanks so much,

Dreama Belcher Stephenson

Below is Sterling with his grand-daughter Faylon Whysper Stephenson

 

"Bluegrass Ramble, July 15th, 2009 - Dead Right! Maybe Not!

Before I get into the meat of this article I wanted to share two things with you.  First, this article will not have one iota of information about Bluegrass, but I think you will know me better after you have read it.  Second, my computer’s power supply burned out just prior to my weekend at the Sedalia Bluegrass Festival, which by the way was very nice.  I was without a computer for about three weeks.  Obviously, I’m back in business now.

I have a pet peeve.  Oh, I actually have more than one pet peeve, but this one came to light in a strong way just last week.  It concerns closed lanes approaching construction zones along the highway.  Usually, for about 3 or 4 miles before reaching the actual work zone, there will be signs warning that (for example) the right lane will be closed ahead.  I and most of the drivers on the road will heed those signs and move over to the left lane well ahead of the actual construction.  Certainly if everyone did this getting by the construction would be easy and fast.  There are those, however, who feel that they are privileged and will stay in the right lane all the way up to the work zone and then want the drivers in the left lane to let them in.  This has caused me to get extremely angry and to use rather crusty language and to gesticulate using the central digit of my right or even left hand.  There have been times when I have seen these cars streaming by in the soon to be closed lane and I've gotten so angry that I will actually get out in that lane and try to block those cars from passing if I can.  Because of these inconsiderate drivers the open lane becomes very slow as considerate (but mis-guided) drivers up at the actual merge point allow those inconsiderate ones into the lane.  So, here I sit for 20 minutes or more inching along because these drivers are causing my lane to barely move.

Now, this brings me to my experience just last week.  I had no more entered onto I-85 from US 460, when I found myself in a long line of traffic.  The left lane was closed ahead and we were slowly making our way toward the construction zone.  On this particular day there were very few drivers rushing ahead in the “closed” lane, so progress was fairly fast.  Just as I was entering the area where the actual construction was happening this car sped up beside me and tried to get in front of me.  I jockeyed and sped up and jammed on brakes and did everything I could to prevent him from getting up in front of me, all the while saying things like $%^&$%^*&*($%^$% or #$^$%^&&(*(*^&$%.  Rather salty and crusty words, to be sure. I was so angry that my blood pressure was most certainly cranked up and I trembled.  I was able to prevent him from getting in front of me and felt smug about my success, but as I looked back in my rearview mirror at the driver he was gesticulating at me and his mouth was moving animatedly.  I’m guessing there was some crusty language being sent my way, too.

As we passed out of the construction zone and both lanes opened up, this guy came by me rather slowly and enthusiastically gesticulated in my direction using the central digit of his right hand and continued to do so as he sped away.  This got me to thinking.  Did I actually win the construction lane battle?  Was it worth it?  This fellow could have easily had a handgun and I could be dead right now.  I’ve thought a lot about that little war and have decided to be less aggressive in the future.  I will let the driver in and simply resign myself to the fact that people will not always behave the way I would like them to.  To be sure, this lane closure thing will remain a pet peeve, but I will not risk my life being “right.”  It’s good to be right but what good is “dead right?”

"Nuff Said"