"Cabin Fever Pickin' Party Coming Right Up! - March 4th thru 7th + Appomattox Bluegrass Series continues W/Doyle Lawson on March 7th & Rhonda Vincent on March 21st

You know, March used to be a pretty slow month for Bluegrass, but not anymore.  There's so much happening in March it's almost unbelievable.  First things first!  The 15th annual (Can you believe it!) "Cabin Fever Pickin' Party gets underway beginning Thursday, March 4th on through Sunday, March 7th.  That sounds like a long weekend, but anyone who has experienced Cabin Fever will tell you it is over in a flash.

Each year I try to entice you to attend Cabin Fever with a few of my memories.  Those first few years when we were growing were probably some of my fondest times.  Back then the Southside Virginia Bluegrass Band was enjoying popularity all around Central Virginia.  The band consisted of the late Billy Dooley on Guitar and lead/harmony vocals; Ralph Westfall on Banjo and lead/harmony vocals; Johnny Williams (The same Johnny Williams now playing in Borrowed Time.) on Mandolin and harmony vocals and Sig Williams on Bass and lead/harmony vocals.  Billy Dooley was larger than life and if he was around, well, you knew it.  Southside played mostly covers of great traditional Bluegrass and a few songs written by Billy and a fast and furious instrumental (Deep Creek) written by Ralph Westfall.  I believe I am right in telling you that the Southside Virginia Bluegrass Band was the very first band to officially perform at Cabin Fever. As a friend of all of these folks I enjoyed some great times with them with  Cabin Fever being a highlight of my memories of this friendship.

Now, back to Cabin Fever of today.  Cabin Fever is one of the greatest bargains to be had in Bluegrass music.  The cost for the entire 4 days is a meager $25 if purchased before February 28th, 2010.  Click here for web order form and band schedule. But even if you wait to buy your ticket at the door it's only $30.  How can you go wrong?  Here's how!  The folks who run Cabin Fever do it for the love of the music.  Obviously they don't make much money at $25 per person.  They have always priced Cabin Fever at one simple price, now $25.  This ticket price is the same if you are there all 4 days or simply want to be there 1/2 a day.  The ticket price is simply $25.  Sooooooooo, that being said, why in the world would you want to come for less than the entire 4 wonderful days of pickin' and grinnin' and visitin' with your Bluegrass friends in a nice comfortable indoor setting.  If you've never been to Cabin Fever let me in on a secret.  When you order your tickets in advance [Send a self addressed stamped envelope to: Cabin Fever, Inc., 909 Francis Road, Glen Allen, VA 23059] you are sent a schedule of showcases, but more important, you receive a 2011 hotel reservation form, for next year.  A hotel reservation form box will be on the Holiday Inn check in desk beginning some time Thursday.  It is very important that you get that form in that box as early as possible for your best chance at getting the room you want in 2011.

Most of the best motel rooms are already booked by those of us who were at Cabin Fever last year, but there are rooms available within walking distance of the Holiday Inn, so don't fret (Oops, another pickin' term!) and call the Holiday Inn reservation center @ 1-800-842-9370 and ask for "group reservations."  Be sure to mention Cabin Fever.  I've known many who have called late for rooms and were successful in getting a room.  My best advice to you is to be kind and patient while these folks work to find you accommodations.

I've been quite lazy this year and still haven't solidly set the lineup for the "Night Owl Concerts" in the Holiday Room on Saturday night at Cabin Fever.  I do, However, have the first 6 bands scheduled.  They are: Flatland Bluegrass Band; Jollet Lane; Code Blue; Mill Run; Deep Creek; & Eddie Gill & The Grassmasters. I promise I'll have things booked solid by my next post.

The Appomattox Bluegrass Series wraps up in March with two great concerts.  The first is by Doyle Lawson & Quicksilver on Sunday, March 7th followed two weeks later by Rhonda Vincent & The Rage on Sunday, March 21st.  Both shows begin at 2PM with doors opening at approximately 1PM.  There's not much I can add to the many accolades these two bands piled upon them other to remind you that sometimes these shows do sell out.  Be sure to reserve those tickets by calling Kelly smith at 434-248-6105 or by emailing her at kellyandallen@yahoo.com.  Tickets are $15 either in advance or at the door.

As you can see by reading about my "Night Owl Concerts" at Cabin Fever, I'll be up really late Saturday night (Actually, early Sunday morning!) making seeing the Doyle Lawson show difficult.  Now, I can get there, but whether my eyes can stay open to see the show is another matter.  We'll just have to see how it all goes.

Be sure to check out the James River Bluegrass Association.  They have a huge photo album featuring many photos from the recent Larry Stephenson concert held in Madison Heights at the Bingo Hall.  There's lots of photos of the crowd, so if your were there you might be in the photo album.  If you weren't there you'll certainly see pictures of a lot of your friends who did attend.

Whew!

"NUFF SAID!"

Weekend of January 23rd & 24th Big on Bluegrass! Doyle Lawson & Quicksilver @ WEAG on 23rd & Dailey & Vincent @ Appomattox on 24th

That's right we've got a big weekend of Bluegrass on the way.  On Saturday night at the West End Assembly of God, Doyle Lawson & Quicksilver perform an evening of all Gospel music.  Doyle is known for his devotion to God and the fine Gospel music he and his band deliver.  They sing wonderful a cappella songs as well as songs accompanied by the full band.  The show begins at 7PM with advance tickets for sale at the WEAG bookstore.  Contact Katie Porter @ 804-754-0723 for "will call" tickets.  There is no savings by buying your tickets in advance, but be forewarned, Doyle is quite popular and his shows often sell out.

Then, after a good nights sleep, it's time to drive out to Appomattox, Virginia for a fine afternoon of music by the Doyle Lawson "School of Bluegrass" graduate Jamie Dailey as Dailey & Vincent take the stage at 2PM in the Appomattox County High School Auditorium.  By now most of you should know all about Dailey & Vincent, but for those who may have been asleep the last three years, here goes.  Jamie Dailey worked as Guitarist and lead & tenor singer of the band Doyle Lawson & Quicksilver.  His partner Darrin Vincent worked with Ricky Skaggs & Kentucky Thunder as a part singer and the arranger for many of Ricky's biggest hits.  Jamie & Darrin had both been feeling the need to move on from their present bands and in a chance meeting took the opportunity to sing and play a few songs together.  Finding a mutual friendship and a kinship in their musical goals the decided to leave their respective bands and create Dailey & Vincent.  Wow!  They are great.  I was lucky enough to attend their very first public performance at the IBMA World of Bluegrass three years ago.  Again, wow! With Jeff Parker on Mandolin and vocals, both lead and tenor and Joe Dean Jr. on Banjo and remarkable bass vocals, Dailey & Vincent present a show that is musically and visually entertaining.  Tickets are $15 in advance or at the door.  As with the Doyle Lawson concert at WEAG, I suggest buying your tickets in advance by contacting Kelly Smith either by email at kellyandallen@yahoo.com or by phone at 434-248-6105 for "will call" tickets. 

[I have found that there are some who don't understand what I mean when I say "will call" when mentioning getting tickets in advance.  "Will call" simply means that you arrange for tickets to be held in your name at the box office of the event.  Most all venues allow for "will call" advance reservations.  "Will call" is a trust between the promoter and the attendee.  If you arrange for "will call" tickets and you don't show up you will be remembered the next time you try to arrange for this type of advance reservation of tickets, so please honor your obligation.]

The "Cabin Fever Pickin' Party" is coming up the weekend of March 4th through the 7th.  Make sure your reservations are correct.  I'll tell you more about Cabin Fever and our "Night Owl Concerts" next weekend.  Until then.......

"NUFF SAID!"

MERRY CHRISTMAS & HAPPY NEW YEAR from your Bluegrass friend, Gary Robertson

Merry Christmas everyone.  I hope this Christmas season brings  joy and comfort to you and your family.  May your New Year, 2010, be the best.  Make sure to have plenty of New Year's resolutions to break, but keep the ones you are sincere in making.

Don't forget the Appomattox Bluegrass Series begins early this year with IIIrd Tyme Out  performing at 2PM at the Appomattox County High School Auditorium.  Tickets are $15 in advance or at the door, but to be sure of getting your seat make reservations.  To see more info, read my previous blog entry about this wonderful Bluegrass Series at Appomattox.

Again, MERRY CHRISTMAS!

"NUFF SAID!"

Appomattox Bluegrass Series Begins Jan. 3rd, 2010 with IIIrd Tyme Out. Also, The James River Bluegrass Association Has A New Web Site

Yes, you read that right, 2010 won't be very old when the Appomattox High School Athletic Boosters Club will present IIIrd Tyme Out at the Appomattox High School Auditorium beginning at 2:00PM.  This year the Appomattox Bluegrass Series has been reduced to only 4 concerts, but my oh my these are some of the very best in the business.  On January 24th Dailey & Vincent will make their 3rd appearance.  These fellows have done no less than soar through the top of the Bluegrass realm.  The series takes a break through the month of February and then brings the inimitable Doyle Lawson & Quicksilver in on Sunday, March 7th.  It will be interesting to see Doyle's 2010 "crop."  Then just two short weeks later the queen of Bluegrass, Rhonda Vincent & The Rage will make their annual appearance.  All shows start at 2PM with the doors usually opening by 1PM.  Tickets are $15 per show whether purchased in advance or the day of the show.  I want to warn you that these shows almost always sell out each year, so you best go ahead and order your tickets now.  By the way, they make great Christmas gifts for you fellow Bluegrass friends and family.  For advance tickets call Kelly Smith at 434-248-6105 or email her at kellyandallen@yahoo.com.  You can arrange to have tickets held at the door, so that you are sure to get a seat.  I'll be reminding you again about these great concerts, but wanted to give you this early heads up so you won't miss a single one.  So, don't forget Russell Moore & IIIrd Tyme Out on Sunday January  3rd at 2PM.  I'll see you there!

While we're thinking about Bluegrass in the area surrounding Appomattox, Lynchburg area, I have been advised that the James River Bluegrass Association has a brand new web site.  The web address is: www.jamesriverbluegrassassociation.com.  That's a really long web address so make sure you add it to your favorites so you can check out what is happening with this great Bluegrass club.  By the way, the web site has Crawdaddy Dave as the webmaster, so you know it will be a quality site.  If you have information you would like to share with the club simply drop in on the site and click the "contact" link and email them your information.

I also wanted to tell you I just arrived back home from a wonderful weekend celebrating the 60th birthday of Jack Woodall.  The event was held at Peggy Woodall's, now deceased, parents house.  All of the furniture had been removed from this old two story farm house and it was kept cozy warm by two old "oil circulators."  How many of you remember this type of heat?  At one time there were probably 75 folks crammed into this old house and the Bluegrass music was rattling the walls.  Thanks to Jack & Peggy for a really fine weekend of Bluegrass, eating and simply good old fashioned fun with friends

"NUFF SAID!"

"Bluegrass Ramble" Some Bluegrass Stuff Happening in December

Hey Folks.  I've been rather lax with my blog lately, but that is what I like about it.  I can be as active or as inactive as I please, 'cause it's my blog!.

Annual Christmas Party @ Amelia Family Campgrounds, December 5th, 2009

Yep, this is the annual get together sponsored by the Amelia Family Campground and The Central Virginia Family Bluegrass Music Festival.  It always occurs on the 1st Saturday of December each year.  Last year we had snow flurries and predictions are for another round of flurries again this year.  So, be sure to bundle up nice and warm.  As usual the pavilion will be wrapped in Tyvek and two big propane heaters will keep everyone snug & warm.  There'll be nearly 20 bands with the first band getting started at 2:00PM and changing each 1/2 hour until finally they have all played.  If you want a seat be sure to bring your lawn chair and get there EARLY.  Supper of potato soup and hushpuppys will be served free of charge.  Bring along your favorite dessert to share with everyone.  See you there!

VFMA Jam Session, December 15th, Tuesday - Annual Food Drive to aid The Virginia Food Bank, 4 bands 7 - 10PM

The VFMA still has their regular monthly jam on 3rd Tuesdays at Brandermill Church with the December jam to occur on December 15th.  This is a very special event this year as along with the regular jamming, four bands will be in attendance to entertain. Cookies & coffee will be served. The schedule is "Homeward Bound" at 7PM; "Borrowed Time" at 7;45PM with a short break at 8:30Pm followed by "Easy Street" at 8:45PM and the "Brandermill Jammers" at 9:30PM.   Be sure to bring non-perishable food items with you that night.  The Virginia Food Bank is in most need of Peanut Butter, Canned Fruit & Vegetables, Hot & Cold Cereals, Pasta, Rice, Canned Fish/Meats.  Make your Christmas the best ever by helping your fellow man.

MERRY CHRISTMAS & HAPPY NEW YEAR!

"NUFF SAID!"

The Gary & Barry Davis Show W/ Borrowed Time - What A Blast!

This past Saturday night I had three choices if I wanted to attend a show featuring Country/Gospel or Bluegrass music.  Not being a huge fan of Southern Gospel I chose to ignore The Gaithers in Richmond and having seen and heard The Bluegrass Brothers and The James King Band many times I chose to drive over to Powhatan to see Gary Davis & Borrowed Time.  It is simply not possible to go to every show, so I had to choose one.  Also, there's the bonus of the availability of a very good meal.  Now, I know I can hear a lot of you saying, "Well, you've heard Gary Davis & Borrowed Time many times, too."  That's true, but when Gary wrote me his brother Barry was gonna be there I simply decided that's where I wanted to go.  And, boy, am I glad I did.

First let me tell you that Barry and his wife Maggie, from Iowa,  both ran the Richmond Marathon that very day.  Also, it was revealed that Barry had just been told a few weeks ago that he had the dreaded "C" word, stage 2 Lymphoma.  He and Maggie are taking things with a positive outlook and I know that together they will beat this disease.  Keep them in your prayers. Nuff said about that; let's move on to the performance.  Gary & Borrowed Time started the show at about 7:15 with three of the songs they are best known for.  Then Gary asked Barry to join the band on stage.  Barry bounced upon the stage and grabbed his Guitar (Now, remember, he spent just over four hours running the Richmond Marathon!) and started playing rhythm and singing along in the background.  Gary calls his band a Bluegrass band, but rarely do they actually sing songs from the standard Bluegrass repertoire, so when they actually do sing such a song much is made of that fact.  When they asked Barry to come around a sing a song it actually was Bluegrass and Gary apologized to the audience, in good humor.  The crowd was with the band and it was good to find that Barry very much shares the same sense of humor as Gary.  After several songs by the band and a couple more Bluegrass songs by Barry there was to be a sudden and certain change to occur.  The band began playing an odd but very familiar rhythm; then Barry stepped close to the mike and began singing in a strong falsetto all of the sound effects that begin the song "The Lion Sleeps Tonight."  Then Gary started adding the weema-wappas to the mix and things really started going crazy from that point on.  Barry sang the entire song in that falsetto and by the time he was finished the entire room was on it's feet cheering and clapping uproariously.  It was a fun song that added much to the evening's entertainment.  Gary Davis & Borrowed Time may not play the very best Bluegrass music, but if you leave one of their shows without feeling you have been entertained, then it's like Gary says, "You better start looking for the undertaker!"

A note to you pickers:  Gary announced that "The County Seat Restaurant" in Powhatan, VA will begin having Bluegrass jam sessions every other Monday evening beginning January 11th, 2009.  Contact the County Seat for times and details at 804-598-5000.

Bluegrass, Lousy Weather & A Marathon?, "Bluegrass Ramble" November 14th, 2009

Good Morning Bluegrass friends.  This ramble has nothing whatsoever to do with the Richmond Marathon other than it will occur today.   Today, I'm going to focus on this bit of lousy weather we've all had to endure here in Virginia over the last several days.  We've had around 6 inches of rain in our area and the ground is saturated.  That said, my house was built during the depression by the Works Progress Administration (WPA) for $500.  The lady who had the house built was a widow whose late husband had been a lumberman and had traveled to the Philippines to harvest mahogany and other exotic trees and was there when the Japanese invaded and he was never heard from again.  She received insurance compensation and took that money and had this house built.  Just a couple years later she added two more rooms to the house and under those two rooms she had a basement dug.  This basement is more like a cellar as it was built using simple brick for the walls and no kind of drainage was thought of other than a sump hole in the floor and a sump pump installed to handle the seepage of water during heavy rainstorms.  Over the years this basement has been flooded due to the sump either going bad or there being no electricity to operate it. This time the pump simply didn't work and right now I have just over two feet of water in the basement.  This really wouldn't be a problem except that my oil-fired furnace and my electric water heater both sit on the floor of the basement.  Of course, they now are sitting in over two feet of water.  I have purchased a new submersible sump pump and as soon as the skies brighten enough I will drop it into the water and begin the long drawn out affair of draining the basement. 

On a brighter note I wanted to remind you of the Bluegrass Brothers and The James King Band concert tonight at the Amelia County High School Auditorium.  Tickets are $15 at the door and the music starts at 7PM.  Also, don't forget Gary Davis & Borrowed Time will be performing at the County Seat in Powhatan tonight.

"NUFF SAID!"