Third Annual Bluegrass Marathon Jam to be held at The Cultural Arts Center at Glen Allen - Saturday, February 25th, 2012

Due to the closing of one of my favorite restaurants and Bluegrass night-spots, Grampa Eddies, the 3rd annual Bluegrass Marathon Jam has been moved.  For details about Grampa Eddies's future and reasons for closing, click here. 

But, do not fear, the Bluegrass Marathon Jam will continue, this year at the Cultural Arts Center at Glen Allen (CATGA) beginning at 12:00 Noon and continuing until 12:00 Midnight on Saturday, February 25th, 2012.

Bands scheduled to perform are:Highway 249, Some Assembly Required, Willis River, Slack Family, Copper Ridge, East of Afton, River City Band and more bands to be announced.  Check out the web site for the 3rd annual Bluegrass Marathon Jam.

I must tell you I was immediately concerned about the thought there would be no food or "adult" beverages available at this great event which provides funds for the Fisher House Foundation which provides free housing to families of military that need hospital care or rehabilitation.  We owe these wonderful men and women our support and comfort.  I have been assured, just today, that there will be BBQ provided by a National BBQ cook-off competitor and that the adult beverages will be provided by Legend/Brown.  So fear not!  Come out and have some money along to spend of food and drink and to support the Fisher House.

For more details on the event and ways you might participate click here.  This is a marathon event, so obviously seven bands can't do it all.  Do you have a band and want to be heard, then check it out, but hurry!

Okay, mark your calendar and be ready for a great day of Bluegrass music at CATGA when the 3rd annual Bluegrass Marathon Jam kicks off the day at noon of February 25th, 2012.  See you there!

"NUFF SAID!"

Appomattox Bluegrass Concert Series, 2012 & So Long, Jody, Old Friend

HAPPY NEW YEAR 2012!!!!  Yep! Another year has begun.  I'm only 62 years old, but I can remember back when I was in high school thinking that living to see the 21st Century would be impossible, and now look, I'm twelve years into this century now.  Amazing!  Enough of this, I've got a great concert series to tell you about, so I better get started.

The first headliner to appear as part of the Appomattox County High School's Booster Club Bluegrass Series will be Michael Cleveland & Flamekeeper.  Michael consistently wins the International Bluegrass Music Association's (IBMA) Fiddle Player of Year Award.  Why?  It's quite simple.  A lot of award winners are part of a popularity contest, but with Michael, it is simply there is no-one today that has a more innovative style and ability.  It's fun to watch the faces of his fellow band mates when Michael strikes out on a new and unexplored tangent when taking his fiddle breaks.  They look at him in awe and amazement.  So, you know if they are amazed, we fans are or should be totally blown away.  Michael's show starts at 2PM, but wait, before Michael blows us all away, there is another local bluegrass group, the James River Cut-ups to get things started off.  I'll let the band describe themselves in this excerpt from their web site:

"We started out as a family band from Nelson County, Va. Two of my brothers, Michael and Kenneth, have been playing together since they were kids. It all started when Michael got a guitar and Kenneth got a mandolin for Christmas. Soon after, my brothers started playing with other family members and friends.

In 2002, I got married and I asked them to play at my wedding. My brother Wendell joined in, a friend of the family, Carroll Turner helped on bass and Tom Hogge (with the Courtney Hollow band) helped on banjo. I joined them in a song to remember our dad who passed away in 1999. Our father was not one for flowers or poems, but instead a man who loved God, Bluegrass music and family. What better tribute than a family band preaching, praying and singing!

We practiced for months and once the wedding was over, we really didn’t want to stop! We continued to get together and make Bluegrass music, occasionally doing some benefits. When contacted to perform for a benefit, we realized we lacked a name. At this point, we were just family and friends who loved to get together, cut up, eat some homemade food, and play some music. However, thanks to a good friend of the family, and Michael’s very witty wife, the James River Cut-Ups were formed.

In the spring of 2010, we were so pleased to have Jered Gillispie join us. You HAVE to come out and hear him pick that banjo Stanley style!! He came into the band and it was the perfect fit."

Following pretty close behind Michael Cleveland on February 12th, Bobby Osborne & Rocky Top X-press will perform at Appomattox with a 2 PM show.  Bobby, once part of the enduring Bluegrass 'second generation' group, The Osborne Brothers, decided to stay in the business when his brother, Sonny, chose to retire.  Not intending to offend anyone, I must say I have never seen Bobby smile as much as he has since striking out on his own.  There's not much I need to tell you about Bobby Osborne, so I want to tell you that leading off the show that Sunday at 1PM will be a local group called Dixie Ridge.  Here's just a little about the band from their "bios" page of their web site:

"Dixie Ridge was formed in the winter of 2010 by the husband and wife duo of Adam and Amanda Clifton. Both have always loved playing and singing bluegrass music. Amanda has been singing since a very young age and her powerful lead vocals are without a doubt the foundation of the group. Adam serves as the bass player for the group and is also Dixie Ridge's bandleader and manager.
Adam and Amanda are very proud of Dixie Ridge's debut, self-titled album recorded on the Blue Moon Records label in Mount Airy, N.C. The ten track album features the band and guest musicians: Scott Vestal, Rob Ickes, Jimmy Edmonds, Andy Leftwich, Jared Easter, and Russell Easter Jr. who by the way is the owner of Blue Moon Records."

Following Bobby Osborne & Rocky Top X-press just two short weeks later on February 26th at 2 PM, is none other than Doyle Lawson & Quicksilver.  Doyle is well known to folks all around Virginia for his flawless execution both vocally and instrumentally.  His show will begin a 2 PM, but at 1 PM a well known local Gospel Bluegrass group, True Spirit, will get the day started.  I'll let the band tell you a little about themselves with this short excerpt from their web site:

FIFTEEN YEARS OR SO AGO, GOD CALLED THE TRUE SPIRIT GOSPEL BAND TO SERVE AND MINISTER HIS GOSPEL IN SONG AND MUSIC.

IT IS OUR MISSION TO LIFT AND PRAISE HIS HOLY NAME AND TO GIVE HIM THANKS FOR OUR SALVATION.

IT IS OUR HOPE AND PRAYER THAT MANY WILL BE SAVED THROUGH THE MESSAGE THAT JESUS CHRIST DELIVERED TO US!

As I look at the schedule, it seems that all shows are two weeks apart through-out the coldest part of winter.  Who says there's no Bluegrass in the wintertime?  Next up on March 11th at 2 PM the Appomattox Bluegrass Series will present Russell Moore & IIIrd Tyme Out. I was gonna say that Russell Moore was schooled in the Doyle Lawson School of Bluegrass, but in all actuality, I believe that Doyle has been searching for another singer of the caliber Russell Moore.  He hasn't found one yet.  Russell's voice is distinctive and is as open and clear as I have ever had the privilege to hear.  There's just no-one to match him.  Russell coupled with his great band and harmony vocalists makes for a Bluegrass performance that is unequaled anywhere, period.   IIIrd Tyme Out's show gets under way at 2PM, but prior to Russell is  a group entirely new to me, The Epperson Brothers.  They will get the show started at 1PM.  I could find nothing on the Internet about The Epperson Brothers (Hey guys, if you're reading this you need to get on the Internet either on Facebook or a web site.), so I guess we'll have to find out all about them by attending the show.

The final concert of the Appomattox Bluegrass Concert Series is what can only be described as a Bluegrass Super Group.  Dailey & Vincent were met with great success from their very first concert at IBMA (I was there!).  Jamie Dailey after ten years with Doyle Lawson and Darren Vincent after many years with his family band The Sally Mountain Show and then after nine years with Ricky Skaggs & Kentucky Thunder have joined together to form Dailey & Vincent. Aided by great sidemen, Daily & Vincent has become one of the most sought after Bluegrass groups today.  Their show will begin at 2PM and there will be no other group on stage that day.

Get that calendar and mark down all these dates so you won't miss a single show and be sure to get those tickets ordered as any one of these shows could possibly sell out.  You certainly wouldn't want to make the drive only to be turned away at the door.  All tickets are $15 each for adults and $5 for children 6 to 12 years old.  All children 5 years or younger are free.  For more information or to purchase tickets call Tony Clifton at 434-660-7101.  You may reserve tickets as "will call" is available for these concerts.  To purchase tickets in the Appomattox area go to Carquest Auto Parts or Baines Books & Coffee.  Visit the web site at www.appomattoxbluegrass.com.

JODY RAINWATER passed away on Christmas Eve at ten minutes to midnight.  He was a friend to all who met him and I am especially proud to have gotten to know this fine gentleman.  My earliest memories include my Mother listening to "Little Jody Rainwater" on WSVS every morning.  My two older brothers went to school but I was home with Mama and we listened to Jody.  In my mind he always sounded like a granddaddy and I seem to recall referring to him that way.  Jody was out of the public eye for many years as he helped his wife, Emma, take care of her aging mother.  After her passing, Emma & Jody began to attend Bluegrass events and shows all around Virginia and North Carolina.  It was during these later years in his life that I met and became friends with both Jody and Emma. 

I interviewed Jody a few years ago with the plans to write an article about him for Bluegrass Unlimited, but I never completed the project.  If I can find my notes I hope to do a series of blog entries about Jody.

I've rambled too long here.  I simply want to say that we all have lost a close friend with the passing of Charles E. Johnson, better known as Jody Rainwater to most of us.  We will miss him, but we know that Jody was a Christian man and that he is now enjoying eternal life with his savior.

"NUFF SAID!"

WSVS, 800AM & The Virginia Museum of Radio Entertainment Present an Interview and live performance by John Cowan - Wednesday, December 14th, 2011 @ 11:00AM

Hey guys I know that is a very long headline, but I wanted to be sure all of the important stuff was there for you.  Yes, you read it right, John Cowan, most famous to my readers as part of the seminal New Grass Revival, will be in the WSVS studios.  John, along with Sam Bush, Courtney Johnson and Ebo Walker formed the original New Grass Revival.  Several of these guys had also been part of the band who bred so many Newgrass styled band, The Bluegrass Alliance.  These two longhaired, hippie Bluegrass bands became the "Fathers" of a new and still continuing and growing and expanding branch of Bluegrass music known simply as newgrass.  John Cowan will be in the WSVS studios for and intimate interview and to perform some of his music on this Wednesday, December 14th, 2011.  Please, this is important.  The studio will be CLOSED to the GENERAL PUBLIC for this live show.  Do not attempt to enter the building as the doors will be locked.

Today, John is a member of the long-lived rock band, The Doobie Brothers, but the band is taking a short holiday break and, so John is using this time off to take a tour of the eastern United States on a solo tour.  WSVS was chosen as a stop along the way.  But, why is this, you may ask?  Good Question.  Read on.  WSVS first went on the air in April of 1947 and believe it or not, they occupied the same spot on the dial as the famous WSM radio of Nashville, Tennessee, 650AM.  Back then country music fans never had to adjust their radio dial.  They had great local programming of WSVS and when darkness fell they were treated to WSM and the Grand Ole Opry at night.  In 1952, Jody Rainwater (Real name Charles Johnson) left as Bassist and comedian for Flatt & Scruggs and joined the staff of WSVS as their morning air personality.  I, personally can recall hearing Jody on WSVS as early as 1953 when I was just four years old, since my mother listened to WSVS every day.  Jody, and his lovely wife, Emma, still live in the Crewe area. 

For about six months, from August 1954 until January 1955, Flatt & Scruggs made WSVS their home radio station and recorded many of the "live" shows for Martha White Mills at WSVS.  These "live" shows were sent to Nashville where they were aired every morning on WSM's early morning "Martha White Show."

Since those heady early years WSVS has continued to bring the best of traditional country music to south side Virginia, but in the not too distant past began bringing live music, specifically Bluegrass and Old Time music, back to the station with the Saturday live show, The High Noon Hoedown.  This live show hosted by Mel Payne has presented most local and regional Bluegrass bands for hour long performances.  There have also been bands from far and wide, such as Missy Raines & The New Hip, The Quebe Sisters and most recently, one half of the famous Hazel & Alice duo, Alice Gerrard, for a few great songs and an in depth interview.  The studio used is called "The Flatt & Scruggs Studio" because it is the actual studio in which Lester & Earl recorded their shows.  It has been totally restored and is a beautiful piece of radio and Bluegrass history and that brings us back to my question; why would John Cowan choose to stop at a little out of the way country radio station?  Well, you just read the reason, WSVS is a most important part of the early life of Bluegrass music and John recognizes this.  WSVS is as important today as it ever was, but our economy is handing many small radio and TV stations very small paydays.

Therefore, the decision was made to apply for a non-profit charter as, "The Virginia Museum of Radio Entertainment" (The VMRE), which has since been granted, allowing the VMRE to raise funds through public performances and public donations.

This is quoted from www.BluegrassToday.com, "Board members include the WSVS station manager since 2007, Chris Gowin, Bobby Wilcox, the Broadcast Projects Director for VMRE, Jim Eanes (no relation to the late singer with the same name), the Historical Projects Director, and the Director of Public Relations Penny Parsons, who is well known for her work in various capacities in the bluegrass music industry for over 30 years. The organization is in the process of creating an advisory board, which will include prominent veterans from the bluegrass, country and Americana music fields."  To read the entire article announcing the formation of the VMRE in BluegrassToday click here.

The VMRE is a most important endeavor and may I ask you to support their efforts by mailing donations, in any amount, to The Virginia Museum of Radio Entertainment, Crewe, VA, or call the station at 434-645-7734. Help keep live music on the airwaves!

The word was spread and various performers and personalities have made the pilgrimage to the WSVS studios.  One such pilgrim appeared as a surprise during the performance of The Quebe Sisters on the High Noon Hoedown one Saturday.  None other that Eddie Stubbs, announcer for The Grand Ole Opry and former Fiddler for the famed Johnson Mountain Boys walked through the front door.  He knew of WSVS from his very early interests in the history of Country and Bluegrass music (Eddie is a veritable encyclopedia of knowledge of early Country and Bluegrass).  He came by to help and support WSVS in it's efforts to preserve traditional Country and Bluegrass music and WSVS and the VMRE in keeping live music on the radio.

 

And for that very same reason, John Cowan is giving of his valuable time to help WSVS and the VMRE continue in their quest.  So, please plan to listen to this important live interview and performance by John Cowan on WSVS this Wednesday at 11:00 AM.  Those of you too far from Crewe, Virginia and the 10,000 Watt range of WSVS may listen on-line by going to www.wsvsam.com/ and click on the the "Listen Live" button.  And remember: The doors to WSVS Studios will be locked and the general public is asked to not attend this show.  It is a closed studio performance, but do listen in on WSVS, 800 AM or on-line. (Note: if I should, somehow, be invited to this show I will write another blog with pics and quotes from the show in the very near future.)  With that I'll say.....

..... "Nuff Said!"

Wesley P. Phelps: A Real Life World War II Hero in Cemetery with Bill Monroe

Most years when I attend the IBMA World of Bluegrass in Nashville, Tennessee I take a drive north to Owensboro, Kentucky to tour the International Bluegrass Music Museum (IBMM).  During either the drive up to Owensboro or during the drive back toward Nashville I usually stop by the little Kentucky town where Bill Monroe was born, Rosine, Kentucky.  Each time I visit Rosine, I make my way to the cemetery there to pay my respects to Mr. Monroe. During one visit, a few years ago, while searching for Uncle Pen Vandiver's grave site I happened upon a rather large headstone with the name Wesley P. Phelps, PFC, USMC.  On the stone it stated that PFC Phelps was awarded the Congressional Medal of Honor.  This is the highest award that can be bestowed upon a military man.  The highest! 

I was recently watching a TV program on PBS about famous graveyards around the country and my memory of that headstone was jogged.  I knew I had taken a picture of it, so I dug through my photo files and found the picture.  Here it is. After locating the picture I was spurred on to find out more about PFC Wesley P. Phelps.  I found out a lot about PFC Phelps in a Wikipedia entry. 

Wesley Phelps (June 12, 1923 – October 4, 1944) was a United States Marine who posthumously received the Medal of Honor for his heroic actions and sacrifice of life during the World War II Battle of Peleliu.

Wesley Phelps was born in Neafus, Kentucky on June 12, 1923. He was educated in the Ohio County, Kentucky, elementary schools and graduated from Horse Branch High School in 1942. Radio was his hobby and he had built some one-tube sets. Deciding to turn his hobby into an occupation, he went to school in Owensboro, Kentucky, for four months where he studied basic electricity, then took a three-month course in radio repair work at the Lafayette Trade School at Lexington, Kentucky. He followed that with studies in field radio repair work, and radio repair work on aircraft receivers at the Johnson Pre-Frequency Modulation School.

Although he was the sole support of his aged parents who owned and operated a 70-acre (280,000 m²) farm with his help, he was called up by the draft and was inducted into the United States Marine Corps on April 9, 1943 in Indianapolis, Indiana.

After boot camp at Marine Corps Recruit Depot San Diego, Pvt Phelps was assigned to the Signal Battalion at the Marine Base at San Diego for one month and then was transferred to the Infantry Training Battalion at Camp Elliot, California. He successfully completed an eight-week course on the Browning Heavy Machine Gun, 30 caliber, and was classified as a heavy machine gunner. Pvt Phelps joined the 27th Replacement Battalion in September and left the United States on October 23, 1943, joining Company M, 3rd Battalion, 7th Marines of the 1st Marine Division in December, just a few days before the unit left for the combat landing on Cape Gloucester, New Britain. After the Cape Gloucester campaign, all machine gun companies in the division, of which Company M was one, were broken up and their personnel were assigned to rifle companies. In this shuffle, Pvt Phelps became a crewman on a light machine gun in Company K of the same battalion. He was promoted to private first class in April 1944.

After a so-called "rest" at Pavuvu Island in the Russell Islands, the 1st Division left for the little-publicized Peleliu Island operation. After nineteen days of bitter and costly fighting, the night of October 4, 1944 found Company K strung out along the military crest of one of the coral mountains for which Peleliu is noted. With the Marines on one slope of the hill and the Japanese on the opposite slope, rifles became useless and a series of hand grenade battles took place over a period of several days. During the night of the fourth the enemy launched a particularly vicious counterattack. PFC Phelps and a fellow Marine were in a foxhole when a Japanese grenade landed with a thud between them.

Private First Class Phelps shouted, "Look out, Shipley!" then unhesitatingly rolled over on the grenade, taking the full force of the explosion with his own body. Phelps was killed while PFC Richard Shipley received only a small scratch. The Kentucky farm boy had sacrificed his own life to save that of his buddy.

Private First Class Phelps was initially buried in the United States Armed Forces Cemetery on Peleliu, but was later reinterred in Rosine Cemetery, Rosine, Kentucky.

The Medal of Honor was presented to the hero's mother in Rosine, Kentucky, on April 26, 1946 by the Commanding Officer of the Naval Ordnance Plant at Louisville, Kentucky.  Below is the offical citation signed by President Harry S. Truman.

The President of the United States takes pride in presenting the MEDAL OF HONOR posthumously to

PRIVATE FIRST CLASS WESLEY PHELPS
UNITED STATES MARINE CORPS RESERVE

for service as set forth in the following CITATION:

For conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity at the risk of his life above and beyond the call of duty while serving with the Third Battalion, Seventh Marines, First Marine Division, in action against enemy Japanese forces on Peleliu Island, Palau Group, during a savage hostile counterattack on the night of October 4, 1944. Stationed with another Marine in an advanced position when a Japanese hand grenade landed in his foxhole, Private First Class Phelps instantly shouted a warning to his comrade and rolled over on the deadly bomb, absorbing with his own Body the full, shattering impact of the exploding charge. Courageous and indomitable, Private First Class Phelps fearlessly gave his life that another might be spared serious injury and his great valor and heroic devotion to duty in the face of certain death reflected the highest credit upon himself and the United States Naval Service. He gallantly gave his life for his country.^[1]

/S/ HARRY S. TRUMAN

Folks, I know there isn't much here about Bluegrass music, but I feel it such honor that I stumbled upon PFC Phelps headstone and have had the opportunity to learn about this great young man.

"NUFF SAID"

A Re-cap of the IBMA Awards for 2011

I'm back from my journey to Nashville to participate in the week long IBMA "World of Bluegrass."  I had a very good week although I must admit there were a few times when I grew weary and had that 1,000 yard stare thing going on like you see in the war movies.  There were changes this year that improved the overall experience.  Gone was the $160.00 "after hours pass."  A really stupid idea from the very start.  We tried to tell them last year, but no-one would listen.  Even Dan Hayes didn't seem to realize what was happening last year.

But ,enough about last year.  Gone was the check stand that you had to show your stamped hand at every time you passed by it, and believe me I passed by it a lot over the years.  There were some events that were completely open to the public, even though I paid good money to go to them. Okay, I'll stop fussing and since the heading is about the awards so here goes.

[There are two photographs below that I simply cannot get to stay on the blog, however if you click on the empty block (At least on my computer) they will be shown to you on another page.  Sorry for the problem]

The Master of Ceremonies of the 2001 IBMA Awards show was a pioneer of the Bluegrass idiom known as "Newgrass," Mr. Sam Bush.

The Banjo player of the year was the only tie this year.  Imagine out of all the ballots cast there were exactly the same amount cast for Ron Stewart and Kristen Scott Benson.

The winner of the IBMA Award for Fiddle Player of the year was Michael Cleveland.      

The winner of the IBMA Award for Male Vocalist of the Year was Russell Moore.

Just a few short minutes after being named Fiddle Player of the Year, Michael Cleveland was back on stage to accept the Award as Instrumental Recorded Performance of the Year for his band Michael Cleveland & Flamekeeper and the song, "Goin' Up Dry Branch.".

The winner of the IBMA Award for Female Vocalist of the year was Dale Ann Bradley.  

The winners of the IBMA Award for Emerging Artist of the Year were The Boxcars.  Adam Steffey accepted the award for the group.

The first of the two IBMA Hall of Fame inductees was George Shuffler.

The winners of the IBMA Award for Vocal Group of the Year were The Gibson Brothers.

The second inductee into the IBMA Hall of Fame was Del McCoury.

The winner of the IBMA Award for Song of the Year went to Balsam Range for their recorded performance of "Trains I Missed."

The winners of the IBMA Award for Album of the Year were The Gibson Brothers for their album entitled "Help My Brother."

The winners for Instrumental Group of the Year were also Awarded as Emerging Artist of the Year, The Boxcars.  Accepting the award, Adam Steffey.

The IBMA Award for Gospel Recorded Performance of the year and the Award for Recorded Event of the Year both go to the album "Prayer Bells In Heaven" by J. D. Crowe, Doyle Lawson and Paul Williams.

Adam Steffey was busy at the 2001 IBMA Awards as he also won as Mandolin Player of the Year, 2011.

The 2011 IBMA Award for Guitar Player of the Year went to Bryan Sutton who was not in attendance.  Accepting the award for Bryan was Pete Wernick.  Pete told us that Bryan was attending his son's softball game.  His priorities are in order.

The 2011 IBMA Award for Bass Player of the Year went to Marshall Wilborn, whom I somehow failed to photograph.  My apologies.

The last award each year goes to the group voted as IBMA Entertainer of the Year.  This year's recipient was Steve Martin & The Sreep Canyon Rangers.  Accepting the award is Steve Martin.

At the end of the show the two inductees into the IBMA Hall of Fame were on stage together.  George Shuffler can still do some mean cross-picking on the guitar and, of course, Del McCoury is still at the peak of his performing skills.

Okay, so I know my writing here hasn't been awe inspiring, but ,hey, I feel lucky I was able to simply get the pictures into the article.  So, don't be fussing at me!  I know who you are.  And with that I think there has been......

"NUFF SAID!"

Don't Forget The Special Benefit show for Peggy Woodall @ Amelia Family Campground - September 24th, 2011

I just wanted to remind all of you about the Special Bluegrass Benefit show at the Amelia Family Campground on September 24th in support of Peggy Woodall during this most stressful time in her life.  To see my original post with all the details click here.

Just today I received an email from our friend Donna Trent in which she included a link to a you tube clip of a TV performance by the band Bluegrass To The Bone.  At the beginning of the clip Peggy's benefit is mentioned.  Please take a look by clicking on this link;

http://www2.wsls.com/entertainment/2011/sep/12/grass-bone-performs-live-ar-1303602/?referer=http://www.facebook.com/l.php?u=http%3A%2F%2Fwsls.com%2Far%2F1303602%2F&h=_AQALuJfYAQAcOp4_ws46uAuxeko4AGg1zHM62jCk09PsXw&shorturl=http://bit.ly/pxXXKb

Folks, I will not be able to attend this special day for Peggy as I will be making my annual trip to Nashville to attend the IBMA World of Bluegrass.  If you can't be there like me then be sure to send along your donations to Peggy by a trusted friend.  Well, I guess that's........

"NUFF SAID!"

VFMA's "Jumpin' Bluegrass '11 - September 15th, 16th, 17th & 18th, 2011 - Chesterfield County Fairgrounds.

Here's hoping all of you survived the storms and flooding and now you're ready to enjoy a great weekend of Bluegrass music is a very pleasant setting.  I'm talkin' about the Virginia Folk Music Association's "Jumpin' Bluegrass '11" held annually at the Chesterfield County Fairgrounds.

I'm sorry I'm a little late with this information, but it seems since I've retired about 18 months ago, time catches up with me much too fast.  I've got a lot to tell you and I'm gonna do it short and sweet.  First and foremost, I believe, is the price of admission.  You can come to any day of the festival you choose for just $5 per day.  Yep!  just $5 per day.  That means the entire 4 days of music will cost you only $20.  Now there's something you need to know.  If you buy a three or four day ticket parking will cost you $5 for the entire weekend, no matter how often you come and go, and let me tell you that's a bargain in anyone's book.  That means for $25 total you can attend all four days of music and come and go as you please.  You just can't beat that pricing anywhere.  But, I warn you, if you think you're gonna really be thrifty and come maybe just two days and pay as you come to each day, then parking will cost you $5 each day you come. To me the only sensible thing to do is simply come to the gate and pay your $25 and get the 4 day music pass and the 4 day parking pass and simply be done with it !!!    If you choose to bring your camper, there are limited full electric hook-ups and rough camping available.  See the folks at the gate for pricing as you enter the fairgrounds.

Now here's a quick listing of the bands appearing as part of the three day festival.  On Thursday: Amy Ladd & Friends, Harper & Company, Willis River, East of Afton, Sleepy Hollow and Bobby Adams Country Bluegrass.

Friday these bands will appear: The Bluegrass Brothers (Note: The Bluegrass Brothers will be inducted as the 2011 honorees into the VFMA Country Music Hall of Fame), Willis River, Copper Ridge, Shenandoah Drive, Tom Cline & The High Mountain Drifters and River City.

Saturday boasts: Junior Sisk & Rambler's Choice, Mitch Harrell & The Virginians, Code Blue, The Church Sisters, Adam McPeake and Homeward Bound.

On Sunday the VFMA will present the Virginia State Bluegrass Music Championships, open to all bands and individuals based in Virginia.  There is a $1000.00 award to the 1st place band, so this contest is worthy of your time.  Out Of The Blue, last year's champion band will be featured as guests.

I'm sure I have left things out during this hasty write-up, so be sure to check out the VFMA web page at www.vafolkmusic.org. See you in a week or so.  Until then.......

"NUFF SAID!"