5 posts tagged “virginia”
Members of Dark Hollow enlist the help of Bassist Jerry McCoury at the Lucketts Fair
22 August 2009 Lucketts, Virginia
It was going gangbusters at the Fair until somebody pulled the plug! Well not really. In the midst of a great day of Bluegrass a major transformer blew out across Route 15 and shut down all the electricity going into the fairgrounds. Dark Hollow and the Patuxent Partners rose to the occasion and delivered music the way it's supposed to be heard - up close and intimate with an appreciative audience! Dark Hollow came down from the (Gazebo) stage, took everything in stride, and continued playing. Unhindered by all the electrical gadgetry, they actually sounded better. The vocals were tighter - the acoustical instruments rang out true to form. Like having them in front of you for your own private party. The performances continue through tomorrow afternoon. Stay tuned for a full wrap up after the Lucketts Fair closes.
The Patuxent Partners go totally acoustic at ground level after the electricity goes out
2 July 2009, Fairfax County, Virginia
Nottoway Park, (near Vienna, Virginia): The Seldom Scene made its annual free concert appearance on the portable "Nottoway Nights" stage this evening and opened up with jokes about rainstorms - for good reason. Every time the group is scheduled it seems the performances are always up against monumental storms of some sort or another. Last night was a change - a perfect summer evening that got downright cool towards nightfall. The band is famous in these parts, or more to the point, famous nationally. When you consider Bluegrass three names come to mind - Ralph Stanley, The Country Gentlemen, and The Seldom Scene. The Seldom Scene probably had more to do with changing America's collective mind about the genre than any other musical force during the 70's and 80's. I remember my college days. I was working for the campus newspaper and the editor gave me the task of doing record and theatre reviews. Nobody else wanted to do it and I got a lot of free tickets and free records. We saw a lot of free ballet and opera during those times of trying to raise a child and live on the G.I. Bill. Two records came into the office one day: "Will the Circle be Unbroken" and "Old Train." That started it for me, and who would ever guess that bluegrass music would ever make such a resurgence in this country? Then come to find out I was living in the midst of some of the best bluegrass music and bands around. We are surely blessed living here in Virginia, if you dig the music. I still like my opera and ballet music - but for purity of acoustic brilliance and story-telling, Appalachian-based mountain music grounds me in my quest for the authentic. It can go astray at times - leaning toward the more crowd-pleasing modern 'country' crap and I'm sometimes disappointed when a good group will pander to the wider audience by including numbers that sound like they were just imported from Nashville. In the old days (of the 70's and 80's!) a wider audience recognized that the Seldom Scene was different - they were sticking to the basics, even if they were developing those basic bluegrass music components into a fine-tuned perfection. They remain fine-tuned perfection and that's probably why they are so nationally recognized. They are still a joy to listen to - but me? I'd rather be in Big Stone Gap listening to some locals beating out rhythms on handed-down instruments and singing gut-wrenching songs about hangings and love-gone-wrong.
(Nottoway Nights performances continue every Thursday night at Nottoway Park throughout the summer. Brought to you through County Parks funding and the generous support of local company sponsors. I was shocked to see the slim list of this year's commercial supporters - a sign of the tough economic times. Dig deep Brothers and Sisters! It would be a real community shame if the Fairfax County Parks entertainment programs had to discontinue. . . . .)
Friday Night, 12 June 2009
They're back! and what a night of good music. The Annapolis Bluegrass Coalition, better known as "ABC," wowed the capacity crowd on this beautiful evening after another full day of threatening storms that never materialized. Fast becoming honorary citizens of our fair town, Roger Green never fails to mention how much the band enjoys playing for the Vienna public. They got off to a rocky start by being stranded in beltway traffic and showing up right before show-time. One never knows. Who can predict what will happen at any given moment on Metro D.C.'s wonderful highway system? When are the authorities going to get smart and begin issuing citations for idiots who cause traffic jams and the lolly-gaggers who slow down to see what's going on? Lead, follow, or get out of the way. But no problem - ABC took charge, set up all their equipment in about 7 minutes (I timed them) and then got a big round of applause for their thrown-together sound-check song. That's called professionalism. They barely had time to tune their instruments - which to any bluegrass musician worth his salt is a fine science. The good times continued for another hour and a half and concluded with a standing ovation encore song after the obligatory "Orange Blossom Special." You haven't lived until you've heard fiddler Sue Tice deliver her version of this old chestnut. It's obvious that Sue's fiddling is one of the strong glue-points that holds the whole group together. What she provides is most excellent nuance - never overbearing - coming in and out of a musical line with just the right touch. I could listen to her playing all night, but that's not the point. In this genre of music it's about the group and not anyone individual. She adds just enough color to each song on the program. This is great musicianship.
Thanks to Navy Federal for sponsoring ABC on this night's performance at our local Town Green music stage. The programs continue every Friday and Sunday evening until the end of summer.
Roger Green, Guitar - Dan Kimball, Mandolin - Bob Tice, Banjo - Sue Tice, Fiddle - Jim Duvall, Bass.
For more information go to www.annapolisbluegrass.com
Catch Roger Green's streaming Bluegrass Programs on WRYR 97.5 FM. Times and listings are available at www.wryr.org. The music and (Roger's interesting and expert commentary) is the Real Deal.
15 May 2009 - Vienna Town Green, Vienna, Virginia
Now in its third Season, the Vienna Town Green Stage opened up on May 15th with the appearance of Bill Emerson and the Sweet Dixie Band. Forget the Nay-sayers, the Nay-Bobs, all those who negatively fought against our town ever having a public venue such as our Town Green. On Friday night, one of the biggest crowds I've ever seen at these events showed up in droves to enjoy some really good Bluegrass, made even more pleasurable by the fact that Bill Emerson is one our local, homegrown musical icons. He lives here, and for that we should be more appreciative. The audience was overflow into the grassy area behind the Freeman Store and the knoll behind the fountain. Children of all ages were everywhere - scads of them! - and thoroughly enjoying themselves. The town of Vienna has instituted a very family-friendly gathering space alongside the popular W & O.D. Bike Trail that meanders through downtown Vienna. In three years the audiences have grown and the programs provided have improved tremendously from their humble beginnings. Thanks in large part to Mayor Jane Seeman, Edythe Kelleher and her volunteers, and Vienna Parks and Recreation Director Cathy Salgado.
28 July 2008 - A post from Floyd, Virginia.
Yes, Virginia, there really is a place called Floyd, Virginia, and it's not a joke off the old "Hee Haw" television series from years back. Visitors are pleasantly shocked upon first driving into the town. It's a pretty little place tucked back into the hills east of Christiansburg by about 21 miles of scenic two-lane highway. I had been here about 10 years ago under some rather odd circumstances: The Memorial Day Writers' project ( a bunch of Veterans who also write) had been invited by the Pastor of a local country church to read poetry and perform some music. We stayed in a friend's cabin in the hills above Floyd and drove to Christiansburg to the church. Not knowing what to expect when we got to the church, we were greeted with a harp-player, an outstanding soprano - a professional from Virginia Tech - and a gospel group called the Bolt Brothers. The Bolt Brothers showed up in one of those gargantuan luxury tour buses you'd expect B.B. King to jump out of. Needless to say, this city boy was impressed. Years later, I still frequently listen to the CD I bought from the Bolt Brothers (Saved by the Blood). But what really made the visit were the humble people we met at the church and the quality time spent conversing with them over a big meal of barbequed pork and home-made pies. It was one of those perfect autumn weekends that are a constant chain-jerk to remind you that there really is a nice world out beyond the Washington Beltway. But I digress too much . . .
With that same attitude in mind Connie and I decided we would spend four days traveling down the Shenandoah Valley and return to some of those places we hadn't been in a while. We started at the top in Winchester and ended up in Floyd - stopped when we wanted to stop - and made every day impromptu, except for our motel reservations each evening. It's so easy to forget that we live in such a beautiful state that has it all: mountains, seashore, big and little towns, history, broad rivers, beautiful forests, and best of all, nice people. We had a couple goals in mind - the relatively new National D-Day Memorial in Bedford, the Museum of the Shenandoah Valley in Winchester, and spending quality time in Staunton. While in Staunton we hadn't planned it, but we took advantage of visiting all the places dedicated to Woodrow Wilson: The Woodrow Wilson Home, The Woodrow Wilson Library and Museum, etc. I highly recommend it all, if you're travelling through Staunton. We saved Floyd for our final day before we had to return north, and home.
There is a bit of myth and folklore connected to Floyd's history and it goes like this: in the 60's and 70's a bunch of hippies found Floyd and moved in to establish a couple of communes. They made their money through the usual venues: painting, pottery, arts and crafts, and handicrafts. Some were very successful, some weren't. Bluegrass music became an important element in Floyd's growth. The artsy-craftsy element remains in the number of existing galleries and slick cafes and coffee shops. I had heard this myth/folklore story the first time I visited Floyd. I heard it again when we returned. Who cares? I was on a mission to visit "County Sales." Artsy Fartsy villages are a dime a dozen all across our great nation.
County Sales is tucked down an alleyway off the main drag in Floyd. I couldn't quite understand the first set of directions that were given to me to get to it. I had been to the County Sales website and had hours of fun going through its immense catalogues of old time music, folk music, and what they're known best for, which is Bluegrass. While I was there I heard one of the clerks get three phone calls from Rebel Records. That told me something about the place. Crammed into an old basement warehouse is the biggest collection of music I've ever seen. Sales people scurry about in every direction filling internet, fax, and phone orders for the best in Bluegrass, and also the most profound and obscure in old time music. I could have spent days there just going through the shelves, and every once in a while I'd stumble over boxes of teeshirts and concert posters. This is a Great Place! I'd found nirvana. But it was time to start thinking about going back to the drudge of civilization around the Beltway. And it's nice to realize that total access to all of it is just a few clicks away on my computer.
