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Published:
Jul/Aug 2004
Jul/Aug 2004
Above: The Kellys are scheduled to appear during the Festival of American Music and Craftsmanship at Silver Dollar City. Silver Dollar City photo
Below: Valley Springs Ranch near Jerome will host a festival in September. Barbara Baird photo
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O’ brother! Where art the bluegrass festivals in missouri?
By Barbara Baird
By Barbara Baird
rom “porch-pickers” to “grill-billies” at campgrounds to superstars on stages, Missouri is a hotbed of bluegrass. This genre of music that hails from the mountains of Appalachia has evolved from simple to savvy. You can find several variations of bluegrass at festivals throughout the year. Bluegrass festivals allow fans to hear several musicians, as well as give them opportunities to meet the artists. You won’t find bluegrass artists retreating to their buses between sets. Bluegrass band members remain accessible and personable, visiting with fans at product booths, partaking of campsite jam sessions and often sharing a meal with fans in the concession areas.
Bluegrass festivals also pack more bang for the buck by offering workshops, instrument competitions, camping, hotel discounts and children’s activities as part of the price of a ticket. You can bring your dog along to most outdoor festivals. At one festival, you can even bring your horse or, because you’re in Missouri, your mule.
The festivals are as wide-ranging in style as the music, so find one you like and start tappin’ those toes. Here are a few suggestions.
A star-studded American
celebration of bluegrass
Many of the country’s finest bluegrass artists will be on 12 stages at the Festival of American Music and Craftsmanship, Sept. 9 –Oct. 30, at Silver Dollar City in Branson. Hear fine music, try the park’s many rides and attractions and see more than 100 old-time craftsmen on site. The musical lineup includes more than 400 musicians from bands such as The Lewis Family, Wildfire, The Larry Stephenson Band, Valerie Smith & Liberty Pike and The Special Consensus.
The festival also will feature a youth in bluegrass contest on Oct. 2 and 3, when amateur bands compete in a two-song set that includes bluegrass, gospel-bluegrass or traditional country music.
A country setting
Folks who shy away from large crowds and amusement parks may want to set a lawn chair under the oak trees in the outdoor amphitheater at the Starvy Creek Bluegrass Festival, held twice annually near Conway, a small town near Lebanon. Somehow, the best in the bluegrass business get those big buses down the dusty country roads to find this site, which also features a campground. All-night jamming is a popular side attraction.
The summer festival will be held July 1–3 and the fall festival will take place Sept. 16–18. The fall festival features two of Missouri’s finest bands that tour nationally– Rhonda Vincent and The Rage, and Bull Harman and Bull’s Eye.
Bobbie and Don Day host this festival and treat their guests like family. In fact, the festival is like a family reunion. Children run and play, the older folks sit and talk and the bands play. Although you may bring a picnic to the park, try homemade gooseberry pie á la mode from the pie shack or munch a Starvy Creek grilled burger.
‘Grass in the city
If you want to hear bluegrass when it’s still too cold to sit outside, head over to the 15th Annual Gateway City Bluegrass Festival at the Doubletree Hotel in Chesterfield, just west of St. Louis, for an indoor extravaganza of bluegrass and acoustic music. Held on Feb. 25–27, 2005, this weekend festival features a dozen national, regional and local bands. At the Saturday Morning Showcase Stage, hear a selection of new bands.
Festival promoter Terry Lease reports that more than 2,000 bluegrass fans attended last year’s three-day event, which also featured instrument workshops, late-night picking rooms and a guitar show with 10 instrument dealers on site showing a range of acoustic instruments.
The festival is held in the Grand Ballroom of the hotel, which is converted into a concert hall with reserved seating and general admission.
Springtime
in the Ozarks
Every spring when the daffodils bloom, Cross Country Trail Rides near Eminence hosts one of the largest bluegrass festivals in the Midwest. Not only can you experience springtime in the Ozarks, but you may also spend up to a week exploring the old logging trails and natural scenic areas by foot or on horseback. Bring along your horse or mule to this venue.
The festival, to be held April 5–9, 2005, officially kicks off with a “Reunion in the Ozarks” that includes past members of Bill Monroe’s Blue Grass Boys. This reunion sets the stage for more than 30 bluegrass bands, including The Osborne Brothers, Marty Raybon and Melvin Goins and Windy Mountain.
The festival takes place inside a 63,000 -square-foot indoor riding arena, which also houses a restaurant plus a Western and tack store. With nearly 3,000 covered stalls on the 75-acre campground, the site can certainly accommodate the equestrian set. Camping, bed-and-breakfast inns and motels are nearby.
At almost any time of the year, bluegrass festivals across Missouri will inspire you to clap your hands or tap your toes to the music.
Barbara Baird is a contributor from Rolla, Mo. She also is associate editor for “Bluegrass Now” magazine.
