ALTHOUGH I REGULARLY visit the USA - about 5times a year! - I have only once before seen a Bluegrass Show over there; a great double-bill of Gary Brewer & The Kentucky Ramblers and The James King Band. I happened to be browsing around some antique stores in Adamstown, PA, one Saturday morningwhen I noticed some of the shop assistants whispering amongst themselves and enquired what it was all about. They told me that some members of a Bluegrass band were in the shop and were playing in the area that night. I scoured the place and spotted a smart-looking guy in a bomber jacket with "Kentucky Ramblers" emblazoned on the back, who turned out to be the great Gary Brewer himself. He told me they were appearing that night in Ephrata, PA., some 12 miles away at the Horse Auction Center. Thinking "Open-air venue on a November night!" I took myself off to the local K-Mart and bought 2 sweatshirts.

Start 'em young!

We drove around Ephrata but couldn't see anything resembling fairgrounds or animal holding pens, so I began to panic. I stopped a police patrol car and asked the officer where the Horse Auctions were held. Imagine my surprise when we his directions led to this modern building called The Horst Auction Center - fully central heated and me in a T-shirt, two sweatshirts and an overcoat!!

Anyway, it was a wonderful show, mostly attended by local farmers and Mennonites (footnote). Gary Brewer even asked me to stand up and get a cheer as the most travelled member of the audience!

In 1999 I knew I would be in Roanoke, VA, in late September for a 4 day convention and as usual I arranged a 3-week vacation around this. I am lucky enough to belong to an American club which holds 2 conventions a year in different areas of the USA each time. It gives my wife and I the chance to explore more unusual areas of the States. I had looked in Bluegrass Unlimited and seen that there was a 3-day Bluegrass Festival in Littleton, North Carolina the first weekend each October, and had written to Gail Fox-Burrell, the organiser. She sent me leaflets and programmes including area motels and we duly organised our itinerary to visit the festival on Saturday, October 2nd.

Currently fashionable IIIrd Tyme Out

I was somewhat agitated when Hurricane Floyd hit the Carolina coast in late September and we had seen the floods, devastation and chaos on local TV. Just my luck - it would be cancelled, but I 'phoned Gail the day before the festival started and was delighted to hear that the area around Littleton had been unscathed.

We arrived on-site at around 10 a.m. on a glorious, sunny day in the mid-80's. The festival itself is held on Gail's farm and the stage is situated at the bottom of a natural sloping amphitheatre. Fortunately there was overhead covering to shelter under if you didn't want to sunbathe - or in my case roast. Portaloos, food and souvenirs were all available, but you needed to take lawn-chairs; we had acquired some so we had no problem.

The line-up was as follows;some you'll heard of, the majority maybe not; Low Profile, Melvin Goins & His Band, Goldwing Express, IIIrd Tyme Out, The Osborne Brothers, Country current (the US Navy Band) and The Bluegrass Strangers.

Low Profile was a name new to me -they played traditional Bluegrass, with nice harmonies. Most of the breaks were taken by the Dobro. The guys wore uniform, looking good in Stetsons, suits and string ties.

The Melvin Goins Band provided great single mike work. The band included ex Clinch Mountain Boys mandolin player John Rigsby and a one-time Bill Monroe Bluegrass Boy bass-man.

The festival house-band, Bluegrass Strangers, hailed from Kentucky and had accents you could cut with a knife. They sang and played wonderful Mountain-Style Bluegrass! That's three down and so far no fiddles....

Currently fashionable IIIrd Tyme Out were absolutely magic, with wonderful harmonies and musicianship. They were the 1998 and 1999 IBMA Vocal Group Of The Year. Hooray! They have a fiddle player! Stand-out numbers for me were Snow Angel, on their recent CD John And Mary (see NWBN Jan 2000) and their version of The Platters' Only You. Doo-wop-grass? Whatever next?!!!

The fabled Osborne Brothers are also masters of working around one microphone. But I was a little disappointed; it seemed to me a case of just reeling off the hits with not a lot of verve, maybe I was expecting too much. But we're all entitled to an off-day.

US Navy band Country Currents looking smart in real uniform!

Dressed in their white summer uniforms, the US Navy Band Country Current looked good and had my wife, Nicci, weak at the knees (she's a sucker for uniformed men). But their singing and playing were equally impressive. As serving naval men they were indeed a credit to their country. A standout for me was their rendition of the George Jones song Choices - again given the Bluegrass treatment.

What a revelation Goldwing Express turned out to be! I hadn't looked forward to seeing this band as their publicity photos showed them dressed in Native Indian outfits, with war bonnets, etc.

How wrong I was! They came on stage in conventional, casual clothes and apologised that their stage-wear had been left behind because their tour bus had broken down. They announced themselves as "3 little Indian boys and a white daddy" and were a riot! Based in Oklahoma, they combined superb harmonies and instrumental prowess with lashings of humour. Father, somewhat like John Duffy on speed, was the mandolin player and comedian. His jokes and monologues were delivered in a laconic, laid-back style to the most wonderful Bluegrass music backing. I have never seen or heard anything like I. Their songs, which were strongly gospel flavoured and often self-penned, were a joy to hear. I believe if a British promoter would take a gamble they would be a sensation over here.

The festival opened on the Saturday at 11 a.m. and, apart from a supper break of 45 minutes, overran due to repeated encores. It finished at a quarter past midnight; 13¼ hours for the princely sum of $25 (£15). Not bad, eh? Each band did 2 sets of approximately 50 minutes each and I was in '7th Heaven', although my wife said 6 hours would have been enough for her - what a heroine!

The Festival Site

This, the 7th festival held in Littleton, NC's delightfully named Butterwood Music Park, on a 128 acre farm, is classed as an "Old Time" outdoor festival. There were probably around 400 people there on this Saturday which made it very comfortable - unlike the 10,000 they get at Graves' Mountain (see NWBN, July 1998). Now that's too many people for me.

We were, of course, the only Brits there and everyone was so friendly that I would recommend this festival to anyone, without hesitation.

It is close to Colonial Williamsburg and Jamestown, both in Virginia and both great tourist spots for your US vacation. Further info on this festival can be obtained from: Gail Fox-Burrell, 1262 Airlie Road, Littleton NC 27850, USA

Well, I hope these anecdotes have whetted your appetite to see the genuine article in an authentic setting.

Article & Photos: David Finn, Nottingham

23rd April 2000