Bluegrass in the Mountains

Each Father's day the California Bluegrass Association holds a festival on the Nevada county fairgrounds. The last four days are basically concerts. (Before that are workshops.) This year Rhonda Vincent and Rage were there, so was The Del McCoury Band, so were two other bands I really liked Lost Highway (which I had heard before) and True Blue- which I had not. The Grascals were also there, and I like them a lot. Finally, there was IIIrd Tyme Out which is a band that has been around for a while and like Del McCoury is consistently great. McCoury always amazes me. His energy on stage is infectious. His two sons, who now play with him, are excellent technically (as is Del) but Del's enthusiasm is wonderful.

The festival is a low key affair - music goes from about 10 in the morning to 11 at night with two breaks - one for lunch, one for dinner. Everyone sits on lawn chairs or blankets under the pines. On Friday night it was very cold. If you like that kind of music - this festival is a must. The CBA Website will tell you all about it and their other activities.