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| 8th Annual Eureka Springs Bluegrass Festival Bluegrass Pickers from West Virginia to Oklahoma coming to Eureka Springs, ArkansasLegendary musicians from the Appalachians to the Ozarks and beyond are coming to the From West Virginia, Arkansas, Missouri, Oklahoma and beyond, bluegrass legends and neophytes alike will converge on this eclectic getaway town for the 8th Annual Eureka Springs Bluegrass Festival, Aug. 19-22. Last year Eureka Springs unveiled a major format change for this event with the introduction of free shows. The city's yearly spotlight on bluegrass continues that newfound tradition this year, as 19 of the 21 shows scheduled for the festival will be free. "Free is one of the most appreciated 4-letter words in the English language, " quipped festival organizer Joe McClung. "And making bluegrass weekend almost entirely free worked so well last year that we just had to do it again." This year's festival kicks off with an event that's a crowd-pleaser and popular with musicians as well, the Watermelon Social, at 7 p.m. Aug. 19. Circles of chairs will be set up in Basin Spring Park for people to play bluegrass in random groups. McClung, who is providing free watermelon and bottled water for the social, says many of the scheduled bluegrass weekend performers will attend, "And residents and tourists are invited to join in, too, " he added. "Bring your own fiddle, guitar, bass, banjo, or just your vocal chords. The watermelon social gets people stoked up for the rest of the weekend and it's a great time for the whole family." The Hobnobbers continue the festivities the following morning with the first of 10 free shows that day in Basin Spring Park. The Hobnobbers are primarily Dave McClelland and Jay Bowyer, plus a growing cast of accomplished players from the Santa Cruz, CA area. They are an improvisational, string-based group with deep roots in bluegrass as well as jazz, swing, folk, old time country and blues. The Cobb Family follows, featuring 4 performers under the age of 16. Also performing free shows Aug. 20 will be The Roving Gamblers, Josh Love Band, Common Tyme, The HillBenders, Mountain View Friends, The Dragonmasters (from Blue Eye, MO, ) and The Williams Family. The latter group appears at 4 p.m. and has played every Eureka Springs Bluegrass Festival since its inception. Free shows at Basin Spring Park the following day include return performances by The Hobnobbers, The Cobb Family, The Roving Gamblers, Josh Love Band, Mountain View Friends, and The Dragonmasters. Also playing for free Aug. 21 will be The Buffalo City Ramblers from Blue Eye, MO at 3 p.m. and The Spring Street Band, of McAlester, OK, at 5 p.m. Doors open at 6:30 p.m. for Saturday night's show in the City Auditorium. Local favorites Mr. Big, Arkansas Red, and Tim Crouch take the stage at 7:30, followed by Retro and Smiling and the festival's spotlighted performer, Melvin Goins. Retro and Smiling consists of bluegrass veterans Buddy Griffin and Ashley Messenger. While specializing in fiddle and banjo, Griffin plays all bluegrass instruments. He is a professor in the first four-year program for bluegrass music in the country at Glenville State College in Glenville, WV. Messenger and Griffin's mission, as Retro and Smiling, is to bring back the music of bluegrass legends Reno and Smiley, who were contemporaries of bluegrass icons Bill Monroe and Flat and Scruggs. The brother of Rex Griffin, Buddy Griffin spent a good part of his career in the shadow of his older sibling. The younger Griffin originally began performing without any encouragement from his famous brother. Buddy later joined Rex in Dallas to appear on KRLD Radio's Texas Round-Up, He also played many recording sessions in the Dallas area, and made his recording debut in the late '40s on the Dude label with two songs, Misery and The Same Tear Twice, which showed the strong influence of his older brother. During the mid-'50s, when Rex's performing career was in eclipse, Buddy was still leading a band and performing regularly, and also began recording for the tiny Ekko label. When he wasn't playing with his own band, much of Buddy's musical activity centered on recording demos of his brother's songs. In the wake of Rex's death in 1958, Buddy Griffin became the principal guardian of his brother's legacy. After the shows on Thursday, Friday and Saturday, the Swiss Holiday Resort Rodeway Inn, near the intersections of US 62 and AR 23, hosts another free event for performers, residents and tourists. According to McClung, "the pickin' party by the pool may last until sunrise!" The 8th Annual Eureka Springs Bluegrass Festival concludes Sunday with one more free show. The Williams Family performs gospel music from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. in Basin Spring Park. write your comments about the article :: © 2010 Jazz News :: home page |