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Bluegrass Festival - A Festival Of Sound

	By Catherine Ellerton Moapa Valley Progress Published October 15, 2008 Neither rain, nor snow, nor cold North winds can discourage a true Bluegrass Music fan. The weekend of October 10 -12 was no exception to that rule. Those fans sat in their lawn chairs at the Clark County Fairgrounds through all kinds of weather listening to some exceptional Bluegrass Music. There are the groupies that follow the Festivals throughout the U.S.A. and to Europe, there are		The local Just For Fun Band performs at the Logandale Bluegrass Festival.

	the musicians who attend in order to have a chance to play in the Band Scramble, there are the tried and true and there are those who are attending for the first time. This was my second Bluegrass Festival. (And, it shall not be my last.) I remember thinking the first time I attended that this music sounded a great deal like the old Country/Western style of music that I was used to. You know before the boys in tight pants, the girls in skimpy outfits, the strobe lights and the music so loud you can't hear it? In asking those in attendance what the difference was, the usual answer I received was "the sound" and no electrical instruments and no drums. The instruments of choice are the guitar, banjo, dobro, violin, bass and mandolin (and, sometimes, a harmonica). The magic contained within each of these wooden instruments is brought to life by the talented and gifted musicians. Did I mention the vocals? In addition to being amazing instrumentalists, these artists also sing – solo and together in pleasing harmonies. I continued my quest to find out the "birth" of Bluegrass and decided to ask someone who might know. I sought out Steve Spurgin, the Bass player with the Sawmill Road Band. He advised that back in the 40s, Bill Monroe wanted to bring some of his "Mountain Music" roots back into Country Music. He began to bring the two sounds together and with Earl Scruggs by his side and the five-string banjo they began the "new" sound. Now Bluegrass includes the banjo, the fiddle, the mandolin and the guitar and Country has split off and gone more to the amplified electric guitar sound. The first band leading off the Festival was "Just for Fun." This is a "local band" and the members pull double duty pickin' and playing host. Al Bess, the bassist for the group, is the current President of the Southern Nevada Bluegrass Society. Al said the group has been at it for 19 years now. They started with "jammers" (where musicians get together and play their music as a group) and it just started snowballing until the Festival came about. At first there were about 10 rigs that showed up and now they have to have an area as big as the Clark Country Fairgrounds to hold all the rigs, the pickers (musicians) and the grinners (audience). There were eight bands altogether entertaining the crowd in the daylight hours and ‘jammin' at night. For those who could not make it, 98.9 FM – KBOS – was broadcasting the merriment live. These musicians, in addition to touring the country, also are carpenters, officer workers, accountants, State patrolmen, biomedical technicians and postal workers in their spare time. In addition to the mature musician, I was amazed at how many young musicians were in the bands and the audience. The Digger Davis & Tombstone Band from Texas is a family affair. Fourteen year old daughter Jamie is the mandolin player and 17 year old John is the guitarist. John plays a pretty mean classical guitar also. He recounted that when he was 8 years old and touring with the band that he would stand on a wood box in order to play the Bass, his instrument at that time. He laughingly said he was accused of falling asleep on the Bass during the late night ‘gigs.' When the Marty Warburton Band came up one guitar short during their third gig, they called on the soundman, Alvin, to fill in. He was exceptional! Then the group decided to have 13 year old Joy Williams – "Gospel Joy" – from Quartzsite, AZ, join them in singing a couple of gospel Bluegrass songs. A favorite was "On the Wings of Angels." This was such a laid back weekend – just old friends getting together. Barbara Martin from Pahrump and I agreed how nice it was to be able to visit and enjoy the music without having to pull out the ear plugs! The jabs between the musicians told so much of the story of their comradeship. When I told Frank Dooley of Las Vegas that I had heard members of the Silverado Band say that Bass Players spend 50% of their time tuning and 50% playing out of tune, Frank asked if I knew that using the words Tuning and Banjos in the same sentence was an oxymoron. Well, it went on and on. The winners of the Band Scramble were: "Hot, Wild and Lonesome (3rd place), The Snow Birds (2nd place) and the Don King Band (1st place). In case you missed this weekend, January in Blythe, CA is the Blythe Bluegrass Festival, February is the Colorado River Festival in Bullhead City, AZ and the All Association Jam is in Quartzsite, AZ in March.

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