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Mandolin Cafe News
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The Old Settler's Music Festival kicks off tomorrow in Austin, Texas. Our new friends FastFrame and Prickly Pear Galleries, based in Austin, will be selling my prints and cards in the arts and crafts area. I'm told they will have other music related arts and crafts as well, so be sure to visit their booth if you're lucky enough to be attending this event.
I can tell from my sitemeter that bluegrass music is alive and well all over the world...sometimes in places that you might not expect. I stumbled upon these photos taken at the Seoul Bluegrass Festival from William George's Blog and thought you might like to see them as well.
The Gardner Winter Music Festival is one of my favorite events of the year, and I'll do just about anything to get there...Saturday morning I left the house to drive down (about 60 minutes worth of driving) and slid through the first stop sign at the end of our block due to snow over ice with fog and freezing drizzle. I thought seriously about bagging this but considered what I would miss and kept on going.
Lots of other folk did, too! And had a heckuva good time at the Middle School there in Morgantown.
Here are a few pictures of real down home pickers going at it in the school cafeteria. The neat thing about this gang is that its a mix of pros, old-timers, and fans doing bluegrass, old-time, gospel and country.
Next weekend, the South Middle School in Morgantown, West Virginia will be taken over by bluegrass, old-time and country music pickers and singers. They will be grinnin' because its time for the 30th Gardner Winter Music Festival - a continuation of the original festival started by the late Worley Gardner and wife Margaret. There will be jamming, socializing, workshops and stage performances showcasing Appalachian acoustic music. Admission on Friday is $3 and $5 on Saturday.
I make it a point to get to this every year. My good friend, Randy Thomas of Randy Thomas and Friends, gets a slot on the stage and graciously allows me to pick along. Hope to see you there. By the way, musicians are admitted free. Check the GWMF website for specifics on the program, on the workshops and for directions.
I stumbled across these great pictures this evening from ROMP, which took place in Owensboro, Kentucky this past weekend. I wasn't there as I was making my way back from South Carolina to Pittsburgh, but Book Chase provides some great photos to look at plus a fun contest. Make sure to check out all three posts, Books and Bluegrass, Part II and Part III.
Here's a jam in my neck of the woods, the Fifth Annual Laurel Highlands Bluegrass Music Festival. I'm in Floyd, VA tonight so I won't be making it to Ligonier, but if you get a chance, you should stop on out. Here's a preview from the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review.
