Best of the Welcome Columns


Best of the Welcome Columns

Author: Alston, Ed
Good Omens from Parkfield Fest

Many of you attended the 13th annual Mother’s Day weekend Parkfield Bluegrass Festival, which wrapped up about 10 days ago. Still, wonderfully complimentary notes from attendees keep coming in. The Parkfield fest’s record attendance and many gratifying accomplishments were no accident. Scores of volunteers worked long and hard to achieve this success. On their behalf, many thanks to those of you who attended this year. Indeed, by all accounts, this was the best Parkfield fest the Central Coast’s Bluegrass Music Society (BMSCC) ever has produced. Attendance beat our previous record by about 9% (despite spiking gasoline prices). About half of our attendees were present for at least all four days (Thurs. thru Sun.)….and record numbers came a day or two early. Never before did we have such a large percentage of folks attending their very first bluegrass festival. Most apparently are planning to seek out other festivals later this year. Other promising signs of great things to come were evident in our festival’s line-up. One incredibly talented band -- featuring renown members with many decades of bluegrass stardom between them -- made its festival debut: Loafer’s Glory, with Herb Pedersen, Bill Bryon, and Tom & Patrick Sauber. Check out the cover of this month’s Bluegrass Unlimited magazine. You’ll see Herb pictured along with Chris Hillman, picking in front of the Edwards Barn -- in Nipomo, at the Central’s Coast’s bluegrass epicenter -- where they recorded what surely is the best live bluegrass album of the past year! Also boding well is our festival’s youth movement. The main-stage line-up featured more youthful bands than ever before. Two all-teen bands from Southern California -- Next Generation and Wimberley Bluegrass Band -- made their first festival appearance at a Northern California venue. For the Get Down Boys quartet (average age late-20s) it was their first festival appearance anywhere. Look for the GDB's at two upcoming CBA festivals: Grass Valley next month and Kings River in September. Youngsters provided many memorable moments on- and off-stage. On Saturday evening, several hours after Next Generation had debuted on the main stage, I happened upon two NG members. The boys asked me if I knew where Allen Mills -- lead singer of the Lost & Found, our headliner Virginia band -- could be found. After hearing Next Generation on stage, Allen evidently had invited them to jam with him that night. I congratulated them on that enviable invitation, and pointed them in the direction of Joe Quealy’s bbq hqs. About 15 minutes later, I came across a jam circle on the Parkfield Inn’s porch. The jammers were playing “Love of the Mountains”, the iconic tune Allen wrote long ago. I was delighted to see that Allen himself was singing his song…and that the two Next Generation boys were picking right along with him. Almost as if the high lonesome sound’s torch were being passed at that very instant! An hour or so later, at the Parkfield Café’s immensely popular late-night show, Snap Jackson & the Knock On Wood Players thrilled a packed house….just as they’d done last year. This year, however, Snap added a special guest singer. Chloe, 11-yr-old daughter of Snap’s friend Erin Van Zant, wowed everyone with two songs. Incredibly, she sang the latter one acappella! All who heard Chloe were left awestruck by her virtuoso performance -- no question but that her musical future will be extraordinary. Sunday afternoon, I spotted a gaggle of local 12-ish girls standing near the main stage. I’d seen them at previous years’ festivals, when they seemed far more interested in our vendors’ wares and snacks than in bluegrass music. This time, however, they came running over to offer their opinion about which band should appear again at the 2012 festival. Surprise, surprise! They asked me to bring back Next Generation…the teen boys quintet. I thought about asking what song(s) the girls especially enjoyed hearing NG perform. But I opted to not put them on the spot -- instead I graciously concurred that we’d do well to feature NG in next year’s line-up. I could go on for pages about awesome performances rendered by so many terrific bands. For now, suffice it to say that festival attendees repeatedly remarked about the unprecedented depth of this year’s talent. In addition to the bands mentioned above, we were honored to have High Plains Tradition (from Colorado), Laurie Lewis and the Right Hands, the Stairwell Sisters (gotta give Evie & sisters special mention for their wonderful Friday evening square dance), Belle Monroe & Her Brewglass Boys (special mention for their spirited late-night café show), Windy Hills, Grasslands, LeRoy Mack & the Bluegrass Gospel Band, and Better Late Than Never. To all 14 bands, our deepest thanks for helping make this year’s festival so memorable and enjoyable for our attendees. One last note, which may interest bands contemplating songs to include in their next recording project. After the Lost & Found’s last set I was privileged to speak with Allen Mills. That wasn’t because Allen was particularly interested in getting to know me. No, he sought me out to collect his band’s well-earned pay….being festival director does have its perks! I was pleased to find Allen is just as amiable in person as he is on stage. I happened to mention that on cd’s I compile to introduce friends to the glories of bluegrass music, I always include two songs: the Lost & Found’s “Drifting With The Tide”, and Larry Sparks’ version of “Love Of The Mountains”. Allen replied with interesting information about artists who have contacted him over the years for permission to record “Love Of The Mountains”. Turns out that he always gives permission, and never insists on royalty payments. Allen put it this way: “Ed, I feel that song belongs to the people, the ones who love bluegrass music.” Having such class acts as Allen Mills at Parkfield makes worthwhile all the effort BMSCC puts into staging a 4-day festival. Here’s hoping that we all have a chance to see his band perform again sometime soon.

Posted: 5/19/2011