My First Bluegrass festival: Appalachian Uprising

This past weekend I met up with a few friends from here at hipforums, they'd suggested that we attend Appalachian Uprising with them. I liked a few bluegrass songs, but regarded them as an exception, oddities amidst a genre I didn't really like much. But I liked those songs enough to give it a chance. Mainly I just wanted to spend some real time with friends from out of state.

So what did I have against bluegrass? Well, its country origins mostly... anything with much "twang" just turned me off instantly. I also am somewhat anti-religious, and much of the bluegrass I'd heard was about Jesus. But the instrumental "breakdown" jams were nice. Enough so that I was willing to give the festival a try.

I'm so glad I did!! Not only did I end up liking ALL the music, but... this is weird... the type of music that I expected to be downright annoying was the stuff I liked most! Some of the traditional stuff, a capella songs, all that... man... I was just left awestruck.

At one point, I was sweating and overheated and getting goosebumps and wiping tears from my eyes all at once. And it was a twangy country-ish song.

I had no idea that bluegrass was... well, whatever it is! I'll be listening to almost nothing else for the foreseeable future, starting with Bill Monroe, and I can work my way towards Flatt and Scruggs and then on to Newgrass.

For me it's hard to believe I could find a whole new genre at my age- I turn 45 this week. I could babble on and on and on, but won't. And the people were soooo nice! It really did feel like a great big wonderful family reunion in the sweetest old sense of the term.

 

i hear ya man... i got into bluegrass about a two years ago... and absolutely love it... im not religious.. and i dont like country... but i love bluegrass... if you're look for some bad ass bluegrass... check out Trampled By Turtles.. they have a myspace and you can download a few songs of theirs.. Hot Buttered Rum String Band.... Yonder Mountain... Old And In The Way... Old Crow Medicine Show(these guys are what brought me to lovin bluegrass)

 

Thanks! I've heard Old & In The Way and loved 'em... I'll buy the CDs someday... and heard part of a Yonder Mountain CD while at the festival. I'll look up those others.

 

Yea, so many people are turned off by country and bluegrass. They just don't listen to it, there's so much great stuff out there.

 

If it ain't got that twang, it don't mean a thang...

 

yeah, i know what you mean. i've been in a bluegrass haze for almost seven straight years. check out the yonder mountain with benny galloway. it's called "old hands". also, try out some old timey. stanley brothers are amazing. oh and anything with jerry douglas.

 

amen. {ha ha ha} seriously, though, country is so far from it's roots at this point they should call it city.