American roots music on tap at Bluegrass Festival July 17
From our weekly issue dated July 14, 2010
“Eastfork,“ (above) and “Eight Dollar Mountain (featuring members of the popular Ashland group, “The Mighty Lonesomes“) are among groups to perform at the Siskiyou Bluegrass Festival on Saturday, July 17 at Lake Selmac. (Photos by Michelle Binker, Illinois Valley News)
The Trout Pavilion at Lake Selmac is set to be bustling with activity on Saturday, July 17 for the annual Siskiyou Bluegrass Festival.
Headlining the event, sponsored by Illinois Valley Chamber of Commerce, is Grammy Award-winning artist Laurie Lewis with guest Tom Rozum.
Also scheduled to perform are Eastfork, Eight Dollar Mountain, The Goldman Family, Finger Pickin“ Good, Jefferson and Sequoia.
Lewis“ career has spanned the past 30 years. She has twice been honored as female vocalist of the year by the International Bluegrass Music Association, and won a Grammy in 1997 for her album, True Life Blues: The Songs of Bill Monroe.
Rozum is a singer and mandolin player. His 1996 collaboration with Lewis, The Oak and the Laurel, was nominated for a Grammy.
Terri Hill, past president of the I.V. Chamber, said that organizers began planning the event at the beginning of the year and held their first meeting in February. She said that the goal was to have a variety of Bluegrass styles and acts represented at the festival.
“We don“t have strictly Bluegrass to where it“s just finger-picking,“ Hill said. “I think people appreciate having the difference. That way, it“s not just one style of music at our festival.“
Admission for the show is $10, but children under 12 will be admitted free of charge. The gates will open at 9:30 a.m., and lawn seating is available. Dog owners are encouraged to leave their pets at home.
Attendees can bring their own picnic or enjoy hamburgers, assorted Taylor“s Sausage products and hand-crafted beers at the Wild River Brewing booth. No outside alcohol is allowed, but beverages and food will be available.
Other attractions include 50/50 drawings and a band scramble.
“A band scramble is where you ask anyone who wants to participate to put their name on a piece of paper,“ said Hill. “There are bags with different instruments and you put your name in the bag.
“They draw one name out of every bag and make little bands. They have 20 minutes to get together, talk about what they want to play and play a song. We really have a fun time with that.“
Hill said she anticipates “upwards of 500 people“ to attend the festival, whose co-sponsors are Home Valley Bank and Wild River Brewing & Pizza Co.
“It will be a good place for people to go and enjoy music,“ Hill said.
For more information, phone 541-592-3326.
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