The 9th Annual Bluegrass Festival will be held at Arbuckle Mountain Bluegrass Park near Wynnewood, OK. Sept. 7-13. The featured stage shows will begin on Thursday, Sept. 11th with Opening Ceremonies taking place at 12:30.

As the park has continued to grow the schedule for the Early Bird Events has kept pace. Early Bird Events will start on Sunday the 7th with a Devotional Service at 10 am. The Festival will also be offering various workshops through out the week according to a recent press release. “This year we will be offering workshops for levels 1 & 2 on Mon. - Wed. and level 3 on Thur. - Sat. We have a free Open Stage Show at 7 pm, Wed. Sept. 10th. Bring your lawn chair and see what you have been missing. The complete schedule can be found on our website.”

Thursday begins with Opening Ceremonies at 12:15. Featured bands begin each day at 12:30 p.m. and include: Flint Hill Special, Ellis County Bluegrass, Mark Phillips & IIIrd Generation Bluegrass, Boggy River Bluegrass, Lonesome Prairie, Henderson Family Band, Saltgrass, Triple L Bluegrass, Bluegrass Solution & No Turning Back. The Saturday show begins at 10 a.m. with the Oklahoma Jr. Fiddle Contest with the first 15 entries competing for $500 in prizes.

The campground has hookups for 300 RV’s . There are clean hot showers, restrooms and 2 dump stations and a honey wagon. There are no drugs or alcohol allowed and modest dress is required.

RV camping is $12 daily with stays of 7 or more days receiving $2 off the nightly fee. Single day admission is $12 (Thu-Sat), or a 3 day pass can be had for $30. Children under 14 are free. Arbuckle Mountain Bluegrass park will provide a shuttle service. A quilt drawing will be held around 7:30 Thursday - Saturday. Food vendors will be in the park Wednesday - Saturday.

“You can still hear music after the stage shows at the many jams throughout the campgrounds. Bring your instrument and join in. Acoustical instruments Only. Bring your lawn chair and plan to have the time of your life!”

Arbuckle Mountain Bluegrass Park is located ON I-35, Exit 60 (Ruppe Rd). Follow the signs about 1 ½ miles east to the park.

For more information contact Allen or Rosemary Bowen at (405) 665-5226, rosemary@brightok.net or our website: www.arbucklemtbluegrasspark.com.

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Tony Rice plays Thurs. Sept. 4 at the Claremore, OK Bluegrass & Chili Festival. Photo by Thomas Stout.

For the past three decades, folks have been flocking to Claremore, Okla., for hot and spicy chili — and bluegrass.

Fans of both those American favorites are being beckoned back Sept. 4-6 for the 29th annual Bluegrass & Chili Festival on the grounds of the Claremore Expo Center. Besides a chili cook off with a $1,000 first-place prize, festival goers will find bluegrass music by national and regional artists — including several International Bluegrass Music Association award winners and 2008 nominees — on three stages.

The Thursday night line-up includes Mountain Heart, Tony Rice and a special reunion concert of Stonehorse. Friday’s line-up includes, 2007 IBMA Entertainers of the Year, The Grascals, plus the Kenny & Amanda Smith Band and Russell Moore & IIIrd Tyme Out. Saturday headliners include Rhonda Vincent & The Rage, festival favorites Doyle Lawson & Quicksilver and the Dan Tyminski Band.

Top regional acts on the three stages performing a variety of music including country, gospel, bluegrass and classic rock include: Heartland Xpress, Spring Street, Oklahoma Heartland, Rockin Acoustic Circus, Sixx Gunn Hill, Oklahoma Summer, Prarie Dawgs, Cross Current, Faded Glory, Honky Tonk Attitude, Charis Music Studio, Praise Band FUMC & Cedar Ridge and more. In addition to the free concerts, other musical entertainment highlights include The

Also featured at this year’s festival are the“Junior Showcase” presented by US Cellular and “The Best Country In The City Vocalist Competition” presented by Wal-Mart.

Junior stars can participate in the Junior Showcase a non-competitive showcase for those 21 and under with singing, instrumental or dancing talents. The showcase is designed to give talented youths stage exposure and experience.

Vocalists of any age may apply to participate in the “Best Country In The City” competition. Winner will be awarded a cash prize. Dancers will “kick up their heels” during the festivities. Country dancers and cloggers will offer dance exhibitions and audience participation.

New at the festival this year is the Mid-America Ranch Rodeo and trade show. Teams from actual working ranches from a four-state area will compete in several events for a top prize of $10,000. The rodeo begins at 6 p.m. each day.

The younger set can spend time at the festival at the Kiddie Korral, and big boys with fancy toys will line up for an open car show presented by McDonalds & The Claremore Optimist Club.

The International Chili Society Division winning cook will represent the Festival in the World Cook-off that boasts a $25,000 first prize and the Chili Appreciation Society International qualified contestants will earn travel money and prizes for the International Cook-off at Terlingua. The non-profit division is open to non-profits, schools, churches etc. ONG will award a $1,000 first prize. Open and corporate division teams will compete for awards and of course bragging rights! All teams will vie for booth decorations, showmanship and ham-manship honors. Festival attendees can also sample the award winning chili with an official taster kit!

The festival opens at 4 p.m. on Thursday and Friday, while Saturday festivities from 11 a.m. to 11 p.m.

For festival information and applications, people can contact: Bluegrass & Chili Festival, Claremore Chamber at 419 W. Will Rogers, Claremore, OK 74017. Hotel information, festival updates and a complete list of festival partners can be seen at: www.claremore.org or Claremore Convention & Visitors Bureau at www.visitclaremore.org. 918-341-8688 or 918-341-2818.

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North Carolina

July 1-4 — Red White & Bluegrass Festival - Morganton, NC. Bluegrass Artists on the bill for this Free festival include: Junior Sisk and Ramblers Choice, Grasstowne, Chris Jones & the Nightdrivers, Kenny & Amanda Smith, Mountain Heart, Heather Berry, The Grascals, IIIrd Tyme Out, J.D. Crowe & the New South, Cherryholmes and more. See our earlier story on this festival.

Oklahoma

July 1-6 — Arbuckle Mountain 4th of July Jam - Davis, OK. The park will feature Jammig, jamming and even more jamming during this multi-day event. 7 tents will be available for open jams through out the grounds. Visit Arbuckle Mountain online for more information.

Pennsylvania
July 2-5 — Mountain Top Bluegrass Festival - Tarentum, PA. Bluegrass Artists on the schedule include: Eddie and Martha Adcock, Audie Blaylock and Redline, Karl Shifflett and Big Country, Tim Graves and Cherokee, Dailey and Vincent, The Grascals, Roni Stonemen and more. 3 day passes at the gate are $70 and and single day tickets are $30. Children under 10 are free and ages 10-16 recieve a 50% discount with paid adult.

Tennessee

July 2 — Sarah Siskind @ 3rd and Lindsley - Nashville, Tenn. Sarah, whose song “Lovin’ You” was recorded by the Infamous Stringdusters on their latest offering, will perform a 7:00 P.M. show. Cover is $8.00. For more info visit www.3rdandlindsley.com or call 615-259-9891.

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It’s one of those bad things that’s bound to happen– and something that will make bluegrassers grit their teeth.

High fuel prices have been cited as a factor in ending the 30-plus year run of the Sanders Family Bluegrass Festival in McAlester, Okla.

It was held each year in June, but the festival grounds will be quiet this year.

“I’ve lost a lot of sleep since we had to stop,” Freddie Sanders told the McAlester News-Capital in a story published in the newspaper’s June 7 edition. “We had it for 31 years and we met a lot of nice people.”

Still, he said the family made the decision together to end the festival.

Jo Sanders, who helped her husband put the festival together each year, told the newspaper a lot of factors played in the decision to end the festival’s three-decade run.

“Age, the economy and everything all came together,” Jo Sanders said. “Sooner or later it was going to come to this.”

The festival relied largely on a fan base that traveled from throughout the United States, and rising gas prices over the past year or so have cut into that itinerant crowd.

“The audience has been getting older and with the gas prices, it all came together,” said Eddie Sanders, Freddie’s and Jo’s son.

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Murphy Method releases DVD on improvising - “Slow Jam” Instructional video reviewed in Bluegrass Unlimited.

The Murphy Method has  released Improvising: The First Stage on DVD for banjo which is geared towards teaching how to take the licks you know and re-arranging them into new breaks for songs you may not know.

The Murphy Method’s “Slow Jam with Murphy and Casey,” which was released last year, is reviewed in the June issue of Bluegrass Unlimited magazine.

“This DVD should work nicely for all instruments, though the banjo gets some extra mention here. A good share of the tunes are in G, with occasional capoing up to higher keys. Anyone wishing their local jams would just ratchet down to about half speed (and keep it there) should find this DVD very, very useful.” Bluegrass Unlimited

Bluegrass Festival and Events Calendar

June 5-7 — American Heritage Music Festival - Grove, OK. Features the Grand Lake National Fiddle Fest and the Grand Lake National Clogging Contest.

June 5-7 — Preddyfest held in Franklinton, NC. Three big days of Bluegrass with James King, Lorraine Jordan and Carolina Road, The Grascals, The Gibson Brothers, Marty Raybon and Full Circle, Junior Sisk & Ramblers Choice along with many more. Single day tickets are $20, $25 and $30 or a weekend pass for $60 available at the gate.

June 5-7 — Melody Ranch Bluegrass Festival - Tom Bean, TX. Bluegrass bands set to perform include Prairie Night, Copper Canyon, Boggy River Boys, Vern Young and Lost Highway. The Festival also features jamming, camping, concessions and indoor, air-conditioned shows with seating provided.

Got an item for the calendar? Looking for Festivals, Special events, Jam Sessions, etc… If it relates to the world of Bluegrass we want to know about it. Send us the who, what, when and where and other details you’ve got and we’ll do our best to let everyone know about it. Send your Bluegrass Calendar items to subscriber@bluegrassjournal.com.

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