The weekend started early last week, as we arrived in Enumclaw for their first-ever bluegrass festival. Jette and I were the first to show. It wasn’t long before the Nechville booth was up and running, and the jamming had begun. Familiar faces from other such events began to trickle in, and many gathered at the booth to visit and pick a few tunes. As the dinner hour approached, Sparky and Dancing Phil arrived.

Our first show was in the Expo Center, following the tremendous Lee Highway. Those fellows play old school bluegrass like its still 1959, with tight harmonies and Mike Stahlman’s spectacular banjo work. The crowd was already warm and we had a great time playing for them. With an hour in between shows, we got to listen to Country Dave’s Picking Crew at the 50 yard line of the football field. Country Dave plays the real country music, and they delivered exactly that. We played the final set of the night out there, closing out the evening with “Rawhide.” Seemed like it was the right thing to do.

Jamming afterwards made for a short night. I gave a banjo workshop at 9 AM, with the welcome assistance of caffeine. The afternoon rolled along rather quickly. That afternoon, Jette’s other band, Northern Departure, played two shows. They tore it up, as we all knew they would. Folks loved it.

At 7, we played once more in the Expo Center. The audience had grown since the previous night, and we saw several of our good friends in attendance. Its always more fun to play with some familiar faces in the audience. An hour after that set, we closed down the outdoor stage with an hour, closing with “Dawgy Mountain Breakdown” and howling at the moon.

The crowd especially loved “Nadine.” They asked us, “Who sings that?” We answered, “The VZ Valley Boys!”

It was a fine weekend.

Last weekend Dancing Phil and I went to Grays Harbor Bluegrass Fest and had a fine time, picking and hearing bands and just chilling. Literally, as the wind and damp air bundled us into our sweatshirts and jackets. We even wore socks. The Jette was hosting a bluegrass jam in town, with a guest from England on banjo. Sparky? He’s not going into details but his cover story was “doing yardwork.” If you know what that means..

But this is a weekend we’ve been looking forward to for a while. It has been quite some time since we had all four VZ Valley Boys together on the same stage, and its right in our own backyard at Enumclaw’s Bluegrass Festival, Aug 21-23. We are playing two sets Friday night and two more Saturday night.

For those of you who are unfamiliar with the Enumclaw’s location--its just yonder from Veazie Valley.

The organizers have put together a great lineup. Urban Monroes are going to be there. Runaway Train, Cascade Mountain Boys and more. There will be workshops and band scrambles.

I will be giving a banjo workshop for non-banjo players-“Your First Banjo Lesson”. If you have ever wanted to try playing the banjo, nows your chance. BYOBanjo or we can share some from our booth. The goal is for you to walk away after having played a tune on the banjo. Won’t tell you which one, but there is cabbage involved.

For more details on Enumclaw’s Bluegrass Festival: Click here. See you there.

The VZVBs

Compass Records, who records artists such as Alison Brown, Dale Ann Bradley and many others, is offering a free MP3 collection of songs at the following address:

http://compassrecords.com/free_ep/bluegrass


There are some great tunes here, folks.    Grab them now!