It’s been just about a week since the Father’s Day Festival and by now I hope that most of you have unpacked your car, washed the clothes, cleaned out the coolers, and wiped the dust off of your instruments. If that’s the case, you’re better off than I am as I still have a sleeping bag, a tent and a chair or two in the back of my 4Runner. I’ve been procrastinating about putting these final few items back in the garage, and I finally figured out why: as long as those things remain in the back of my car, I’m not totally back home yet. It’s a physical manifestation of a continuing psychological state: I’m still up at Grass Valley in a bluegrass state of mind. And I’m trying to make that feeling last as long as possible.
How to make that feeling last even longer? How about if we start by simply doing just what we did for an entire week for the rest of the year: learning more and teaching others on our instruments, reveling in each other’s music making, celebrating the diverse sounds of today’s bluegrass from traditional to progressive, and encouraging young people to play the music they way they hear it. And last but not least, let’s continue to provide a stage for both the best professional bluegrass that California has to offer and also strive to present new California-based talent that thinks outside of the box.
A million thanks to everyone who worked so hard to make both this year’s 10th Annual Music Camp and the 35th Annual Festival such a success, from the board of directors to every volunteer who gave their time and energy to make it all run like clockwork. It’s great to be a part of the California Bluegrass Community and to be part of and witness last week’s truly amazing events.
I’m keeping that tent in the car for a while longer. <
