It’s that time of year again! We in Michigan have been treated to an occasional warm day here and there, and even a few peeks at the sun. This gives us renewed hope that old man winter HAS to be gasping out his last dying spasms, ready to shuffle off his mortal coil and give in to the coming rebirth that is spring.
We are blessed to have an abundance of bluegrass festivals in and around Michigan, and I for one am anxious to go! For us in West Michigan, the season kicks of with the festival put on by the West Michigan Bluegrass Music Association (www.wmbma.org). This festival takes place in Lowell, Michigan during the weekend of May 15, 16, and 17. From there we get to look forward to several prominent and well-known festivals all over the state.
A very famous festival is the Charlotte Bluegrass festival in Charlotte, Mi. (http://www.wilderbluegrassfestival.com/charlotte.htm). This festival draws many big-name acts, and I even personally saw the Father of bluegrass music himself, Bill Monroe, at this festival. And the parking lot picking is second to none!
Other prominent and well-known festivals in Michigan are the Marshall Bluegrass Festival (http://www.marshallmi.org/events.taf?_function=detail&id=299), the Wheatland Music Festival (http://www.wheatlandmusic.org/) and the Oil City Bluegrass Festival (http://www.saltriveracres.com/DesktopDefault.aspx). There’s many more to choose from and I encourage anyone to find these festivals and attend. You won’t be sorry!
How can a beginning picker tell if he or she is ready to dive in to the parking lot jams at these festivals? What do we need to know in order to keep from being run out of the county on the next Greyhound? (Yes, I know there’s always that danger just from playing a banjo).