Another GREAT festival!
For 14 years, I have been attending the Tri-State bluegrass festival in Kendallville, Indiana, during Memorial Day and Labor Day both, and what a good time it is! This Labor Day weekend was no different; Saturday morning found me motoring south from Grand Rapids, Mi. (my home city) down to Kendallville, In., thinking of some great jamming and some even better stage acts. I wasn’ t disappointed.
- The parking lot picking was 12 kinds of awesome!
I first got to know about the Kendallville festival during my days with the Apple Blossom Bluegrass Band. I was fortunate to play the Kendallville stage with Apple Blossom several different years, and I don’t remember a better-attended festival, nor have I seen a more appreciative audience.
The popularity of this bluegrass festival is astounding. There are many promoters who wish they duplicate the success and the turnout of this festival. People start gathering 2 weeks or more in advance of the festival to socialize, jam, and even more importantly: get a good camping spot!
The festival is held at the Noble County Fairgrounds, which is a huge facility. In spite of its size, you need to head in as early as you can to get a good spot nearer to the stage. Most of the years that I have gone, this year included, I just haven’t been able to do more than a weekend visit. Often times I roll in on Friday; when I do, I know that I’ll have to head for the back of the park. But, as they say, “there ain’t a bad seat in the house”. No matter where you set up your campsite, you’ll be near other friendly campers, and, best of all, lots of parking lot pickers! One thing that is a real convenience, which I haven’t seen at very many other festivals, is the free taxi service provided by the staff. Roaming the park are volunteers on motorized golf carts, ready to “cart” you to other areas in the park.
Top-notch stage acts
I’ve been out of the bluegrass festival scene for awhile, for various reasons; this year is the first year in awhile that I’ve made it to both of the NIBGA semi-annual festivals. Because I haven’t been in a touring band for awhile, I’ve lost track of the personalities and people who are on the stages making the music. As I looked over the festival schedule this Labor Day weekend, I realized that I had only heard of a couple of the groups scheduled to appear! I can happily say that I have some new favorite acts on my radar, thanks to seeing some great stage shows on Saturday. One of my new favorites is a group that hails from Australia, called The Davidson Brothers. I’ll be blogging about this group and also reviewing one of their CD’s, so look for that on my blog soon.
The Kendallville stage (The Davidson Brothers performing)
For the pickers in the crowd, one of the things that Kendallville is best known for is the parking lot picking. The jamming around the campfires goes on all night, and you’ll find some amazing pickers scattered throughout the campground. It is a TON of fun; I’ve seen the sun come up at the Kendallville festival probably more times than I should have, but this means I went to bed with sore fingers and a song in my heart…ready to do it again the following evening.
Folks, take my advice: if you want a great weekend at a nice venue, full of family-friendly entertainment, you should consider attending the Tri-State Bluegrass Festival. The staff is friendly, the entertainment is superb, the food is good, and the people are welcoming. You are sure to make new friends that you’ll look forward to seeing again. Take a minute to click over to the NIBGA website at www.bluegrassusa.net, and don’t forget to make plans to go next year. The festival is held Memorial Day weekend and Labor Day weekend each year.