Bluegrass festival an alternative to Bonnaroo
Bluegrass fans who are looking
for an alternative to the massive
crowds and snarled traffic at the
Bonnaroo music festival this
weekend can take a short trip in
the other direction, specifically to
Golden Mountain Park in Sparta
and hear one of the legendary
bands in the genre, as well as an
acclaimed up-and-coming bluegrass
band.
Doyle Lawson & Quicksilver
will be performing in their classic
bluegrass style Friday, June 11,
and King Wilkie will bring its
brand of traditional bluegrass
played by a new generation of
musicians who seek to remain
true to the roots of this unique
music.
Lawson and King Wilkie will be
among 11 groups currently sched-uled
to appear at the festival
which includes a combination of
established performers, like
Jimmy C. Newman, and amazing
newcomers like 11-year-old Ryan
Holladay, a multi-instrument
virtuoso who has been appearing
on the Grand Ole Opry since the
age of 5, as well as making a
splash at the Smithville Jamboree
in recent years.
Admission is $20 each day and
attendees are encouraged to bring
lawn chairs.
Lawson and King Wilkie co-founder
Reid Burgess talked a bit
recently about bluegrass in
general and their involvement in
the music.
Lawson, who was a member of
one of the seminal groups in the
genre, the Country Gentlemen,
has fond memories of his time
with this legendary band.
“I got the call in August of 1971
to go and audition,” Lawson said.
“They felt like I would be a pretty
good person to step in for the guy
who was leaving. Jimmy
Gaudreau was in the band at the
time and he was leaving to go
with another former member of
the Country Gentleman, Eddie
Adcock, and they were putting a
new group together called the
Second Generation.”
Lawson knew band members
Bill Emerson and Bill Yates since
all three had spent some time with
bluegrass great Jimmy Martin
during their careers, so he felt
comfortable joining the group.
Lawson stayed with the group
for over seven years and said he
thoroughly enjoyed it, but he
eventually found himself moving
off in another direction musically
and decided to start his own
group.
“I just reached a point where
that musically, for me, I needed to
go a step further. I wanted to get in
and start something from the get-go
and not having to go in and
adapt and conform to what was
already there,” Lawson said.
Lawson went on to form Doyle
Lawson & Quicksilver which has
become a legendary band in its
own right.
For a generous dose of this
band’s acclaimed bluegrass style,
check them out during their
performance this Friday at the
Golden Mountain festival.
For a younger generation’s take
on bluegrass, you can’t go wrong
with King Wilkie, named, perhaps
not surprisingly, for bluegrass
great Bill Monroe’s favorite horse.
Mandolinist Reid Burgess, who
co-founded the group along with
college roommate Ted Pitney, said
a trip the two took to a bluegrass
festival drew them into the music.
“A bunch of students were
going out to this festival,” Burgess
said, “and we kind of tagged
along and that was it. After that
we were hooked on it.”
The pair went on to put
together a sextet of young musicians,
aged 21-26, gleaned from
attending bluegrass festivals and
networking with other musicians.
The group’s sizzling chops and
original tunes, written very much
with the traditional style in mind,
has been causing a buzz among
bluegrass aficionados around the
country.
The fact the group will be playing
in a town known for two of the
genre’s greats, Lester Flatt and
Benny Martin, isn’t lost on them.
“Obviously people around
there know what they’re getting
and they know what it’s supposed
to sound like,” Burgess said. “So it
puts the pressure on us.”
For a look, and a listen, to this
innovative new group, check out
their performance at the festival
Saturday, June 12.
For more information, the Web
site is www.goldenmountainracewaypark.
com/bluegrass.html, or
call 931-510-4807.
How to get to Golden Mountain Park
• Continue north on Highway 111 for approximately 5 miles after
Sparta
• Take the O’Connor Road exit and go .22 miles
• Turn right at top of exit ramp on Walnut Grove Road and go .76
miles
• Turn right onto Walter Stone Road and go .5 miles
• At the fork, go right on Golden Mountain Road .85 miles