kimilseung

I have noticed a number of Bluegrass festivals in Washington, I am next to ignorant about the music, but it is something that I might enjoy being educated on, if Washington has a bunch of them, I am guessing states further East and South must have even more. So has anyone been to any?
There is one in Darrington right in the mountains and some further East, in Washington "monsters dwell here" territory.
I'd like to know peoples experience, how was it? What kind of crowd go? My presuppositions are split between hippy folk types, and scary redneck types.

Pulaski

Never been, but always intended to. We live close to ground zero for bluegrass music, and Mrs P's uncle and aunt play in a band, though it is pretty informal with players coming and going based on availability. We did go to a Friday night get together up in Virginia, once a few years ago, where bands would go and play a few songs on the porch of local restaurant, before moving on to allow another group to play. Some people might call them scary rednecks, but they were friendly enough IMO.

Dorothy

There was one near where I grew up that I used to go to when I was a teenager / young adult. I like bluegrass music, so if I get to move back to North America I'll definitely go to things like that again.

BEVS

Um.

You go and tell us about it.

I love this music. I really love this music.

I have been trying to find you something that me a Mo thought good but can't

You go. I would

Beaverstate

At the bluegrass festival it is rednecks (locals) and those scary hippies.

Beaverstate

Buy a banjo and a fiddle and start your own!

Beaverstate

I enjoy bluegrass in 20 minute intervals.

Pica

Love bluegrass ! Saw Alison Krauss & Union Station in UK a number of years ago-stunning performances.

Hiro11

I've been to several, the best being the Telluride Bluegrass festival. There's something about this music that hits me hard. The festivals I've been to are all yuppies, not rednecks.

Anian

Whatever you think about pacific northwest culture, there are a large number of people here who think they live in or come from the south. Just like the suburban middle-class kids think they are gangster rappers if they wear their trousers around their knees, you get the fake southern accents and "proud to be a redneck" t-shirts. And in the same way that they might talk crap about how tough they are, they seem to be mostly harmless.

Pulaski

If they were yuppies, it wasn't authentic bluegrass.

scrubbedexpat099

In CO they are mainly yuppies attending, I used to go to the one in the town I lived in.

Hiro11

Bluegrass is huge all over the US with all levels of the socio-economic strata. This has been true for many decades, perhaps since the start of the music. I think you guys are assuming bluegrass is solely some sort of backwoods, moonshiner, Dukes of Hazzard thing. Not true.

Bob

I haven't been to specific ones, but have gone to quite a few folk festivals, out in Bangor, ME and the Lowell Folk Fest, which both usually have a fair bit of bluegrass as well as other music and it's been a lot of fun.

Definitely a range of folks that go, but then they cover a range of genres of music and most people move around to catch a bit of everything.

Anian

He specifically asked about scary redneck types, so I gave him my experiences with those types from the area he was interested in.

I've been a fan of bluegrass since I saw the movie O Brother Where Art Thou, which seemed to kick off a new resurgence. The charts have had several big bluegrass-influenced bands in recent years, so it's clear that it attracts a pretty broad sweep of people these days.