Bring on the bluegrass
Members of Kevin Pace and Early Edition finish their performance at the 2014 George Bluegrass Festival. This year’s event starts Monday.
GEORGE — Summer has faded into the fall colors, but if you’re looking for one last blast before the weather turns, the George Washington Bluegrass Festival Sept. 12-18 features some of the Pacific Northwest's most exciting bluegrass bands.
The week-long, free annual festival is hosted by the George Community Hall and takes place at the George Community Park.
The week promises to be one long jam. Bluegrass fans and music lovers in general can join in any time of day or night for a slice of Americana Roots music. Festival organizers encourage anyone that plays to bring their instrument because this pickin’ party starts at a leisurely pace on Monday with campers arriving and setting up camp around the perimeter of the George Community Park and builds to a full head of steam by the end of the week with live, on-stage performances on Friday and all day Saturday. The instrument and vocal workshops are free.
Some of the featured pickers and players include longtime bluegrass favorite Bertha & the Combinations. Bertha Whiteside has been doing this for decades and her family band is heavily influenced by the greats — Bill Monroe and Lester Flatt. Her favorite songs are "Wings of a Dove" and "When Angels Sing."
FarmStrong is another longtime Pacific Northwest group with ties to the 5 Suns Bluegrass Festival in Moses Lake. FarmStrong’s talented and experienced musicians take their audience outside the bluegrass tradition. Their unmistakable sound moves the soul, while remaining firmly rooted in music from the mountains.
“At times reminiscent of early Seldom Scene or even The Country Gentlemen, the arrangements mine the bluer, sparser side of bluegrass that is too often passed over by younger, unweathered bands fixated on speed and pyrotechnics,” said Kevin Brown, DJ for the Spokane Public Radio show Front Porch Bluegrass. “Jim Faddis and Cort Armstrong are both strong, emotional singers, but together they establish a natural, brother-like chemistry… With a great blend of spine-tingling vocals, seasoned performers and strong material, this is a band to watch.”
The heart of the band draws on inspiration from the last century of country, blues and bluegrass music from the 1920s through the ’50s, as well as folk, rock, gospel and soul music of the ’50s, ’60s, ’70s and beyond. They even dip into a little Motown with the Temptations’ “Papa was a Rolling Stone.”
Other bands on the schedule include: Heartbreak Pass, the Moses Willey Band, Roosevelt Road, Rusty Hinges and The Weavils.
Camping is allowed all around the perimeter of the park. Organizers ask that if you intend to use a generator, that you set up camp at the North end of the park. The majority of south-end parking is reserved for angle-parked cars and small pick-ups, but we will also hold spots in reserve for food vendor access and for people with special needs.
The Montoya Bakery will be serving it up from Friday morning until Sunday noon at the Pavilion in the park. Saturday night features the Dutch Oven Club from Moses Lake cookin’ up the camp vittles for just $15 a plate.
For more information go to www.georgecommunityhall.com.