Simple sounds: George Bluegrass Festival to feature homemade music and players

GEORGE — There’s something very user-friendly about bluegrass music. 

“If you know three chords and have a capo, you can play with any group of musicians that are playing bluegrass,” said Terry Enyeart of Steelhead, one of the bands slated to perform at the George Bluegrass Festival Sept. 15-21. A capo, he explained, is a device you can put on the neck of a stringed instrument to change keys easily. “(Bluegrass) is usually based on two or three chords, and if you know even the basics of guitar or mandolin, you can sit there and strum along and be part of the music.” 

Now in its 18th year, the George Bluegrass Festival is a week-long activity, starting Monday at the George City Park. The first day is mostly for folks to arrive and set up camp, although once they’re there, they’ll form impromptu jams, according to the official festival schedule. Tuesday is for jamming and socializing. 

Wednesday begins with a gospel pancake breakfast at the pavilion. Money can’t buy breakfast here; the price of the meal is either to sing a gospel song or to listen to one. The Rocky Ford Band will lead a jam Wednesday evening, with a little something extra this year. The George Community Hall has a beginning line dance class that runs through the school year. 

“For the Wednesday of Bluegrass Week, (the instructors) are going to be there teaching line dancing at the same time the Rocky Ford Band is doing the jam,” said festival organizer Debby Kooy, who also plays with the band. “We’ll have the dancers and musicians all in one room.” 

Thursday afternoon, the students from George Elementary School will come over to the park for a bluegrass experience.  

“Those kids, for a lot of them, this is their very first exposure to bluegrass music and Americana-type music,” Kooy said. “(They’re) a very enthusiastic audience. The people that are there camping and jamming, we get them up on stage, give them a sound system and they do a nice, kid-friendly program. The kids appreciate it, the teachers like it, and everybody has a good time.” 

Friday and Saturday, the informal jam starts to turn into a more planned event. Open mics are planned for Friday afternoon, with Betty Lampinen of Seattle serving as master of ceremonies. At least, it may be Betty Lampinen. She’s just as likely to appear as Harmony Wind, or April Butcher, or Olga, Kooy said. 

“She’s an older lady who likes to play dress-up,” Kooy said. “One of her personalities is an old hippie from the ’70s. She wears tie-dye, and a band around her head, and old ratty blue jeans, and shows up on stage and introduces the band, and everybody gets a kick out of it. Another of her personas (is) a battle ax of a housewife who carries around a very threatening fry pan or a rolling pin … It’s always different.” 

Terry Enyeart and Steelhead will take the stage that afternoon. They’re based in Kitsap County and have been playing together for more than a decade, according to their promotional materials. They played the George festival a couple of years ago, Enyeart said. 

“We've been putting in some new material, which is always exciting for us, and we hope that it's going to be exciting for the crowd too,” Enyeart said. 

They’ll be followed by the Lonesome Town Painters, a Vancouver, B.C.-based quartet that performs in vintage costume with very traditional melodies, harmonies and instrumentation, according to their website. 

After that, musicians and audience alike are treated to an old-fashioned ice cream social, with homemade ice cream made by Jennifer and Eric Erickson in a diesel-powered ice cream maker from the 1930s. 

“It makes 5 gallons of the best ice cream you ever ate,” Kooy said. “The Georgettes make a bunch of pies and cobblers and bring those, too.” 

Saturday is filled with workshops for musicians who want to hone their craft, led by members of the bands. This year’s lineup includes workshops for banjo, bass, mandolin, dobro, guitar and fiddle. 

Robbie’s Runaways will perform in the afternoon. 

“(They’re) a new band that has been formed just for this event,” Kooy said. “It's some very, very familiar faces. Everybody's been here before in different bands, but this is like picking the cream of the crop from a lot of different bands and putting them together for one band.” 

Old Freight Road, from Helena, Montana, will follow them, and Steelhead and Lonesome Town Painters will return for a second set each. 

The week will wrap up Sunday morning with a gospel set by Old Freight Road and a gospel jam for everybody to join in on. 

“It’s not a rocket science kind of music,” Enyeart said. “It’s very simple, straight ahead. That’s what’s great about it: Everybody can come in there at any level and enjoy bluegrass and play.” 

For more information and a complete schedule, visit www.georgecommunityhall.com.  

    George Elementary School students will get a taste of traditional American music at the George Bluegrass Festival.
  

    The George Bluegrass Festival will include an ice cream social featuring homemade ice cream.
  

    Terry Enyeart and Steelhead will perform at the George Bluegrass Festival. Members of the band will also lead workshops for musicians.
  

    The Lonesome Town Painters will come down from Vancouver, British Columbia to perform at the George Bluegrass Festival.