High note

Bluegrass festival to fill George with old-fashioned music

GEORGE — The air around George will be filled with a different sound this week, emanating from fiddles, banjos, mandolins and dobros. It will be high, it will be lonesome, and it will be played from the heart. “It's simple in a lot of respects, and in some respects bluegrass is way more complicated than pop music,” said Stan Hall, who plays guitar with the bluegrass band Heartbreak Pass. The George Bluegrass Festival is entering its 15th year, and it looks to be a good one, said organizer Debby Kooy. There are six bands from around the Northwest, as well as workshops, “learn ‘n share” sessions and good old down-home fun. “It's not huge, and it probably never will be numbered among the really big festivals,” Kooy said. “But it's a good little small-town festival. At the peak, which will be on the weekend, we usually have about 150 people. It's not huge, but it's for everybody.”