On Tuesday I arrived at the Bill Monroe Music Park & Campground in Bean Blossom, Indiana the birthplace of the father of bluegrass Bill Monroe. This campground has been hosting the Bill Monroe Bean Blossom Bluegrass Festival since 1966. For over 50 years some of the greatest bluegrass musicians to ever walk this earth have played on these sacred grounds. All of the campground streets are named after many the legends of bluegrass music. It’s home to the Bill Monroe Museum as well. The festival did not officially kickoff until Thursday night but there was a Wednesday night pre-party and when I rolled in around 2pm Tuesday there were already a couple hundred camps setup and there were circles of friends and family picking bluegrass tunes everywhere you looked.
By Wednesday morning the campground was about half full, it has spaces for 270 RVs as well as hundreds of primitive campsites for tent camping. It’s the 8th annual John Hartford Memorial Festival this year but it’s my first time here and I already want to come back every year and the festival hasn’t even officially kicked of yet. The morning and early afternoon would bring on and off thunderstorms from the remnants of tropical storm Alberto. It had the typical tropical storm weather on and off thunderstorms and bands with counter clockwise movement with winds changing as the center passed, but by late afternoon we were enjoying mostly clear skies.
At 4:10 on Wednesday the festival kicked off with the national anthem being played by a fiddle trio including festival staff members Ernie Hill, Danny Clark and John Griffin. Then a brief introduction took place before John Hartford’s daughter Katie Harford Houge was introduced. She told the crowd what an honor it was the this festival pays tribute to her dad and said she knows he’s looking down and smiling with approval. She told the crowd that playing at gatherings like this was something her dad really enjoyed. This took place on the main stage called the Hartford Stage. There are 2 other smaller stages the Hippy Hill Stage and the Boogie Stage which is under a tent but they would be dark until the Thursday.
The music would then start off with an ensemble made up of staff members of the festival playing a couple John Hartford tunes. Now the stage was set for the kickoff of the Wednesday night pre-party.
Followed by The Wheelhouse Rousters a trio from Paducah Kentucky. Comprised of guitar mandolin and bass. Many of their originals focus on riverboat travels and lore. They provided a very appropriate set for the opening of the 8th annual John Hartford Memorial Festival.
Next up would be The Fireside Collective winners of the 2016 Merlefest Band Competition out of Asheville, North Carolina. They brought a very energetic set fusing American Roots Music and Bluegrass and a blend of originals and standards. I’m looking forward to another set from them tomorrow on the Hippie Hill Stage.
Toward the end of the Rousters set I was introduced to Betty Hartford, John’s first wife and mother of his two children. I got to share my appreciation for John with her she shared a few stories with me. Her and John toured the country as duet before he had commercial success with his largest hit Gentle On My Mind becoming a blockbuster hit when recorded by Glenn Campbell. I had the opportunity to see John about 20 times in his last several years of his life but I never realized that he was diagnosed with Hodgkins Lymphoma some 20 years before he passed. Betty told me the he decided after being diagnosed to learn to read and write music so he could put many songs that were never recorded on paper to preserve his legacy. These songs were part of a book that was released at the festival “John Hartford’s Mammoth Collection of Fiddle Tunes. I shared that was fortunate to catch one of John’s last shows and it may have been his last show, I haven’t been able to verify thar as a fact. It was at the Old Settler’s Music Festival in Dripping Springs, Texas in April of 2001 and he passed in June of that year. The conversation I had with Betty I’m sure will be the highlight of my festival experience here. I left with goose bumps on my arms.
Next up were the Forlorn Strangers a quintet based out of Nashville, Tennessee made up of 5 songwriters. They aren’t quite traditional bluegrass as there are two electric guitars and keyboards but their set fit in quite well here and they kept the dance floor full. Their set included many originals as well as some covers from all types of music with their own unique arrangements. They will also play again tomorrow and I’ll be looking forward to their next set as well.
The final band for pre-party would be The Wooks a group that has been together for over 20 years out of Kentucky horse country. They began their set with bluegrass arrangements of covers of The Beatles, The Eagles and King Crimson as well as bringing Pink Floyd into the set later. They easily blended the covers with some great originals as well as dipping into a catalog of bluegrass music. They provided the most rocking set and had the dance floor full for their entire set.
That would be the end of scheduled music ending around midnight but the night was set and the party would continue throughout the campground with a number of picking circles many of which would be hosted by bands from everywhere at their particular campsites. I would spend most of my night listening to my next door neighbors The Short Round Stringband, several of their members are also part of KHDX radio station out of St Louis. Many other musicians would come and go to this particular circle. I had to retire about 3am and the music was still going strong. Check back tomorrow for a recap of the official opening day of the 8th annual John Hartford Memorial Festival.
