Looking For Real: Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Bluegrass

Ragged Edge - 2012 Band Competition Winners at Pickin' in the Panhandle Festival

 

9 September 2012: Near Martinsburg

First, I want to thank Jennifer Jensen and the good folks in charge of the Pickin' in the Panhandle Festival for inviting me to participate in this year's Festival at the annual bluegrass band competition. I was asked to be one of the judges. Exactly why, I'll never know. I pretend I can play the guitar. I like bluegrass music. If anything, I'm merely a gadfly on the bluegrass scene. Second, I want to thank the army of volunteers recruited by the Berkeley County-Martinsburg Convention and Visitors Bureau for all the hard work they did in handing out information and assisting 10,000 Festival-goers at the Lazy A Campground. 2012 was my first experience at this unique gathering and I was impressed. Not easy handling an invasion of people and vehicles into an off-the-beaten path muddy meadow in Back Creek Valley, West Virginia. It's all about boosterism and showing the best face Martinsburg has to offer for three days of fun and bluegrass music. Except for one short-lived storm, the weather cooperated nicely. There are only two reasons for this sort of event: bring outside money into the local economy and give the people all the bluegrass music they can possibly stand. At the rate of exchange for the full weekend price, it was quite a good deal indeed.

Four bands showed up for the contest and the competition took place at "The Mountaineer Stage" (there were three stages in all, going full blast with continual music). We the judges got our marching orders and instructions and waited for a horrendous downpour of rain to stop before the contest started. The bands, (mostly young kids,) waited nervously to go on stage. It gave me time to think about what we were supposed to be looking for in the next generation of  'grassers.' There was a $500 top prize and a chance to appear on the Main Stage of next year's festival. I looked at the ballot sheet and agreed that all the qualifications and voting parameters were those that I had thought about on my way to the festival. They all basically boiled down to proficiency and entertainment value. An interesting question was "appearance." In other words, how well does the entrant "suit up and show up." The obviously better band, "Ragged Edge," won the contest hands down over the competition, but I'd also like to give a plug for "Second Generation" which was my 2nd choice for best band. My reasoning in the end is pretty simple. These two groups understood the music. Understood the accepted form. They also understood the 'suiting up and showing up' part of the equation. Sandra Sponaugle, the contest director, afterward told the audience that none of the bands had ever made any paid, professional appearances. A church gig here, an open-mic there, but nothing like this kind of huge public exposure. She kept that information from us so we could retain some objectivity in our choices. I wish the winners well, and hope to see "Ragged Edge" and "Second Generation" down the road somewhere. As for the other two groups, keep pushing. Keep practicing. There's plenty of room for everybody on the Great Stage of this style of music, but only the dedicated few really gain any kind of recognition. That part of the festival over I enjoyed the rest of what Pickin' in the panhandle had to offer, mainly, bluegrass music till you drop.

The contest left me with a lot to mull over in my mind. The old question comes back. Even us judges got into a conversation over it. What exactly is bluegrass? What form should it take? Are there rules, taboos, norms? Who are we to judge some amateur kid's take on what the music is supposed to sound like, what should the music evoke in the listener? What's the musical or entertainment merit? I have to mention one band at the festival and not by name. I tried to figure out what they basically were about. A comedy act?  A joke? A bad stereotype of the classic hillbilly image? A friend of mine gave me a side-glance and said, "Some people like this kind of stuff." I had to walk away from it and fast; especially when some of their friends started asking me a bunch of questions and tried to engage me in conversation. There were too many better bands and I didn't want to waste my time. "Some people like this kind of stuff" is a statement that encourages bad behavior, unprofessionalism, and a nose-thumb to those who are serious about their music and giving the audience their money's worth. The seriously dedicated young kids will win the battle. Not the band I'm referring to.

You pay your money and hoped to be entertained. Two groups (beyond the bands I'm already familiar with) made my whole weekend. I have to mention "Highland Grass" and "Stoney Creek." Joe and Donna Winebrenner (Highland Grass) blew me away with their high lonesome vocalizing. Donna has somehow captured that late 40's, early 50's style of so long ago. She has, the band has, that style that every  western 'Cow-girl group' is trying to attain. Very few can do it - that is, take you right back to the old radio stuff that's lost except for saved recordings. The proof is in the fact that an audience won't let you leave the stage when your time is up. Stoney Creek is another very traditional group with heavy gospel leanings and great vocalizing talents. They've recently won national awards for their latest gospel CD. For every bad experience of a band that doesn't deserve precious stage space bluegrass continues to show the better side of the business with groups such as Highland Grass and Stoney Creek. This is what you pay your money to experience.