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Show See ee SS oe Ses SSeS Ste te He bounced from group to group—and, during of SE Gee lean times, worked as a etatasienconnn oe ee << Sones: &, ee > Ce es se ae Ge E st sSoretet ss y See ee Se ae sign painter— until 1989, when he formed the Del McCoury band. A number of top musicians, including te one See. es wets Se= Be Senses Ge aeSe gee sees 0" Se = Sen, Seo EEE oe a: ES pcg Geege SS Suir ERP Sate Steve Earle, Junior Brown, and David Grisman, cite McCoury | rt steele, re 8 as “St, as influences. McCoury, eles Be Ptnae., conversely, has been SAR wteteece ctecetes sete! influenced by musicians like them. So he isn’t By Alex Wells afraid to bring a traditional approach to a popular tune. A recent lot of so-called “folk and bluegrass” festivals don’t really mean it about the bluegrass part. They book plenty of popular folk-: rock acts such as Ani DiFranco and Shawn Colvin, throw in a few New Grass acts like Bela Fleck and New Grass Revival, then add one or two country-oriented performers like lris Dement and Lucinda Williams. All of whom are wonderful. The downside is that traditional bluegrass—the reason many of these festivals came into existence—is relegated to early in the show, when people are settling into seats, applying sunscreen, snoozing in the shade, or finishing breakfast. Not so at the Founder’s Title Folk and Bluegrass Festival Aug. 16 at Deer Valley. The Del McCoury Band, one of the finest traditional bluegrass bands, is headlining the festival along with folk singer Dar Williams. Come nighttime, McCoury will-be playing the “high lonesome” sound that is so often praised but so seldom heard. McCoury’s high tenor voice, as plaintive, lonesome, and other-worldly as the call of the whippoorwill, should sound especially haunting under the stars at Deer Valley. The New York Times wrote that McCoury’s “is as good a voice as has ever been heard in bluegrass music, maybe in all country music.” Unlike the whippoorwill’s call, McCoury’s singing doesn’t mean that someone died. Nor does it sound like someone album, for example, _ The Del McCoury Band dying, as a few bluegrass vocalists do. It may, however, make listeners pine for things lost. _ McCoury’s band won't let his lovely voice go to waste. Led by McCoury’s sons Robbie and Ronnie, the band is arguably the most talented in bluegrass. The International Bluegrass Music Association named Ronnie “Mandolin Player of the Year” for three consecutive years in the early ‘90s and nominated Robbie for “Banjo Player of the Year” during each of the last five years. Mike Bub, a bassist, and Jason Carter, a fiddler, round out the group. In > 1996, the IMBA nominated all five members for “Instrumentalist of the Year” on their respective instruments—a first for any bluegrass band. The words “bluegrass pedigree” may sound like an oxymoron, but McCoury has a good one nonetheless. At age 24, the North Carolina native apprenticed under Bill Monroe, generally recognized as the father of the genre. in Monroe’s band, McCoury switched from banjo to guitar and his singing reached large audiences for the first time. McCoury left the band after one year. tive music and folk, should generate some of the liveliest dancing. The band plays acoustic music with four-part harmonies reminiscent of Crosby, Stills, Nash, and Young; the Grateful Dead; Peter, Paul, and Mary; and the Massachusetts-based folk band known as The Story. Kathy Kallick, one of a handful of “ women fronting bluegrass bands, leads a group that plays tightly and harmonizes beautifully. Singing in her rich, full voice, Kallick mixes. original, folk-influenced tunes with covers of songs by bluegrass legends such as Monroe, the Carter Family, and Red Allen. Formed in 1996, High Plains Tradition is one of the hottest new names in bluegrass. The band generates sound the oldfashioned way: Instead of wiring all the included a smoking-hot instruments, the musicians gather around a bluegrass version of the single microphone on-stage. bluesman Robert Cray’s song, “Smoking Gun.” Also headlining at Deer Valley is the folk singer Dar Williams, who writes some of the smartest lyrics in music. (Williams work was reviewed in the July 20 Mountain Times.) The festival also features Front Range, a Cheryl Wheeler, Kathy Kallick Band, Eddie From Ohio, High Plains Tradition, John McVey and Larry Pattis. A favorite at western bluegrass festivals, Front Range creatively mixes contemporary and traditional bluegrass. With Front Range on-stage, expect to hear fast, clean, and tight picking. Widely acknowledged to be one of the Front Range funniest folkies, Cheryl Wheeler mixes humorous stories and songs with touching, transcendent ballads. She needed her sense of humor to endure her first gigs at the Steak and Ale Restaurant near her home in Maryland, where her performances were interrupted whenever the hostess paged customers. Since then, she has released three records on the Rounder label and garnered a reputation as one of the finest live folk performers. Eddie From Ohio, which blends alterna- Like High Plains Tradition, John McVey is an up-and-coming name, only on the folk side of the bill. The Nashville resident recently captured the Kerrville New Folk Competition and was tapped as the National Academy of Songwriters “Acoustic Artist of the Year.” _ Tickets are available at Dan’s Foods and Muskoka Lakes. Call 1-800-453-1360 for more information.£4 f it’s happening in Park City. 12] AUGuS1 e Pa & 5 Pm 0, 1990] iis you’ll read about it in MOUNTAIN a A CE REA Ds RE CR ARS RE AIS ag RT AEE ND NO GAL BS AE FORE PME RE AR NSE Se OEE MN Sry, Si |