“We came to see the wildlife in Pennsylvania. We saw it,” said Mike Munford, pointing to the crowd on the rail for Frank Solivan and Dirty Kitchen’s Saturday night set at Smoked Country Jam. “And we saw a bear.” That, in a nutshell, is a pretty accurate description of Smoked Country Jam, which has been held since 2004 at Quiet Oaks Campground in the middle of a part of Pennsylvania often referred to as “God’s[…]
Read moreMonth: June 2018
Smoked Country Jam 2018 Photo Gallery
There Is a Method to McCourys’ Album Release Madness
There was a time when it would be considered heresy for a band to release two albums on the same day. So to those brought up in times when the rules of the recording business were very different, it might have seemed unusual that both The Del McCoury Band and its jammier alter ego, The Travelin’ McCourys decided to both release their new LPs on May 25. Of course it is also usually the norm[…]
Read more
Lesser Known Acts Make Mountain Ride’s Camp Bluegrass an Eye Opening Experience
We were sitting under the awning of “The Bommer,” hiding from the sun and enjoying the music and Lisa and Zig’s hospitality simultaneously when we met Bob Keel. He introduced himself. Pretty sure he complimented the site. And he made us feel terrible, because first time we meet the guy first thing we have to say is “sorry, got here late and missed your set.” It’s not bullshit. We were not just being polite. We[…]
Read more
Mountain Ride Gets Off Festival Circuit Long Enough To Host Own Camp Bluegrass Event
After three straight weekends on the road playing major festivals, the folks of Mountain Ride get a rare festival season home game Saturday when they host their own festival — the fourth annual edition of Camp Bluegrass. A showcase for the band and their musical friends, the lineup is curated by band leader Eric Avey. “We like to have some sort of connection to the bands we have, or to have shared a bill with[…]
Read more
Beautiful Venue, Solid Lineup. Much to Like About NEPA Bluegrass Festival
Editor’s Note: This festival “review” thing is an evolving notion. The “Brewskis” awards idea we trotted out at Gettysburg doesn’t work at places where you cannot see every act. We did sort of a “notebook” with our favorite sets after DelFest. We’re just going to sort of write about our impressions from NEPA Bluegrass Festival here. Eventually we will decide on a preferred style for festival recaps. Or not. If there is such a thing[…]
Read more
Gimme Shelter, or Why the Progressive Stage Was the Place To Be Friday at the NEPA Bluegrass Festival
We never made it past the Progressive Stage Friday at the NEPA Bluegrass Festival. That was not the plan. It just happened that way. Blame promoter Danny Stewart. He’s the guy that booked all the fine bands who played the Progressive Stage. And blame it, in no small part, on the thunderstorm that rolled through the Endless Mountains region of Pennsylvania early in the evening. Truth be told, the weather was the major culprit in[…]
Read more