Pickin' In The Pasture, Lodi NY

[Andy Alexander]

The Gate to The 15th Annual Pickin' In The Pasture opens on Wednesday, August 22 and the world-class stage show goes on from Thursday, Aug 23-Sunday, Aug 26th. The festival is held on a working sheep farm in the beautiful Finger Lakes region of NY State.

The event has become a bluegrass musician's summit where each year many of the best players in the northeast gather in The Pasture to share their music with others. There are abundant opportunities to jam for players of all levels throughout the weekend. The picking can be so good that some people never make it to see any of the stage show.

On Thursday the stage show features The James King Band, The Spinney Brothers, Smokey Greene, and Carolina Road. Friday, David Davis and the Warrior River Boys, The Bluegrass Brothers, Danny Paisley and the Southern Grass, Carolina Road, The Feinberg Brothers, and The Jesse Alexander Band take the stage. Saturday's stage show features country superstar Marty Raybon of Shenandoah with his bluegrass band Full Circle, The legendary Lost And Found, Junior Sisk and Ramblers Choice, The Feinberg Brothers, Little Roy and Lizzy, Remington Ryde, and The Jesse Alexander Band. On Sunday there will be performances by Goldwing Express, Remington Ryde, and The Pasture Kids.

Of special interest to mandolin players, Scott Napier will be conducting a workshop on the style of Demsey Young. Scott replaced Demsey and continues his style to maintain the unique identifiable sound of the legendary Lost And Found.

For more information about Pickin' In The Pasture, visit www.pickininthepasture.com or email alex11@empacc.net.

[JeffD]

Its a great event. I hope to make it again this year.

[swampstomper]

I'm delighted that this year I am able to attend. Nothing to add to Andy's description except that he is too modest to mention the excellent stage and sound system. The high point for me is always Danny Paisley, this is high-energy, no-apologies, take-no-prisoners bluegrass music. The Southern Grass the only "second generation" band that, to me, carries forward the tradition but at the same time is fresh and exciting.

And for the family that wants some other fun tourism with their music, the area is famous for the Corning Glass Museum, wineries, Eastman House in Rochester (where the musician can sneak off to Bernuzio's...), sailing, swimming and hiking in the beautiful Finger Lakes.

[Andy Alexander]

Thanks for the kind words Swampstomper. Our sound man Gale Peabody has been doing sound here for 15 years and has our acoustics pretty well figured out. Danny Paisley and his dad, the late great Bob Paisley started out with us in the beginning in 1998. The Southern Grass has performed here every year since. We have had a lot of big names here over the years but Danny's hard driving sound has propelled the event to what it is today.

[JeffD]

Thanks for the kind words Swampstomper. Our sound man Gale Peabody has been doing sound here for 15 years and has our acoustics pretty well figured out. Danny Paisley and his dad, the late great Bob Paisley started out with us in the beginning in 1998. The Southern Grass has performed here every year since. We have had a lot of big names here over the years but Danny's hard driving sound has propelled the event to what it is today.

The high point for me, actually, is the kids. The earnestness with which they approach the music could make you tear up.

[swampstomper]

The kids tear it up, that makes you tear up -- right?

Seriously, it is great to see the kids who are just "getting it". Jesse Alexander is of course a great example but there are plenty of youngsters and it's fun to see them progress each year.

Look for me with th Lebeda A5 (same as in my avatar).

[Andy Alexander]

The Pasture Kids bluegrass program is our investment in the future of the music. Most of the young people participating are very enthusiastic about playing real bluegrass music. They work up a 50 minute set that features each of them on a song or tune starting with the younger less experienced players and ending with kids that are playing at a near professional level. There is communication about proposed material that goes on between some of the young people through the year. The program is directed by Ron Feinberg (formerly of The Fox Family) but older kids are stepping up and doing a lot of the instruction and song arranging. A few of the kids have gone on to become members of regional bands but come back to help with the program. The Pasture Kids program gives young people an opportunity to meet others who share their interest in playing bluegrass music and show that playing real bluegrass music is very cool.

[Andy Alexander]

Any interest in a Mandolin Cafe gathering at some place and time during the festival?

[swampstomper]

definitely!! I plan to attend Fri and Sat. Friday at dinner time break would be a good time to meet and greet. Or after the end of Friday's stage programme.

[thekammissioner]

Anybody going from Ithaca? I'm at Cornell and lookin' to bum a ride from a complete stranger on Saturday.

[swampstomper]

A brief mandolinistic wrapup:

-- First, thanks to Andy for the usual perfect organization and excellent facilities, he even arranged for perfect late-August weather.

-- Andy seems to have found the formula for a lineup to satisfy his regulars. I'd enjoy a sprinkling of more progressive acts to mix in with the super-traditional, by progressive I mean bands that can stretch out a bit, play some jazz-influenced material, bring in songs that aren't formulaic bluegrass or recycled country. Someone like Ernie Evans, for example. It's too much to ask for Tony Trischka or Andy Statman....

-- Mandolin highlight was definitely David Davis. Jaw-dropping instrumentals Mon-style but with his own take: Fire on the Mountain, Dusty Miller (all three parts), Lonesome Road Blues, Pike County Breakdown and of course Evening Prayer Blues (with nice long introduction and tribute to DeFord Bailey). The band complemented him nicely and there were vocals old (Down in the Willow Garden) and new (Jake Satterfield) -- special mention to guitarist and duet partner Marty Hayes. The gospel songs "That's just an old body, mother's not there" (!) and "That's when I cried" (about Peter's betrayal) were excellent. He plays a Marion Kirk from the early 70's, it sure had me fooled until he showed it to me... sounded like Mon's Loar's twin brother. Seems like Mike Compton gets all the press (and I love his playing) but Davis is a Monroe stylist like no other.

-- Danny Paisley was quite disappointing, carrying a pickup band (good musicians, e.g. Marshall Wilbourn, but not tight and no harmony singing). He has his 14 year old son on mando and frankly the kid is not ready for the big leagues, although he seems quite satisfied with himself.

-- Marty Raybon has quite the voice and a super-tight band, featuring brother Timmy on tenor vocals and a really hard-driving banjoist, Chris Wade. The mandolinist was Tim Laughlin from Bristol, TN, adding some nice touches to what is essentially a vocal show where the instruments complement Raybon. Tim has played with Lynn Morris, Larry Sparks and many others. He also sang bass in the several a capella gospel quartets -- very effective.

-- Scott Napier (many years with Larry Sparks) is now with the Lost & Found (replacing Demsey Young) and has absorbed much of Young's style. He gave a workshop where he illustrated some of this. He plays a Hutto.

-- Jesse Alexander (promoter's son) is now about 16 and has nice touch, tone and taste. The family band is named for him. It's fun to see him develop.

[Andy Alexander]

Thanks for the kind review Swampstomper.

-- First, thanks to Andy for the usual perfect organization and excellent facilities, he even arranged for perfect late-August weather.

Actually, it wasn't perfect organization but I'm glad we were able to fool you ;-) Pickin' In The Pasture has one of the best volunteer staffs anywhere. These people return year after year and know how to make their area of responsibility run smoothly. After hurricane Irene last year we were due for some excellent weather!


-- Andy seems to have found the formula for a lineup to satisfy his regulars. I'd enjoy a sprinkling of more progressive acts to mix in with the super-traditional, by progressive I mean bands that can stretch out a bit, play some jazz-influenced material, bring in songs that aren't formulaic bluegrass or recycled country. Someone like Ernie Evans, for example. It's too much to ask for Tony Trischka or Andy Statman....

We have tried to maintain a focus on "real bluegrass" at Pickin' In The Pasture. There seems to be enough variety in the styles of bluegrass to keep the music interesting to the audience. We don't have the resources to delve into other genres of music and prefer to strive to put on the best "bluegrass show" that we can. For more eclectic music, it is hard to beat the other major event in our state, Grey Fox. For "real bluegrass" music in NY State, Pickin' In The Pasture rules!


-- Mandolin highlight was definitely David Davis.

David Davis continues to be highly underrated by the masses but the true bluegrass cognocenti definately get it.

-- Danny Paisley was quite disappointing, carrying a pickup band (good musicians, e.g. Marshall Wilbourn, but not tight and no harmony singing). He has his 14 year old son on mando and frankly the kid is not ready for the big leagues, although he seems quite satisfied with himself.

Danny's band has been going through a transitional period. He has a new record deal and continues to be one of the best lead singers in the bluegrass business. I miss the Lundys but Danny has some exciting things happening like his work with Bela Fleck, Chris Thile, and Del McCoury. I am waiting for his 12 year old son Ryan to start singing and continue the third generation of the Paisley legacy.

-- Marty Raybon has quite the voice and a super-tight band

Marty is a great entertainer as well as singer. His evening show was particularly magical. He had a great time on stage and gave the audience an additional 30 minutes of overtime.

-- Scott Napier (many years with Larry Sparks) is now with the Lost & Found (replacing Demsey Young) and has absorbed much of Young's style. He gave a workshop where he illustrated some of this. He plays a Hutto.

After following a thread on this forum, I decided to have a specific topic for each of the workshops. This limited the same old questions that are asked at every workshop and allowed the presenter to get into more detailed information so that those attending could come away with some new knowledge. I thought that the style of Demsey Young was an appropriate topic for Scott to cover.

-- Jesse Alexander (promoter's son) is now about 16 and has nice touch, tone and taste. The family band is named for him. It's fun to see him develop.

Jesse is actually 14. He has never taken mandolin lessons. I don't play mandolin myself but have been able to glean a lot of information off this very Mandolin Cafe site to help him along. He has picked up tips from many generous mandolin artists at festivals around the northeast. He is very grateful to the players that have taken a few minutes to help him.

[Andy Alexander]

There is a good video of 12 year old Ryan Paisley playing with Marty Stewart at Delaware Valley on Bluegrass Today. Here is the link http://bluegrasstoday.com/47588/clos...laware-valley/