^^ This is exactly how I feel.
Now that was painful... if I didn't know it was for real I would almost think that was one of those "shreds" videos.
My dad used to say when I was growing up "there is a time and a place for jamming... like in the garage. Not on stage". I guess I've always tried to follow that.... But that said if a band has a ton of skill, I can dig some extended action. I mean hey, I'm a huge jazz head - I'll be sitting on the edge of my seat through 15 minute solos if the musicianship is there. Unfortunately for me, with a lot of these "jamgrass" bands that just doesn't seem to be the case IMO.
As for the "big tent" thing, I have mixed feelings there. I can see the appeal for getting more young people turned down the path of bluegrass, but I also am wary of the real thing being lost in the process. There is a new festival called "Freshgrass" that has been put on the past 2 years at the Mass Moca art gallery. The lineup has been pretty good - some "out there" artists, but some real solid bluegrass as well. Since it is only an hour away from my house (closest festival to me, actually) and some friends from Berklee were playing there I figured I'd check it out. I had a fun time, but was left feeling a little strange afterwards, and I know I wasn't the only one.
I ended up meeting the guy that runs the festival at IBMA this year, and spent a few minutes talking with him. I told him I enjoyed the festival, the atmosphere was nice and fun, sunny days, cool art and lots of accessible food and drink. I told him my one concern was not that he had "other" types of music - an old time cello player, Trampled by Turtles, etc - but rather that it was labeled only as a "bluegrass" festival. My feeling is that by using the "bluegrass" name as a catch all, all these new fans (and there were a lot of young people there) will think that thrashing about on stage whacking and strumming at a banjo in a semi regular fashion is exactly what bluegrass is - and ultimately this is what they will learn to play. I guess maybe I do feel a little like an old geezer saying that, but I'm 24, and I mean it.
Being from the northeast we have a really tight bluegrass scene, and when somebody is really about the music you know it and they are treated like family. Some of the better nights in my life have been staying out in a field picking until dawn, and the people that are dedicated to bluegrass know each other and all continue to get better and better over years of this. I know lots of people in pro bands at this point because of seeing them at festivals and jamming with them, and even while I may not be as polished or proficient as them we can do that because we "speak" a common language - bluegrass. This common language has allowed me to do things like meet complete strangers on the Staten Island Ferry and end up picking songs we both know and talk about mutual friends. Indeed this kind of thing happens almost everywhere I go... If suddenly strumming banjo and hacking at a mandolin to 15 minute songs about being smashed becomes the new norm, I'm afraid that whole late night close knit acoustic jamming culture will dry up and die out - and to me that would be the greatest musical tragedy ever.
This point was further drilled home to me this year at the Ossipee valley festival in Maine. It was my first year attending, and when I got there the gate attendant was SHOCKED that someone would drive 5 hours from New York to get to their festival. To be honest this shocked me - I've traveled everywhere from Florida to Prince Edward Island to play bluegrass, and that didn't seem so impressive to me. I knew a ton of pickers that were there and mostly came to see them. In the past couple of years the Ossipee festival has gone from bluegrass to a "music festival", and even though they still had a lot of bluegrass acts like Blue Highway there were a lot of Folk and Folk Rock bands too. I have to say, it was one of the oddest experiences setting up my tent in the middle of the campgrounds near my friends, and being bombarded on THREE sides by bands with drum sets. I still had one of the best nights ever jamming with my friends there, but the way things seem to be heading I have to wonder if that will even happen again next year - we had to walk clear across the place at night to find a quiet spot to pick. The next weekend I didn't go, but I heard from friends that all jamming at a festival in NH had been shut down at 2 am BY POLICE!!!! Is this what the "festival scene" is going to be turning into?
To make a long story short, as I talked to the FreshGrass promoter I could pretty much see his eyes gloss over and he answered by basically implying he was going to do whatever got a bunch of kids to show up to His festival. I guess I can't blame him for that, but again I have my concerns. That same night I talked to him, and indeed the rest of the week, I spent jamming until dawn with awesome musicians, many of whom I had never met before but are now friends of mine. I slept for the week in a hotel room with on average of 3 - 8 other musicians ages 16 - 30, mostly all professional musicians, all well versed in bluegrass and pushing the musical boundaries while understanding and following the form. Bluegrass is alive and well... but more and more I'm left wondering for how long?
Sorry for the rant guys, but after a summer of hitting up almost a festival a weekend (and sometimes more) this is a subject I've had a lot of time to think about. I'm excited for festival season next year - but also waiting with baited breath to see how this all pans out.
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