this is not a music blog

So once upon a time I told a friend of mine “Sure, I’d love to write on a music blog.”

Nine months later I make a post.

I suck. Sue me.

But last weekend was the greatest bluegrass festival east of the Mississippi each year, so I thought I’d scribble down some quick thoughts.

Attendance was way down this year, pretty much a direct correlation to the economy. We got to the festival after noon on Friday, and were able to set up camp way, waaayyyy closer to the main stage than we’ve ever been before. I heard a rumor that presales were down by nearly 25%, but walkup traffic was good. That still means better than 60,000 of my closest friends were gathered in North Wilkesboro for some of the finest boogie known to man.

The Hillside Album Hour with the Waybacks is starting to be a rocking tradition. It all started a couple years ago when the Waybacks did a killer set with Bob Weir on the Hillside Stage. Then last year they covered Led Zeppelin II with John Cowan. This year they did a track by track rendition of the Rolling Stones’ Sticky Fingers with John Cowan, Sam Bush and special guest Emmylou Harris (on Wild Horses). It was a rocking good time, and with nothing going on the main stage, the crowd at the hill was astounding.

Donna the Buffalo crushed their set on the Hillside Stage, and after we jammed with DtB, we headed down to the dance tent to hear the end of The Duhks set. My crush on the girls of The Duhks was renewed, and they closed out their set with a great cover of Whole Lotta Love.

I’ll be back later with more updates, but for now, here’s a couple thousand words to keep you happy.