WOSU Public Media in Columbus, OH ran a piece yesterday about the bluegrass ensemble at Denison University in Granville, OH.

Andy Carlson, the chair of the music department at Denison, began the bluegrass ensemble in 2000. Carlson is a classically trained violinist who inherited a love of fiddle music from his grandfather.

Carlson discusses the social aspects of bluegrass music compared to classical. The lack of music stands, and the interaction between musicians generates close friendships among the bluegrass students. One of the students attributes it to the extra, non-class, practice that is required to work the material up. She says they have cookouts and hang out with each other even after the final concerts are over, just because they enjoy playing music together.

The story is online both in text and mp3 formats. The mp3 is only a couple minutes long, but you get a chance to hear the ensemble performing various tunes in the background while the interviews are conducted.

In November last year Jim Peva gave notice of the impending sale of the Bill Monroe Memorial Park and Campground, home of the famous Bean Blossom bluegrass festivals.

More recently, he informed us of current plans. Following on from that comes news of the formation, by a group of devoted enthusiasts and industry folks, of the Bean Blossom Brown County Jamboree Preservation Foundation Inc. in a continued effort to ensure that the Bill Monroe Memorial Park and Campground continues to be the “Mecca of Bluegrass” for generations to come.

In an expression of his support for the Bean Blossom Jamboree Foundation (BBJF), park owner Dwight Dillman, a former banjo player with the Blue Grass Boys, recently removed the For Sale sign posted at the entrance to the park. Although not part of the Board of Directors or the Advisory Committee, Dillman endorses the Foundation’s plan to purchase and operate the park in accordance with its rich history and traditions.

The mission of the foundation is to establish a permanent music park and education center on the hallowed grounds where, Bean Blossom, the longest continuously-running bluegrass festival began in June 1967. Before Bill Monroe purchased the site, in 1951, it was home to the Brown County Jamboree that was held in the Brown County Jamboree Barn, which was officially opened in 1943.

The Bean Blossom Brown County Jamboree Preservation Foundation will have an information booth set up at all the events that take place at Bean Blossom including Bean Blossom Bluegrass Festival (June 14-21), Bean Blossom Gospel Jubilee (July 30 – August 2), Uncle Pen Days (September 24-27) and Hillbilly Wagon Train Jam (October 2-4). The Foundation will also be at ROMP (June 26-28) in Owensboro, Kentucky.

BBJF Director Tom Adler said …….

“Our mission is to preserve the music park at Bean Blossom in perpetuity and continue the Brown County Jamboree’s heritage of musical shows and the bluegrass music festivals established at Bean Blossom by the Father of Bluegrass Music, Bill Monroe. The vision of the Foundation is a permanent music park and educational center, grounded in the history of the musical events at Bean Blossom.

If you are one of the many bluegrass fans with ‘Bean Blossom Memories’ of your own, and would like to see the history and traditions associated with the site of the world’s longest continuously-running bluegrass festival preserved for generations to come, you can play a key role!”

Tom clarified that role: (more…)

Folk singer, raconteur and activist Bruce Duncan ‘Utah’ Phillips, whose songs included tales of the state’s working class and tragedies, passed away in his sleep at 11:30pm PDT on May 23, aged 73, ending a roughly ten year bout with congestive heart failure. He lived in Nevada City, California.

Born May 15, 1935, in Cleveland, Ohio, to labor organizer parents, Phillips and his family moved to Utah in 1947 whereupon he began his deep interest in the state’s working class, particularly the Mormons and their folklore.

He served in the U.S. Army during the Korean War. Later, as a member of the Peace and Freedom Party, he failed in a bid for a place in the U S Senate.

Phillips drew from influences as diverse as Borscht Belt comedian Myron Cohen, folksingers Woody Guthrie and Pete Seeger, and country stars Hank Williams and T Texas Tyler.

He wrote John D Lee, a recounting of the Mountain Meadows Massacre. Another song, Scofield Mine Disaster, recalled the 1900 central Utah coal mine explosion that killed 200 people. His songs became more widely known when Rosalie Sorrels recorded If I Could Be The Rain.

A number of his songs were covered by bluegrass acts – I’ll Be On That Good Road Someday (recorded by Flatt & Scruggs, and Butch Robins), Orphan Train (Dry Branch Fire Squad), Green Rolling Hills of West Virginia (Emmylou Harris), Starlight On The Rails and Rock, Salt And Nails (both recorded by Flatt & Scruggs). The last named song was also recorded by JD Crowe & The New South, Joan Baez and Waylon Jennings. Others who recorded material penned by Philips include Linda Ronstadt (Silver Wings), Tom Waits and Joe Ely. (more…)

Chris Thile will be a guest on A Prairie Home Companion this weekend, sans the rest of his Punch Brothers merry band.

The show will broadcast live from Las Cruces, NM on May 31 from 6:00-8:00 p.m. (EDT) over a great many stations in the US, and on XM Satellite Radio track 133. Broadcast times vary from one affiliate to another, with many carrying the live feed on Saturday afternoons, and others running it instead early on Sunday afternoon. Check local listings for air times in your area.

You can also listen live online, accessed using Windows Media Player from the PHC web site. Past shows are also archived online, with audio files usually available by the Monday morning following a weekend broadcast.