Indian Ranch, circa 1972
We’ve been in touch recently with Fred Robbins, a photographer and bluegrass enthusiast who has posted a brilliant set of photos from the 1972 Country Gentlemen Festival at Indian Ranch online. This was the first such festival hosted by the Gents, held in Webster, MA.
Fred tells us that he just stumbled across the slides after decades sitting in a box, and says that he is delighted to be able to share them with the bluegrass community.
If you enjoyed the Bluegrass Country Soul DVD released in 2006, you are sure to appreciate Fred’s photos, which were taken a year after the festival documented in that DVD. New bluegrass fans will get a kick out of seeing some of today’s premier artists when they were younger, and folks who were following bluegrass in the 1970s will have some powerful memories rekindled.
There are shots of The Country Gentlemen, The Kentucky Gentlemen, Ralph Stanley & The Clinch Mountain Boys, James Monroe, Bluegrass 45, The McLain Family, Mac Wiseman, IInd Generation and the original Newgrass Revival.
Here are a few images Fred agreed to let us post, but you really need to see them all, put together in a very nice slide show online.
Fred also has a great many audio and video recordings from bluegrass events posted where they can be seen and heard online.
Email This Post
| Print | Top | 3 Comments
We are delighted to let everyone know that banjo legend Allen Shelton has been released from the hospital,...
Photojournalist Phil Zimmerman has released a book of his photos taken during the early days of the bluegrass...
Thanks to Fred Robbins, who has shared a couple of recent communications about Allen Shelton's condition....
Leave a comment
Comments are open and unmoderated for our registered users, only your first comment will require approval before publication. Comments do not necessarily reflect the views of The Bluegrass Blog. Obscene, abusive, silly, or annoying remarks may be deleted, but the fact that particular comments remain on the site in no way constitutes an endorsement of their content by The Bluegrass Blog.
I think the fellow in the last picture is not Larry Sparks, but James Monroe… look close… am I wrong?
These are great shots! I’m disappointed though in looking at them when I realize that Nicky Sanders with Steep Canyon Rangers is the only one out there keeping the sweet early 70s hairstyle alive.
Folks,
I’m a newbie here, but I’m real pleased to be able to share these photos with you.
I’ll add captions to the full show when time permits.
Meanwhile, please also help yourself to my other slide shows at http://frobbi.org/slideshows.html
Most of the bluegrass is at the bottom of the page.
You must