Officials at the 2009 Old Fiddler’s Convention shut down jams on Monday night which included an electric bass (and amplifier) in response to some campers’ complaints. Electric bass has never been allowed in the band competitions, but we had not heard of them being banned in the campground before this week.

Tracy Burcham, who first alerted us to the incidents on Monday  contacted us again today with some further information about the situation, one which caused great consternation amongst a number of participants this past two days.

Yesterday evening, a prominent member of the Moose Lodge graciously visited our campsite to discuss the matter. He was very understanding and helpful. He expressed regret about the way the situation had been handled. He also asked for us to understand and respect the position of the patrons who complained. He advised us to continue to do as we had been doing, but to be conscious of the volume at all times, and that we should be aware to tone it down even further during the late-night sessions. In the end, we all agreed that we would work with each other in such a way to maintain the spirit of the event for all.

I still don’t know what the future holds in regard to amplifiers. I guess we’ll have to wait and read the rules when they are published for the 2010 Convention. My hope is that nothing will change and this time-honored event will continue to be strongly attended by all musicians, who, by the way, comprise the very reason that there is such an event at all.

On behalf of all bluegrass bass players who choose to use an amplifier, thanks to The Bluegrass Blog for publishing the story, and to the many friends who immediately stepped up to show support for us during this mini-ordeal

Letters in support of continuing to allow the use of amplifiers at campsites in the park can be sent to:

Old Fiddler’s Convention
P.O. Box 655
Galax, VA 24333

It sounds as though cooler heads have prevailed. In truth, an acoustic band with an electric bass isn’t really notably louder than one with an upright, and some of the large old time jams can include dozens of players sawing away in a group. Besides, who goes to Galax to sleep?

Tracy especially wanted to make that everyone understands that his motive in bringing these incidents to light were based on his deep love for The Old Fiddlers Convention and the people who attend and camp in Felts Park each year.

“I think it is important to note that my primary purpose in bringing the incident to public attention was not an attempt to demean any person, event, or organization. As a matter of fact, quite the opposite is true. My intent was to bring realization to the Moose Lodge that future attendance at this event would would be greatly reduced if amplifiers were to ever be completely banned from campsites.This event is too precious to me (and many, many other bass players who use amps) in many ways, and I would hate to see it dissolve due to a lack of musician participation.”

Brance and I have attended many times, and have a great many friends there this week. It’s a festival where you will find a fascinating mix of both old time and bluegrass musicians, with top artists regularly involved in the legendary late night jams.

While the event is primarily marked by fellowship and harmony, the one bit of tension that exists is sometimes found between the Galax Moose Lodge that runs the festival and the attendees who feel as though their dozens of years of consecutive camping and competition gives them a quasi-ownership stake in the annual festival. The old timers will grouse each year about rules changes, and “how it was done back when,” but we’ve just received word about some unpleasantness that occurred on Monday night (8/3) that I don’t think has happened in the past.

Here is a report from Tracy Burcham, a friend of both Brance and mine, who is a bluegrass musician of long standing in southwest Virginia and a 21 year veteran of the Galax fest. He tells a story that really set a lot of folks in the campground on edge.

About 11:30 p.m., I began a jam session with three friends, each of whom is a current member of a headlining bluegrass band. I was playing my electric bass, which means, of course, that I was using an amplifier. About 8 or 9 songs into the jam, we were approached by two members of the Galax Moose Lodge #733 who advised that the rules stated that amplifiers were not allowed in the park, and that if I didn’t cut mine off, they would not only escort me out of the park, but would cut off the electricity to our entire campsite (several friends had gone in together purchase 18 consecutive sites, as we have done every year).

I have been playing this same electric bass and also my acoustic bass, both through an amplifier for each of the 21 years I have attended. I’ve never encountered a problem or received a complaint from anyone. I honestly thought one of my “devious” friends was pulling a prank on me, and continued on with the jam session. The Moose members left the area only to come back later with two police officers. He repeated the same demand to cut off the amp and advised me that there would be no refund if I refused to cooperate and was booted our of the park.

I asked specifically to see the rules. Rule #15 states:

“No boom boxes or loud amplified music to be played at any time during the convention. Anyone violating this rule will be subject to being removed from park, and charged with disturbing the peace.”

The operative word here is “loud.” Loud is a matter of opinion unless otherwise defined by the use of a decibel meter, and an established decibel limit. Regardless, the Moose members didn’t ask me to turn it down, they told me to turn it off or face consequences. In the opinion of all non-musicians present at the jam session, the volume of the bass had not been excessive, and, as a matter of fact, the banjo was far louder. The crowd around the session was not being unruly or noisy by any means. They were simply there to enjoy the music, and we were having a great time doing the same thing we’ve been doing for over two decades. I fully understand that some folks overdo it sometimes in regard to amplification. I have witnessed myself jam session where I felt like the amp was louder than necessary. But, again, that’s a matter of preference or opinion.

A conversation this morning between a Moose representative and two campsite buddies of of mine resulted in agreement that the rule is vague. But the statement was made that the rule would be clear for next year. What that means exactly, I do not know. Will they entirely prohibit amplifiers? Or will they set measurable noise limits, or a time at night after which amplifiers can’t be used? Who knows. Time will tell. But, judging by the number of campsites that use a bass amplifier, attendance of future events will be cut approximately in half if amplifiers are banned.

Our session was one of no-less-than four that were “shut down” last night for the same reason: amplified instruments. Nothing like that has ever happened before to my knowledge, at least not where people were genuinely interested in enjoying each other’s company and playing good music. It is my understanding that the shut downs were instigated due to a complaint from one, or a small group, of disgruntled patrons who are strict traditionalists, and feel that there is no place in the music for amplified instruments. In short, the Moose has allowed a minority opinion to punish the majority. I have the utmost respect for the opinion of traditionalists, both old time and bluegrass, and do not expect them to accept new or contemporary music, ideas, technology, etc. They are entitled to their opinions. I may not agree with or accept their viewpoints either, but I would never complain to the point of pulling the rug out from under what they love to do.

I’m sure the story will continue to unfold throughout the week. Several people who witnessed last night’s events shared this story with various media outlets and some public officials this morning.

The Moose representative told my buddies this morning that it would be ok to use amps, but that we needed to keep the volume down. He also stated that no session would be shut down, nor would nobody be ejected from the park without his consent. But I have to wonder what the future holds for this glorious and time-honored event if the final outcome is in favor of the minority. The spirit of many long-time attendees was broken by last night’s events.

Here’s a video of Tracy at Galax 2008, where he took the first place trophy in the bluegrass band competition with 4 Fret Kord.

Click here to view the embedded video.

Bands and pickers come each year from far and wide to enjoy the fellowship and jamming, and take a shot at carrying off a Galax trophy.

Here are the winners of the Bluegrass Band category.

1. 4 Fret Kord – Chilhowie, VA
2. Cana Ramblers – Cana, VA
3. Exit 109 – Hillsville, VA
4. The Del-Tones – Roanoke, VA
5. Dixie Bluegrass Boys – Salem, VA
6. Narrow Road – Mt. Airy, NC
7. Blue Plate Special – Ashland, VA
8. Sons of the South – Woodlawn, VA
9. The Deer Creek Boys – Amherst, VA
10. Common Ground – Moneta, VA
11. Milestone – Dobson, NC
12. Dirt Road Sweethearts – Sea Grit, NJ
13. Blue Delivery – Greensboro, NC
14. R-N-T – Mt. Airy, NC
15. U-Turn – Huntersville, NC

The full list of winners are up on the Old Fiddler’s Convention web site.

Last year around this time, we ran a piece about Scott Gates and Pacific Ocean Bluegrass, a group of California teens who donated a portion of their CD sales to help fund scholarships for young pickers to attend the California Bluegrass Association’s annual Music Camp.

The camp is held in conjunction with CBA’s Father’s Day Festival each June, where they also host a Kids On Bluegrass event. Players age 3 to 18 are allowed to audition to be part of a group performance at the festival, with coaching and rehearsals held during the year before each show.

Several videos from this year’s Kids On Bluegrass show have been posted on YouTube where you can see a gaggle of eager young pickers joining Rhonda Vincent on stage.

Our own local paper, The Roanoke Times, has a piece this week about another young bluegrass band, The Cana Ramblers. They are a family band featuring three winners of the Galax Old Fiddlers Convention youth competition.

Read the article by Ralph Berrier on the paper’s web site, and check out some photos and audio of the Ramblers at Galax in a multimedia slide show.

Dean Hoffmeyer

The photos are splendid and truly capture the “Galax vibe.” If you look closely, you’ll even see a few bluegrass notables enjoying themselves at Felts Park.

The paper also ran a piece on the festival in their print edition last Sunday, which can be read online.

UPDATE 8/10: There is now a second multimedia slide show from Galax posted at inRich.com, the Times-Dispatch site.

Bob very kindly sent me a print the other day. The painting is of a jam session under the yellow tent at the Old Fiddler’s Convention in Galax, VA. The painting captures the colors, the crowd, and the fiddle sounds of Galax.

He tells me this is part of a new series he is working on. This particular painting is not represented anywhere on his site at this time so I can’t show it to you. The print is nicely matted in a double matt and ready for framing. I just happen to have an extra frame laying around so this piece of art will be going on the wall here at the studio today.

With this painting, I’d say this new series is off to a good start. Once the project is completed and available on Yonke’s website, we’ll bring you an update about it. For now, you can browse his other offerings, including The Bluegrass Collection which represents classic bluegrass in muted earth tones. The picture included in this post is the painting Kentucky Mandolin, from this series.