On July 15-18 Katy Daley attended her first Grey Fox Bluegrass Festival on the Walsh Farm in Oak Hill, N.Y. Katy, the 2009 IBMA Broadcaster of the Year, shared Main Stage emcee duties with Nick Barr of WAMC, Bill Knowlton of WCNY, and Stan Zdonik of the Boston Bluegrass Union.

She has just posted a wonderful blog about her experiences with photos galore, many taken behind the scenes at Grey Fox. In her blog, Katy has high praise for talent on the festival’s many stages, the event’s flawless organization, the helpfulness of volunteers and the impressive Grey Fox Bluegrass Academy for Kids which enrolled 115 students this year. Read Katy’s blog and while there, click on the photos to read Katy’s captions!

http://bluegrasscountry.org/news/grey-fox-photo-blog/

Thanks again to Shaun Deane of the WVEW.org radio show, Anything Goes — this time for airing the Berklee Roots Music Roadshow’s Friday July 16, 2010 showcase at Grey Fox including performances by Frankie’s Little .44; Chasing Blue; The Up Jumpers; mandolin wizard, Sierra Hull; and 2010 Grey Fox Scholarship recipient, guitarist Courtney Hartman — plus commentary by Berklee College of Music instructors, Matt Glaser and Dave Hollender. Here’s the link to the archived show.  Enjoy! http://web.me.com/shaundeane/AnythingGoes/BerkleeatGF.html

They were pleased to be asked, and even happier to play — 14 students comprising Berklee’s Roots Music Roadshow hit the Grey Fox Bluegrass Festival, the weekend of July 16.

The Roadshow did 7:00 sets on Friday and Saturday, to audiences that truly appreciated their youthful artistry and verve. Grey Fox is the IBMA event of the year, and the crowds here know their music, and don’t stint on showing their love when they hear something great.

Some personal highlights:

- ’06 alum and most modest mandolin monster Joe Walsh sitting next to, and trading hot passages with, David Grisman, one of the giants of the instrument.

- Sierra Hull, charming the capacity-plus throng at the Berklee a.m. Roots Music Clinic with her tale of coming to Berklee, then blowing the crowd’s collective mind with her inventive mandolin playing and angelic voice.

- Berklee bluegrass guitaress extraordinaire Courtney Hartman playing (beautifully) alongside Nashville studio wizard Bryan Sutton, winner of last year’s bluegrass Grammy. Courtney later was named a recipient of this year’s Grey Fox Scholarship!

- The entire Berklee Roots Music Roadshow — Chasin’ Blue, Frankie’s Little .44, the Up Jumpers, and Sierra Hull and Courtney Hartman– holding the crowd close with their youthful verve and virtuosity.

The feeling at Grey Fox is so family, so all about the music, and the Berklee students are in pure, hot-buttered heaven here. On a day like today, one could be forgiven for feeling that we all belong, all men are brothers, and you only need a well played mandolin at any peace conference or international border.

For performance and workshop videos, visit the Berklee Blog or copy and paste this link…..

http://www.berklee-blogs.com/2010/07/banjo-rash-berklee-at-the-grey-fox-bluegrass-festival-2/

Live from Grey Fox Bluegrass Festival Final Wrap Up
By Garrett Frierson

I’ve got to admit my experience at Grey Fox was much different than I expected. Sure I thought I’d be camping, seeing great bluegrass music, and hanging out with a musician or two, but I was completely unprepared for the artist proximity, wonderful atmosphere, and educational opportunities that were constant throughout my time here. All of my interactions with the other campers were genial and laid back, as were most of my interactions with staff. The nearby creek provided welcome relief from the heat while the ever-changing weather reminded us that though we are at an amazing festival, we are still outdoors. Nothing is quite like running from a flash rainstorm to find yourself on a large dance floor with an amazing bluegrass band playing.

The music here surprised me, too. Grey Fox is much more than bluegrass, inviting bands that incorporate all forms of roots music as well as putting a new spin on old techniques. Every band at Grey Fox was obviously influenced by and versed in Bluegrass, but there were many who used it sparingly, if at all. The crowd didn’t mind a bit, cheering wildly after every song and giving every band (well deserved) standing ovations. That energy went straight into the bands, who were glad to return it right back in their music.

Most festivals will take your money an show you some good music, but Grey Fox will give you so much more than just a stage with some bands on it. Here you will camp, meet fun loving festival goers and artists, learn, and experience bluegrass in all its forms. Grey Fox makes community music about community again, and it is an incredible experience.

To read all of Garrett Frierson’s daily commentaries visit the Performer Magazine Blogs. Once you get to the website, scroll down to find all Grey Fox entries.

J-Man from Music Marauders interviewed Del McCoury, Ronnie and Robbie McCoury, Justin Carbone and Sam Bush during Grey Fox 2010. Here’s the link to the videos. Scroll down to these and other interviews and enjoy! http://www.musicmarauders.com/

You can also find them at these YouTube links:
SAM BUSH:  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eLQj45k8Bxs
TIM CARBONE:  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pvxLZALGRlc
DEL McCOURY:  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_-jgTSgsqY4
ROB McCOURY:  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rcNDpDo9OQQ
RONNIE McCOURY:  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rcNDpDo9OQQ

By Hilary Hawke, Catskill Daily Mail

DURHAM — After a great start on Thursday and a red-hot Friday, The Grey Fox Bluegrass Festival shifts into high gear for the remainder of the event with nonstop music at the main stage, master’s stage, family stage, grassroots tent and dance pavilion.

With wall-to-wall campers and tents, more than 15 food vendors, almost 50 booths selling everything from crafts and clothing to jewelry and instruments there is plenty for day-trippers to do and lots to keep everyone from kids to listeners entertained.

If the thought of thousands of people all converged at one site sounds overwhelming, fear not. MORE

http://www.thedailymail.net/articles/2010/07/17/news/doc4c4142974986a684743991.txt

By MICHAEL ECK, Special to the Times Union
First published in print: Thursday, July 15, 2010

The last time Tim O’Brien was in Albany, in May, he was doing the sideman thing, playing a pile of instruments alongside Mark Knopfler at the Palace Theatre. The time before that — at the Linda in November 2008 — he was performing solo, playing a pile of instruments to back up his own compositions, as well as a few old mountain songs.

Saturday, at his annual Grey Fox Bluegrass Festival appearance, he’ll be leading a band and playing a pile of instruments as he debuts new material from his latest album, “Chicken & Egg,” which dropped on Tuesday.

To say O’Brien is talented is an understatement. He’s working constantly as a much-admired songwriter, singer and instrumentalist.

Grey Fox gives him a chance to display all of those talents, and in a number of contexts.

In addition to his 8:30 p.m. Main Stage show, for example, O’Brien will also be doing a “West Virginia in Song” workshop on the Masters Stage at 5 p.m. with Kathy Mattea (who used O’Brien’s “Walk the Way the Wind Blows” as the title track for her 1986 breakthrough album).

Read more

Hilary Hawke, a writer for the Daily Mail and other regional papers, writes:

DURHAM — Everyone says the same thing about the world famous Grey Fox Bluegrass Festival, winner of the International Bluegrass Festival of the Year award.

It’s about so much more than the world-class music.

There’s an air of civility, respect, friendliness and camaraderie springing from a shared passion for the bluegrass style, the outdoors and camping.

It envelopes the tent city and falls on people who enter the festival grounds like a spell.

http://www.thedailymail.net/articles/2010/07/16/news/doc4c3fe78abc14c941964073.txt

Berklee Roots Music Road Show Rolls Into the Northeast’s Largest Bluegrass Fest Grey Fox for Two Shows, July 16 – 17

BOSTON – The Grey Fox Bluegrass Festival annually transforms the small, quiet Catskill Mountain hamlet of Oak Hill into a bluegrass boomtown, this year from July 15 – 18.  The lineup includes Sam Bush, the David Grisman Bluegrass Experience, the Del McCoury Band, Crooked Still, and the Greencards, among others, performing old time and traditional bluegrass to contemporary and new grass.

Also rolling into town will be the Berklee Roots Music Road Show, with Sierra Hull, Courtney Hartman, Frankie’s Little .44, The Up Jumpers, and Chasing Blue.  Hard-driving or introspective, the student soloists and bands play bluegrass that embodies its earliest roots, yet stretches by the collected experiences of the guys and gals who have studied in the contemporary, international woodshed that is Berklee.  While these artists perform on their own around Boston and across the U.S., together in the Road Show they represent the current generation of bluegrass players whose vitality is attracting more new students, musicians, and fans than seen in years.

The Berklee Roots Music Road Show performs on both July 16 and 17 from 7:00 to 9:00 p.m. on the Master Stage.  Berklee professor Dave Hollender will give an American Roots Music clinic on July 17 at noon, also on the Master Stage.  For festival and ticket information visit greyfoxbluegrass.com.

It’s a good bet that the Road Show will find even more pathways in the future.  Berklee introduces its American Roots Music Program this year to satisfy the surge of students who are plucking away at acoustic string instruments and exploring the roots of contemporary music.  Directed by Matt Glaser, the American Roots Music Program will lead students to blues, gospel, folk, country, bluegrass, Cajun, Western swing, polka, Tex-Mex, and other styles through courses, visiting artists, concerts, and symposiums.

About the performers:
Full Berklee Presidential Scholarship recipient Sierra Hull of Byrdstown, Tennessee, is no stranger to the spotlight.  The New York Sun praised Hull as a “wonderfully adapt” mandolin player, and even bluegrass star Alison Krauss referred to her as “remarkably talented.” Hull began playing the mandolin at 8 and was quickly noted for her inventive picking and musical maturity.  Her first album, Angel Mountain, was released in 2002 and was purely instrumental.  In 2008, she released the vocal-heavy Secrets, which displayed her vocal evolution in the six years that separated the two projects.  Hull has appeared at the Great High Mountain Tour, on the Grand Ole Opry radio and TV shows, and has shared the stage with bluegrass legends such as Mountain Heart, Ricky Skaggs, and Krauss.

Courtney Hartman grew up in northern Colorado.  Her musical journey started at 3, when she got her first fiddle.  A few years later, she picked up the mandolin and joined Mandomonium, a mandolin orchestra.  At 11, she found her love for bluegrass guitar when her daddy asked her learn “Blackberry Blossom” on one so that she could teach it to him.  That exercise inspired her, and within the next year she won two flatpick contests.  She began writing her own music and performing throughout the U.S. with her siblings in their band, the Hartmans.  Throughout high school, she continued to perform with the band and taught music lessons to more than 30 students.  In 2008, she went to Slovakia with a bluegrass band to represent the U.S. at an international folk festival.

Frankie’s Little .44 was born of a stomp and a sway in the great state of West Virginia, and as a nod to a tale of murderous ex-lovers.  Founding member Lucy Cochran played traditional fiddle tunes, until she found herself band-less and in need of an excuse to travel while playing her beloved fiddle and banjo.  After enjoying many rollicking shows on their southeastern turf, she moved operations to Berklee and found Etienne Cremieux, Ben Walters, and Alex Muri. Frankie’s Little .44 is getting a rep for great singing, luscious female harmonies, hypnotic driving fiddling, spectacular originals, phenomenal bass, rock solid guitar and mando, and raucous, yet tender, old time music.

Progressive string band The Up Jumpers infuse the traditional Appalachian and Ozark Mountain music of their upbringing with elements of jazz, blues, and rock ‘n roll. The band features Lukas Pool (clawhammer banjo, guitar, vocals), Jen Starsinic (fiddle, guitar, vocals), Jack Devereux (fiddle, mandolin, vocals), and special guest Charles Muench of River Wheel, on bass. With influences ranging from Roscoe Holcombe to Merle Travis to The Band, The Up Jumpers play groovin’, drivin’, and all around fun and rowdy music.

Chasing Blue is Trent Freeman, Maggie MacKay, Suzanne Oleson, Mike Reese, and Chad Grey.  The band plays hard-driving bluegrass with elements of blues, funk, rock, jazz, Texas swing, and traditional Canadian fiddle music.  Influences include the Nashville Bluegrass Band, The Lonesome River Band, and The Infamous Stringdusters.  Members of Chasing Blue met in a Berklee College of Music bluegrass ensemble in 2008. After a successful end-of-semester-performance, appearing as Slim Wallet and the No Dough Boys, the group decided to change names and stay together. Chasing Blue plays a mix of original and traditional material with unique arrangements. Chasing Blue has played the Joe Val Bluegrass Festival, and showcased at the 2009 International Bluegrass Music Association in Nashville.

#            #          #

~
Allen Bush
Director of Media Relations,
Berklee College of Music
617-747-2658
Cell: 617-529-7303
Twitter.com/BerkleeNews

The New York Times has selected Grey Fox Bluegrass Festival as its top “Pop” happening during the coming week, describing our award-winning lineup as the cream of the “Twang-erati.”  Good enough! Nice to be recognized by one of the world’s leading newspapers!

And The Times selected one of Amanda Kowalski’s FINE photos to print! Amanda’s photographic eye is every bit as gorgeous as her dead-on bass playing! You’ll find out all about Amanda when she performs with the debuting band, Della Mae at the festival. She’ll be in a bass workshop with Mike Bub and Mike Barber, as well. Don’t miss that one! Della Mae’s fiddler, Kimber Ludiker, is the current (for the second year in a row) National Fiddle Champion. She’ll be in a couple of not-to-be-missed workshops, too. But I digress……

Following is what Dana Jennings of the NY Times wrote about us…

“There are times when New York thrums and throbs as if it truly is the white-hot center of the known universe. But given that many of us aren’t from the big city, there are days when we pine for our long-lost agrarian pasts — usually after almost getting mowed down in a crosswalk by a Hummer swaggering down the street. And there’s nothing quite like a bluegrass festival to satisfy that down-home ache.

The 2010 GREY FOX BLUEGRASS FESTIVAL opens its four-day run on Thursday in Oak Hill, N.Y., which is some two and a half hours northwest of Manhattan. Walsh Farm there will be flush with the cream of the twang-erati. The festival’s featured acts include the Del McCoury Band, the Dry Branch Fire Squad, the David Grisman Bluegrass Experience, the Kathy Mattea Band, Crooked Still and dozens more. There will be crying fiddles, barking banjos and a clutch of voices higher and more lonesome than Mount Everest.

If you’re thinking that you might be a bit too uptown for a bluegrass festival, just shut your eyes, drink in the timeless tales of grief and woe that the music tells so well, and then imagine Grey Fox as Shakespeare in the Park — with a twang. Thursday through next Sunday, music pretty much all morning, noon and night, Walsh Farm, 1 Poultney Road, Oak Hill, N.Y., (888) 946-8495, greyfoxbluegrass.com/ws/pages/home.php; $175 full festival, $45 Thursday, $55 Friday and Saturday, $25 Sunday.”

Here’s the link to the entire article:
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/07/11/arts/11weekaheadweb.html