How the Greyfox Bluegrass Festival taught a rock n roller to appreciate new things

By Mary Redstone

I have always loved music, it is in my blood. However, I grew up with a relatively limited selection; my mother played me things like the Beatles, the Monkees, and a lot of what is generally considered “oldies” while my father would plop me in front of MTV where I was overloaded with the Red Hot Chili Peppers and Nirvana. It wasn’t until I reached middle school that I discovered country and blues, high school brought me to jazz, metal, and Brit pop, and now college has found me thrown headfirst into bluegrass without a leg to stand on.

My friend Cassie had been trying to sell me on this idea of a four-day-bluegrass festival in New York ever since I met her. She had been going to this festival for over ten years when she first mentioned it, and while it seemed like a lot of fun I couldn’t get into the idea of four days of nothing but bluegrass. I was unfortunately in the category of someone who thought that bluegrass was only for Hillbillies and people who drove their jeeps around with a Confederate flag flapping in the back window.

But, in the winter of 2011 something clicked in my head and I suddenly found myself in the middle of an epiphany: bluegrass really isn’t that bad. One of my friends, with whom I hadn’t spoken in quite some time, commissioned me to make a documentary for him on his grandfather and his grandfather’s friends. They were all Canadian fiddle players who happened to specialize in Arcadian Bluegrass. The few weeks I spent filming and planning opened my eyes to the world of bluegrass and tore down all walls I had previously built out of stereotypes and denim overalls.

Greyfox sells about 4,000 individual camping tickets each year, and tents span across the lower part of Walsh Farm / Image courtesy of Great Northern Catskills

A few weeks later, I was talking with Cassie and mentioned the film and how I was suddenly very interested in bluegrass. Naturally, the conversation turned to the festival she had mentioned so many times in the past. It was called Greyfox and it took place over four to five days in the middle of July on a farm in Oak Hill, NY. For the first time, I was very interested.

Rock it Locally in Western Mass

By Vanessa Leikvoll

“Be loyal, but be local, too.”

That’s what a local tattoo artist told me a couple of years ago. Until he had said that, it hadn’t dawned on me that supporting my local economy was just as much my responsibility as it was anyone else’s.

I sometimes wonder if this ideology can also be applied to local concerts. People are so often willing to spend hours in the car to attend a concert or music festival, but are oblivious to what’s going on in their own backyard. When I get to a major venue, I look around me and think, “Did these people travel two hours as well, or are there some locals in this crowd?”

With my cash supply coming up short this summer, I’ve started making the effort to consciously look for exciting concerts to go to locally; and, much to my surprise, I’ve found some! I went to my first local concert of the season last night and saw the band Barefoot Truth.This group with a Dave Matthews Band-sound performed at the local high school for only a $10 admission, a price well-worth paying to see this high-energy, soulful band.

(For listings of upcoming, Western-Mass bands, Read More)

Summer concerts help more than just the musicians – provide chain of economic stimulus

By Vanessa Leikvoll

It’s summer again, which means flip-flops, sunscreen and hot dogs. Unless you’re a concert buff, then it means parking passes, ticket fees, merch lines, and traffic jams. However, as you embark on your live-music adventures I urge you to consider: where is your money going?

Just think, if you’re attending a one-day concert you’re spending money on gas to get there, food when you arrive, the ticket to get in, and the fee to park.

If you’re attending a several day-long music festival, you’re spending all the above doubled plus lodging.

Lucky for you, your expenses actually help the economy! (So let’s not be stingy, eh?)