The 5th Annual Eureka Springs Bluegrass Festival is around the corner! You can anticipate one of the most outstanding festivals to date.
This year features Sam Bush, Marty Stuart, Ronnie Reno and Mare Winningham along with a wagonload of other acts and workshops, contests, and the new tradition of the watermelon social to kick it all off on Thursday evening (6:00pm) in Basin Spring park in the heart of downtown Eureka Springs. With free watermelon for everybody, it's great fun for all ages to get together, socialize and hear four great bands for free!
After the evening shows in the Auditorium, the public is invited to bring a chair and join 100+ musicians at the picking party at the Rodeway Inn.
In the bluegrass tradition, there will be live music all over historic downtown Eureka Springs all weekend long.
Joe "Mr. Big" McClung, founder of the festival, sums it up: "We have music and excellent pickers all over town. Eureka Springs comes alive with talent during the Bluegrass Festival."
Schedule of Events
Friday, August 24
Friday morning, rise and shine bright and early for the guitar workshop with Arkansas Red at 9:00am and the fiddle workshop at 10:30am.
Before every show at the Auditorium will be a pre-show featuring the Eureka Springs bluegrass band which features Steve Bush, Arkansas Red, Tim Crouch (the most sought after fiddler in Nashville), Mare Winningham, Pam Kirby, Mark Jones (son of legendary Grand Ole Opry star Grampa Jones), Spoon Man Family (they haven't missed a festival yet and always draw a crowd!), and the McClung boys. There is also a surprise guest performer from Memphis that will shock and amaze you! Don't miss it!
"King of Newgrass" Sam Bush, the mandolin prodigy from Kentucky, headlines two shows on Friday at the City Auditorium. As co-founder and leader of the seminal progressive bluegrass band New Grass Revival, he helped create newgrass music almost 35 years ago. Newgrass is the wild bluegrass stepchild that features rock 'n' roll grooves and extended virtuosic jams. He's still as vital a presence on the acoustic music scene as ever: still making new sounds, still rockin' out on great songs, and still pushing the bar higher for the legions of his protégés, fans and friends. His captivating, high-energy live shows have made him an in demand headliner and fan fave at important festivals like Telluride and MerleFest.
Sam Bush's afternoon show at 2:00pm (don't miss the pre-show at 1:30pm!) opens with the Tennessee Gentlemen, the Williams Family, (a group of local all-stars) and the Buffalo City Ramblers who promise to be one of the show-stopping highlights of this year's festival. A group founded by a husband and wife based in Harrison, Arkansas, formed this year with a crew of well-seasoned entertainers. They're already stirring up quite a buzz at bluegrass festivals throughout the Midwest.
Based out of Memphis, The Tennessee Gentlemen have been entertaining bluegrass fans for over thirty years. The band members, Sam Vance, Ricky Reece, Donny Catron and Doyle Catron have each performed with countless favorite acts and each brings their own remarkable talents to contribute to the creation of an unbelievable sound.
The evening show (with the pre-show at 7:oopm!) at 7:30pm has Old School, Ozark Alliance and Ronnie Reno opening for Sam.
The Old School Bluegrass Band plays Arkansas Bluegrass for Arkansas people. They have spent the last 16 years playing their unique mixture of Bluegrass, Old-Time Stringband and Gospel music, mostly in the Little Rock and Central Arkansas area, though they do travel abroad (to neighboring counties) on occasion.
The Ozark Alliance is a true family band from Salem, Mo. who placed second out of 25 competitors in the 2003 festival band contest. The two teen-age children play fiddle, guitar, & mandolin, the 3-year-old plays her own fiddle & mandolin, the dad & mom play banjo and upright bass, and they feature very fine vocal harmonies.
With Ronnie Reno and The Reno Tradition, Ronnie steps up to share the tradition and legacy set forth by he and his legendary father, Don Reno, in the early days of Bluegrass. Ronnie has selected some of the finest musicians in bluegrass music in Danny Roberts, Heath Van Winkle, Jackie Miller and Mike Scott to form his band. The show takes you through the musical life of Ronnie, Don Reno, The Reno Brothers, and the legends that Ronnie has had the privilege to play and record with over the years. You'll hear the original songs written and recorded by Ronnie, his father, and the songs and sounds Ronnie helped create throughout his career.
Saturday, August 25
Saturday morning at 9:00am Irl Hess is presenting an upright bass workshop, which absolutely no bass player should miss. Hess makes the bass do things no one knew it could do. You will hear him later on at the Auditorium shows.
Come join us on Saturday to hear Six Bands compete in the Finals of the Best Bluegrass Band Contest, from 10am to 2pm.
The afternoon show at the Auditorium at 2:00pm (with the pre-show at 1:30 with the Eureka Springs Bluegrass Band!) opens with the Tennessee Gentlemen, Old School and a special appearance by Irl Hess and features Ronnie Reno & the Reno Tradition .
The evening show at 8:00 (with pre-show entertainment at 7:30pm!) features Marty Stuart , with opening acts Ronnie Reno , the Nelson Family, and the Buffalo City Ramblers with a special guest appearance by Irl Hess.
If you're still in the dark about Marty Stuart, now is your chance to turn on the light. At age 14, Stuart was offered a full-time job with Lester Flatt's band, then went on the road with fiddler Vassar Clements, worked with Doc and Merle Watson, toured with Bob Dylan, and played as a session musician on albums by Willie Nelson, Waylon Jennings, Emmylou Harris, Neil Young and Billy Joel. Don't miss this stellar performance.
The Nelson Family, a festival favorite is back again this year. They are one of the regional favorites around the Ozarks.
Sunday, August 26
Don't miss the Sunday Gospel show! At 2:00pm in the City Auditorium (with pre-show at 1:30pm featuring Eureka's own McClung family!) the Williams Family, Nelson Family, Ozark Alliance, and special guest Mare Winningham will present a bone-chilling performance of spirituals to salvage your soul after a weekend of such fun it must have been a sin!
Mare Winningham is a critically acclaimed performer on stage, television, and occasionally feature films. She began her career performing a song on the Gong Show. She recorded an amazing album this year with Tim Crouch, the most sought after fiddler in Nashville, who is also appearing at the festival. She has a beautiful, haunting voice, a delicate touch on the guitar and will receive an enthusiastic welcome back to Eureka Springs by all the fans she gained here last year.
Information courtesy of Eureka Bluegrass Festival