2008 Graves Mountain Bluegrass Festival - A Family Tradition

by Rick Landers.

Modern Guitars showed up at the 16th Graves Mountain Bluegrass Festival (May 29 – 31, 2008), Syria, Virginia, to enjoy some of the very best bluegrass in the United States. The festival has grown since the early 1990s to become a family, as well as a Virginia, tradition.

Headliners included a formidable list of artists like Dr. Ralph Stanley and the Clinch Mountain Boys; the Peter Rowan Bluegrass Band, banjo master Carl Jackson, the Seldom Scene, Sierra Hull and Highway 111, as well as hard drivin' Rhonda Vincent and the Rage.

Nestled in the shadow of Graves’ Mountain, the festival is home to one of one of the longest lines of family residents in the country. 2008 marks the 400th year that the Graves family has called America home. To mark the occasion, Virginia’s popular harmonica-playing Governor Timothy M. Kaine arrived to recognize the arrival of CAPT Thomas Graves in Jamestown, Virginia in October 1608 and celebrate the family’s heritage and contributions to the State since the early days of its settlement.

Sited along the Piedmont of the Shenandoah Mountains, Grave’s Mountain Lodge has cared for travelers during its 135 years history, with a warm and friendly place to stay, and more recently, has offered guests a spot to enjoy some superb bluegrass in a family-friendly setting.

“Our bluegrass festival has grown a lot since we started it 16 years ago. At the first festival, in 1993, we had about 500 people attend. Today, we have several thousand. Some arrive 10 days before the festival even starts.” noted patriarch James “Jimmy” Graves.

With a long list of Grammy and International Bluegrass Music Association (IBMA) award winning artists, the Graves Mountain Bluegrass Festival was kicked off on Thursday afternoon by a local group, the Courtney Hollow Band, that warmed up the crowd with an old tune by Rebe Gosdin called, “Helen."

The day would be filled with lots of pickin’ by such luminaries as the Steep Canyon Rangers, the Wells Family and slide master Randy Kohrs with his band, the Lites.

The nearby campground filled with an assortment of RVs, with its own set of travelling pickers who rose to the occasion with their own bluegrass breakdowns. The exhibitor tents were hosted by Bob Fehr and Tracy Cox (Martin Guitar Company); Jack Cowardin (Lazarus Strings), Pat Jeffries of Bluegrass Unlimited magazine and reps from Picker’s Supply of Fredericksburg, Virginia.

Cowadin showed us some of his vintage violins and mandolins, including a sweet 1907 Gibson F-4 with torch and wire inlay at the headstock and what appeared to be a very rare rosewood back.

Picker’s Supply always has some fine instruments on display including a herd of new Eastman archtops; some vintage high-end banjos and hard to find Gibson and Martin guitars. This year they had a bluegrass picker’s dream guitar, a ‘51 D-28 for visitors to drool over.

All of the gear at the booths was worth gander, with some cool instruments to pick and strum. But, the most remarkable instrument at the festival was in the hands of young Brandon Farley, one of the Bluegrass Brothers, who was walking around with his 1924 Gibson F-5 Lloyd Loar mandolin, a hand-me-down from his grandpa. His bandmate and guitarist, Donald Dowdy, was also walking around with a not-too-shabby 1954 D-28L with double pickguards.

Governor Kaine arrived on Friday with harp in hand to saddle up with the Seldom Scene and join them on stage for a couple of tunes. The guy's got licks and laid down some nice riffs. He also honored the Graves family, alongside Virginia Delegate Ed Scott and Commonwealth Senator Ed Houk, by presenting the Virginia House and Senate February 2008 resolutions recognizing and honoring the family's 400 years in Virginia. Jim Graves accepted the honor on behalf of the family, accompanied by a group of family members who stood huddled on stage, as fellow recipients.

On that same day, the crowd enjoyed the great weather and tunes by Carrie Hassler and Hard Rain, the Bluegrass Brothers, Cadillac Sky, Blue Highway, Sierra Hull and Highway 111, the multi-talented United States Navy’s Bluegrass “Country Current” blue grass group and an assortment of artists that assembled with Bill Emerson and the Sweet Dixie Band.

Saturday kept up the pace with a strong set by all the groups, including the remarkable Cherryholmes, headed by Jere “Pop” and his wife Sandy Lee. The group started learning bluegrass together in 1999 and within five years they were recipients of the IBMA Entertainers of the Year Award. We met Pop after the group’s set where we talked about his love of Harleys, his music and his very cool long coat tailored by Manuel Exclusive Clothiers of Nashville. Manuel is known for outfitting the Beatles for their Sargent Pepper cover, Merle Haggard, and color, piping and studs to a number of other stars' stage wear. For the record, Pop's coat was very cool.

The mother lode showed up early in the afternoon with the truly legendary Grammy award winning Dr. Ralph Stanley, along with his grandson, Ralph Stanley II and The Clinch Mountain Boys. For the uninitiated in bluegrass, Dr. Stanley formed the Clinch Mountain Boys in 1946 with his brother Carter and, today, at 81 years old, he can still hold a crowd spellbound with his performances. He was awarded an honorary Doctorate of Music in 1976 from Lincoln Memorial University, inducted into the International Bluegrass Hall of Fame (1992), inducted into he Grand Ole Opry (2000) and was awarded the National Medal of Arts in 2006. Before he stepped on stage, he mentioned being a little nervous. But, once Ralph was surrounded by his band, he pulled out the stops with some earthy bluegrass singing, Stanley style banjo playing, and a mesmerizing unaccompanied rendition of the ancient tune, “Oh, Death.”

Later, the crowd would catch the stunning Rhonda Vincent on mandolin with her power house band, the Rage. By the time the sun began to sink below the mountains, a star-studded ensemble of bluegrass celebrities rounded out the occasion with the appearance of Grammy award winning banjo master, Carl Jackson.

The last act of the festival was led by a man who discovered bluegrass by hearing Ralph Stanley and his brother Carter back in the mid-‘50s and who later joined Bill Monroe’s Bluegrass Boys. None other that Peter Rowan closed the show with The Peter Rowan Bluegrass Band that includes Jody Stecher on guitar and mandolin, Keith Little on banjo, and Paul Knight on bass. The group helped draw the curtains for the Graves Mountain Bluegrass Festival that included one of Rowan's signature tunes, “Land of the Navajo.”

The Graves’ family festival closed, but not without some late night picking by those spending the night at the camp grounds, a stone’s throw from the surging Robinson River and the old Blue Ridge Highway, with talk about showing up again in 2009.

Photo Gallery

Related Links
Graves Mountain Lodge
U.S. Navy Country Currents Bluegrass Band
Dr. Ralph Stanley and His Clinch Mountain Boys
The Seldom Scene
Rhonda Vincent and The Rage
The Peter Rowan Bluegrass Band
Cherryholmes
Carl Jackson
Sierra Hull and Highway 111
The Bluegrass Brothers
Cadillac Sky
Courtney Hollow Band
Steep Canyon Rangers
Carrie Hassler and Hard Rain
Martin Guitar Company
Bluegrass Unlimited
Modern Guitars - 2007 Graves Mountain Bluegrass Festival

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