From Telluride in Colorado to Grey Fox in New York, Podunk in Connecticut and Thomas Point in Maine, and many places in between, there are plenty of festivals for bluegrass fans and pickers to enjoy across the country this summer.  These range from one-day events in Minnesota, New York and Oregon to three- and four-day gatherings with workshops, jam sessions and camping.  Here’s a sampling of 30 bluegrass festivals (a few of which also include other genres of music) slated between June 21 and Labor Day Weekend, along with websites to consult for further information:
 

Telluride Bluegrass Festival

June 21-24, 2007

Town Park in Telluride, Colorado

www.bluegrass.com/telluride

The rugged San Juan Mountains of Colorado’s high country play host to this granddaddy of bluegrass festivals at the beginning of summer.  Interestingly, the opening night headliners will be Counting Crows, a rockin’ band that can hardly be counted as a bluegrass outfit.  Neither can Jackie Greene, Los Lobos, the stellar Scottish singer-songwriter Dougie MacLean, nor popsters Guster.  Most of the other acts are, however, bluegrass or close to it.  These include The Avett Brothers, Sam Bush, John Cowan Band, Crooked Still, Jerry Douglas Band, Bela Fleck & The Flecktones (along with a special collaboration with jazz great Chick Corea), Greensky Bluegrass (last year’s band contest winners), Emmylou Harris, Sarah Jarosz, Alison Kraus and Union Station, the Brazilian/American fusion of mandolinists Mike Marshall and Hamilton de Holanda, Peter Rowan & Tony Rice Quartet, Andy Statman Trio (fusing some Yiddish melodies and Klezmer into the mix), Chris Thile & How To Grow a Band, Abigail Washburn with the Sparrow Quartet, Yonder Mountain String Band, and the Telluride House Band with Fleck, Bush, Douglas, Edgar Meyer and Bryan Sutton.  In addition to music on the main stage at Town Park all day, more intimate daily workshops — including competitions and in-the-round artist performances – will take place on the Elks Park stage in the middle of town.  

Jenny Brook Family Bluegrass Festival

June 21-24, 2007

Weston Recreation Area in Vermont

www.jennybrookfestival.com 

Taking place in the foothills of Vermont’s Green Mountains, this more traditional bluegrass festival will feature performances by Junior Barber & Beartracks, David Davis & The Warrior River Boys, The Gibson Brothers, The Erin Gibson-Laclair Show, Smokey Greene, Buddy Merriam & Back Roads, The Lynn Morris Band, Plexigrass, The Right Path Gospel Band, The Seth Sawyer Band, The Sawyer Brothers and Leroy Troy.

In keeping with the nature of a family festival, there will be workshops for both adults and children, while children also will have an opportunity to perform on Sunday and partake in a variety of activities.  Rough camping is free with a weekend pass ($55 per person at the gate; children 16 & under are free, while 17 & 18 year-olds are half-price).  Daily tickets are also available.

St. Croix Valley Bluegrass Festival

June 30, 2007

Carpenter Nature Center in Hastings, Minnesota

651-437-4359

www.stcroixvalleybluegrass.com

Hosted by Minnesota bluegrass band Monroe Crossing, this one-day festival features bands from the midwest and elsewhere from noon to 10 p.m., along with indoor and outdoor jamming.  Performers include True Life Travelers, Triple L Band, Joy Kills Sorrow, Pert’ Near Sandstone, The Platte Valley Boys, Kimmer, Granger and Hinkley, Switched At Birth, The Alzen Family and Sawtooth Bluegrass Band.  Tickets are $20 in advance and $25 at the gate; $10 for children 12 and under.

Starvy Creek Bluegrass Festival

July 5-7, 2007

Starvy Creek RV Park in Conway, Missouri

417-589-2013

www.starvycreek.com

The Grascals, Doyle Lawson and Quicksilver, Ralph Stanley II and the Larry Stephenson Band are among the featured performers.  A three-day pass costs $35, while daily tickets also are available.  Children under 12 will be admitted free, while tickets are half-price for those ages 12-16.  Bring your lawn chairs.

Cedar Valley Bluegrass Festival

July 6-7, 2007

Cedar Valley Park in Derby, Indiana

888-343-6262

www.cedarvalleybluegrass.com

This is a traditional bluegrass festival in southern Indiana, near the Ohio River.  Artists slated to perform include Michael Cleveland & Flamekeeper featuring Audie Blaylock, Cherryholmes, Bluegrass 101, Kings Highway, Timberline Drive, Blue River, Tommy Brown & County Line Grass, and Mountain Rhythm.  Tickets are $15 on Friday, $25 on Saturday, or $35 for both days.  Bring lawn chairs. 

High Mountain Hay Fever

July 12-15, 2007

Westcliffe, Colorado

719-783-0883

www.highmountainhayfever.com

Dry Branch Fire Squad and Sons and Brothers co-host this four-day festival, with two stages perched overlooking the Wet Mountain Valley and the Sangre de Cristo Mountains.  Performers include Bobby Osborne (of the legendary Osborne Brothers) and Rocky Top Express, The Gibson Brothers, Lou Reid and Carolina, Mike Compton and David Grier, Bill Lowe, Ginny Hawker and Tracy Schwarz, Sweet Sunny South, and several Colorado-based bluegrass outfits.  A four-day festival pass is $75, while daily passes are also available.  Children 12 and under will be admitted free.

Basin Bluegrass Festival

July 13-15, 2007

Brandon, Vermont

802-247-3275

www.brandon.org/bluegrass.htm

Among the performers at this upper New England festival are Acoustic Blue, Blistered Fingers, Cabin Fever, Cannonball Express, Lonesome Whistle Band, Dave Nichols & Spare Change, Andy Pawlenko & Smokey Hollow Boys, Dean Sapp & Harford Express, Smokey Greene, Snake Mountain, Southern Rail and Steel Rail.  There’ll also be field picking day and night, Friday and Saturday afternoon workshops, and a Sunday night potluck supper.  Three-day tickets are $40 at the gate; children under 15 admitted free.  Day tickets are also available.  $5 savings if purchased by July 2.

The Good Old Fashioned Bluegrass Festival

July 13-15, 2007

Bolado Park in Hollister, California

www.bluegrasssociety.org

The Northern California Bluegrass Society, which hosts this festival showcasing talent from the Golden State, now in its 14th year, declares that “its [small] size makes attendance a no-hassle, laid-back experience with no lines for anything.”  The music on two stages begins at 3 p.m. on Friday.  Gate prices are $70 for three days, $55 for two days and $27 or $37 for single days.  Camping included with two- and three-day tickets. 

12th Annual Prospect Bluegrass Festival

July 14, 2007

Lions Park in Prospect, Oregon (not far from Crater Lake National Park)

www.upperogue.org/bluegrassfestival.htm

The local Lions Club presents nine hours of bluegrass, gospel and what it calls “authentic acoustic country music,” featuring musicians from Oregon and several other states.  Admission is $15 at the gate, and barbecue dinners will be served for $10. 

Mineral Bluegrass Festival

July 19-21, 2007

Mineral, Virginia

706-864-7203

www.aandabluegrass.com/MineralBluegrassFestival.html

Among the performers at this 24th annual festival are Ralph Stanley & The Clinch Mountain Boys, Doyle Lawson & Quicksilver, The Grascals, Rhonda Vincent & The Rage, Alecia Nugent, Jesse McReynolds, Cherryholmes, Blue Highway, The Country Gentlemen and Nothin’ Fancy.  Adult tickets at the gate are $35/day and $85/three days, with discounts available for those who purchase them before July 9.  Camping is available for three-day festivalgoers.

Grey Fox Bluegrass Festival

July 19-22, 2007

Rothvoss Farm in Ancramdale, New York

www.greyfoxbluegrass.com

Dry Branch Fire Squad hosts this popular East Coast festival that features four days of musical performances, workshops and jam sessions with a stellar lineup of bluegrass, acoustic and dance acts.  Artists include Sam Bush, Nickel Creek, Marty Stuart & His Fabulous Superlatives, Peter Rowan & Tony Rice Quartet, Doyle Lawson & Quicksilver, Claire Lynch Band, The Duhks, Tony Trischka’s Double Banjo Spectacular, Uncle Earl, The Waybacks, Crooked Still (Folk Alliance’s Emerging Artists of the year), The Greencards, Pete & Joan Wernick, and the Red Stick Ramblers, among others.  Now in its 30th year, the festival features four performance stages , ranging from a natural amphitheater Main Stage to a more intimate Masters Stage.  There’s a slow jam tent for beginning pickers, grass roots sessions featuring hands-on workshops, and a four-day Bluegrass Academy for Kids ages 8 and up.   Tent and RV camping is available. 

Musicians Against Childhood Cancer/Bluegrass Classic

July 25-28, 2007

Hoover Y-Park in Columbus, Ohio

www.bluegrassclassic.com 

Among the artists donating their time and talent to this festival, benefiting St. Jude’s Children’s Research Hospital in Memphis, Tennessee,  are: Doyle Lawson & Quicksilver, IIIrd Tyme Out, J.D. Crowe & The New South, Lonesome River Band, Don Rigsby & Midnight Call, Mountain Heart, Larry Stephenson Band, The Infamous Stringdusters, Alecia Nugent Band, The Grascals, Rhonda Vincent & The Rage, Kenny & Amanda Smith, Larry Cordle & Lonesome Standard Time, and Wildfire.  Ticket prices at the gate are $30 daily and $95 for all four-days; camping is $5 per day with the purchase of multiple-day tickets only. 

FloydFest

July 26-29, 2007

Floyd, Virginia

540-745-FEST

www.floydfest.org

Although set in the Blue Ridge Mountains of Virginia, where bluegrass does have many loyal denizens, FloydFest is hardly a traditional or even a contemporary bluegrass festival. "It’s in the Mix," is the theme of this year’s four-day festival at Milepost 170.5 on the Blue Ridge Parkway in Virginia’s Floyd County that also features world music, reggae, folk, African and Appalachian music, along with local arts & crafts.  For bluegrass and newgrass fans, there’s Sam Bush, The Duhks and Red Stick Ramblers, as well as the bluegrass-influenced jam band Railroad Earth, New York string band The Wiyos, and Piedmont-style African-American fiddle and banjo ensemble Carolina Chocolate Drops.

Ossipee Valley Bluegrass Festival

July 26-29, 2007

Ossipee Valley Fairgrounds in Cornish, Maine

207-625-8656

www.ossipeevalley.com 

A two-hour drive from Boston and an hour from Portland, Maine, this festival will feature performances by The Bayboys, Michael Cleveland & Flamekeeper, Ray Legere & Acoustic Harvest, Muddy Marsh Ramblers, The New England Bluegrass Band, North Star, Nothin’ Fancy, April Verch, The Wilders & others, as well as contra dancing on Friday and Saturday nights.  Weekend tickets are $58 at the gate (including rough camping); children 16 and under admitted free.

5th Annual County Bluegrass Festival

July 27-29, 2007

Farm Park in Fort Fairfield, Maine

207-472-3802

www.countybluegrass.com 

Artists performing at this festival in rural Maine include The Arians, Blistered Fingers, Borderline Bluegrass, Lonesome River Band, The Muellers, White Mountain Bluegrass, Wicked Blue, and more.  A Friday afternoon open stage also is slated.  Weekend tickets at the gate are $40 and include rough camping. 

35th Annual RockyGrass

July 27-29, 2007

Lyons, Colorado 

RockyGrass completely sold out several weeks earlier than usual.

Fiddle Fest

July 28-29, 2007

Hollins University Campus in Roanoke, Virginia

866-883-9466

www.roanokefiddlefest.org

Billed as “Roanoke’s Celebration of Traditional String Music,” this festival features instrumental and vocal workshops, jam sessions and cncerts, including a Saturday evening performance by Ralph Stanley & The Clinch Mountain Boys, while Larry Sparks & The Lonesome Ramblers are part of Friday night’s lineup.  Advance two-day tickets are $45 (with camping), while advance single-day tickets are $20.  Tickets are $5 additional at the gate.

Podunk Bluegrass Festival

August 2-5, 2007

Martin Park in East Hartford, Connecticut

860-528-1458

www.podunkbluegrass.net 

Artists slated to perform include six-time IBMA vocal group of the year Doyle Lawson & Quicksilver, The Biscuit Burners, Mike Cleveland & Flamekeeper, Amy Gallatin & Stillwaters, The Grascals, Carrie Hassler & Hard Rain, Hunger Mountain Boys, Lonesome River Band, Lost & Found, Jesse McReynolds, Miller’s Crossing, Mountain Heart, Dave Parmley & Continental Divide, Pine Mountain Railroad, and Rhonda Vincent & the Rage.  Workshops, jam sessions, storytelling, a Kids Bluegrass Kamp, and plenty of field pickin’ into the wee hours also are on tap.

Apple Valley Bluegrass and Old Tyme Festival

August 2-5, 2007

Lafayette Apple Festival Grounds in Lafayette

www.cnyba.com

Sponsored by the Central New York Bluegrass Association, this festival, now in its ninth year, takes place 10 miles south of Syracuse.  Paerforming artists include The Backwoodsmen, Carolina Rebels, Cedar Ridge, Sheila Brown and Gospel Way, Hometown Bluegrass, Dave Nichols and Spare Change, Ron and Nancy One Song, and Old Time Bluegrass Singers.  Instrumental workshops will be offered on Saturday.  Weekend tickets are $35 at the gate ($30 in advance) and include rough camping.  Daily tickets also available.  Children under 16 will be admitted free.

Minnesota Bluegrass & Old Time Music Festival

August 9-12, 2007

El Rancho Manana Campground in Richmond, Minnesota

800-635-3037

www.MinnesotaBluegrass.org 

The Del McCoury Band and Laurie Lewis & The Right Hands are among the performers slated to appear, along with Alan Munde Gazette, Kenny & Amada Smith, and many more.  More than 30 workshops, nightly dances, and a family area also will be featured.  Two-four day ticket packages include rough camping, while single-day tickets also are available. 

Richmond Town Bluegrass Festival

August 11, 2007

Historic Richmond Town on Staten Island, New York

718-351-1611

www.historicrichmondtown.org 

Now in its 11th year, this festival features free family-style entertainment and children’s activities from noon to 7 p.m. on the grounds of New York City’s living history village and museum complex.  Bring lawn chairs and blankets, and enjoy the sounds of Jesse McReynolds & The Virginia Boys, Dan Paisley & Southern Grass, Ronnie Reno & The Reno Tradition and Straight Drive. 

2007 Northland Bluegrass Festival

August 17-18, 2007

Northland Ballroom, on Highway 49, between Rosholt & Iola, Wisconsin

715-884-6996

Hosted by Art Stevenson & High Water, this festival features Sloppy Joe, Tommy Brown & County Line Grass, Forge Mountain Diggers, Platte Valley Boys, and more.  Daily admission is $20.  Free rough camping in designated areas.

Ola Belle Reed Homecoming Festival

American Legion Ballfield in Lansing, North Carolina

August 17-19, 2007

www.olabellefest.com

Tim O’Brien headlines this festival that pays homage to the late country singer Ola Belle Campbell Reed and features the music of her husband and sons, who played with her over the years, as well as newer groups that are carrying on her tradition and local artists.    Among the other performers whose sounds will fill the Blue Ridge Mountains air are Dan Paisley and Southern Grass, Cathy Fink and Marcy Marxer, Mark Brine, Jeff Little and Steve Lewis, Demolition String Band, Blue Ridge Rounders, White Top Mountain Band, Grayson Highlands Band, Elkville String Band, Rock Bottom Bluegrass, Polecat Creek, DJ and Randy Sheets, and Wolfe Brothers.  An old-time mountain dance and fiddle and banjo contests are slated for Friday night.  Three-day passes are $20 in advance and $25 at the gate. 

Long Island Bluegrass Festival

August 18, 2007

Tanner Park in Copiague, New York

631-587-3696

www.babylonarts.com/bluegrass.htm 

Ricky Skaggs & Kentucky Thunder headline this family-friendly festival, which runs from 12-8 p.m. and also features Buddy Merriam & Back Roads and other local bluegrass bands.  Tickets are $10 at the gate; $5 for children under 10.  Bring a lawn chair.

Bluegrass in the Smokies

August 23-25, 2007

Riverside Campground & Resort in Sevierville, Tennessee

423-345-3510

www.bluegrassinthesmokies.com

The Claire Lynch Band, Alecia Nugent, Larry Speaks, Blue Highway, IIIrd Time Out, Carolina Road, Paul Walker & The Victory Trio, The Frittz Family, Bradley Walker, James Monroe and The Anita Fisher Band with Ray Beaton are among the performers.  This east Tennessee festival , now in its eighth year, also features instrumental workshops, jamming around the clock, and guitar, banjo and band competitions.  Three day tickets are $58 before August 13 and $65 at the gate.  Daily tickets are also available.

Blistered Fingers Family Bluegrass Festival

August 23-26, 2007

Silver Spur Riding Club in Sidney, Maine

207-873-6539

www.blisteredfingers.com

Now in its 29th year, the festival features music by The Adrians, Blistered Fingers, Bluegrass Diamonds, Carolina Rebels, Cross Over, Doerfel Family, Larry Gillis Band, Goldwing Express, The Muellers, Kati Penn Band, and Josh Williams & North Country.

The Gettysburg Bluegrass Festival

August 23-26, 2007

Granite Hill Campground near Gettysburg, Pennsylvania

717-642-8749

www.gettysburgbluegrass.com

Among the artists slated to appear this year are Blue Highway, Jimmy Bowen and Santa Fe, Cherryholmes, Mike Cleveland and Flamekeeper featuring Audie Blaylock, Dry Branch Fire Squad, Gary Ferguson Band, Gibson Brothers, The Grascals, Grasstowne, Tim Graves and Cherokee, Lonesome River Band, Jesse McReynolds and The Virginia Boys, Nothin’ Fancy, Seldom Scene, Stepp Canyon Ranchers, and Rhonda Vincent and the Rage.  While adults enjoy concerts and workshops, children in grades K-12 can participate in a bluegrass academy for an additional fee.  Daily and multi-day festival tickets are available at various prices.

Eureka Springs Bluegrass Festival

August 24-26, 2007

Eureka Springs City Auditorium in Eureka Springs, Arkansas

888-855-7823

www.eurekaspringsbluegrassfestival.com

Newgrass mandolinist Sam Bush, Marty Stuart, Ronnie Reno and The Reno Tradition, The Tennessee Gentlemen and Mare Winningham are among the featured performers at this weekend festival that takes place in an Ozark Mountain village whose entire downtown is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.  Workshops and a picking party also are on the docket.

Thomas Point Beach Bluegrass Festival

August 30-September 2, 2007

Thomas Point Beach in Brunswick, Maine

207-725-6009 or 877-TPB-4321

www.thomaspointbeach.com

Like Blistered Fingers, this festival is now marking its 29th year.  Held on the southern coast of Maine, “where the music meets the sea,” over the Labor Day Weekend, it will feature more than 50 hours of bluegrass by such acts as Marty Raybon & Full Circle. Peter Rowan & Tony Rice, Rhonda Vincent & The Rage, Dan Paisley & Southern Grass, Michael Cleveland & Flamekeeper, The Lewis Family, Tennessee Mafia Jug Band, Sierra Hull, Randy Waller & The Country Gentlement, The Abrams Brothers, Loretta & Mo, No Speed Limit, Carolina Sonshine, Evergreen, The Doerfel Family, Pine Hill Ramblers, White Mountain Bluegrass Band, and more.  There’ll also be off-stage field pickin’ throughout the weekend, workshops under a beachfront tent and children’s activities.  Daily, two, three and four-day tickets are available in advance (with discounts before July 14) and at the gate, and in the rough camping is free for multi-day ticket holders.

Delaware Valley Bluegrass Festival

August 31-September 2, 2007

Salem County Fairgrounds in Woodstown, New Jersey

www.brandywinefriends.org/dvbgf/

Now in its 36th year, this Labor Day Weekend festival is presented by The Brandywine Friends of Old Time Music.  This year’s impressive lineup includes Rhonda Vincent & The Rage, The Grascals, Cherryholmes, Michael Cleveland & Flamekeeper, Nashville Bluegrass Band, Dan Paisley & The Southern Grass, Seneca Rocks, Lost Highway, John Reischman & The Jaybirds, James Reams & The Barnstormers, Foghorn String Band, Tuesday Mountain Boys, and Ottawa Valley fiddler April Verch. 

Four Corners Folk Festival

August 31-September 2, 2007

Reservoir Hill Park in Pagosa Springs, Colorado

www.folkwest.com/index2.htm 

Although not strictly a bluegrass festival, this Labor Day Weekend event, now in its 12th year, will feature performances by the Jerry Douglas Band, The Infamous Stringdusters, Nickel Creek, Sweet Sunny South and The Wilders, as well as an array of instrumental workshops.  Advance ticket prices range from $30 for Friday only to $100 for a three-day pass with on-site camping.  Ticket prices are $5-$10 more at the gate.