Syria bluegrass festival nears

Diehard bluegrass fans first started filing into Madison County’s Syria community in mid May.

The visitors - in Syria to enjoy Graves Mountain Lodge’s 17th annual Festival of Music, which starts Thursday, May 28 - set up camp in an open field on the resort’s property, since some arrived as much as a week before the campground was set to open.

“We’ve got some people waiting since [May 15],“ Jimmy Graves told The Madison County Eagle. “They’re some diehards from West Virginia.“

Many festival-goers make their way into Madison County early, since the campground’s official opening day is also when the lodge first starts handing out seating numbers for the three-day concert event, which runs Thursday, May 28 through Saturday, May 30.

It takes literally a few tons (a ton as in 2,000 pounds) of food - including barbecue ribs, trout, ribeye steaks and fries - to feed the almost 3,000 people who typically attend the concert series, according to Graves.

The 2009 lineup - which features close to 20 bands - includes Graves first time performers, The Steel Drivers, the Next Best Thing (featuring Rhonda Vincent’s daughter) and Junior Sisk and the Ramblers, a band which has ties to Madison County, as well as festival first-timers, Heather Berry and Tony.
The event will also feature Rhonda Vincent and The Rage, Cherryholmes, The Wells Family, the U.S. Navy’s bluegrass band Country Current, Mark Templeton and Pocket Change, The James King Band, The Bluegrass Brothers, The Mark Newton Band, Carrie Hassler and Hard Rain, The Seldom Scene, Larry Cordle and Lonesome Standard Time, The Lonesome River Band, Russell Moore and IIIrd Tyme Out and a Heights of Grass reunion featuring Donny Grubb, Bill Lux, Vernon Hughes and Richard Ward.

Multiple performers from the festival will also join together the last evening - at 7-7:45 p.m. Saturday, May 30 - for the “Graves Mountain Jam.“

Cherryholmes - a six-member family band made up of Sandy, her husband, Jere, and their four children, Cia, B.J., Skip and Molly Kate - is one of many festival favorites who have been coming back year after year.

The group - set to perform 5:20-6 p.m. and 9:30-10:10 p.m. May 28 - last visited Graves in July and has been touring all across the country and overseas in Europe since then, playing songs from their latest album - “Cherryholmes III: Don’t Believe.“

Festival-goers can expect an updated sound from the group - a style of music that Jere describes as “bluegrass on steroids” and bluegrass musician Ricky Skaggs says is the “new face of bluegrass,“ according to Sandy. 

“We’ve had a great response…we’ve found with our new style of music we’re really reaching out to a new demographic,“ she said. “It’s an exciting show with a lot of variety and a lot of energy.“

Besides their own performance, the Cherryholmes family plans to enjoy other acts, including the U.S. Navy’s bluegrass band, Country Current, which is set to perform 12:50-1:30 p.m. and 5:50-6:30 p.m. Friday, May 29.

“They look so slick with their white uniforms,“ Sandy said.

Though most of the bands don’t stay in Syria for the entire three-day event, a few often spend at least one night, joining in with the campers’ “jam sessions,“ which typically follow the stage performances at night, according to Graves.

Tickets may be purchased by calling Graves Mountain Lodge at (540) 923-4231 or on-line at http://www.gravesmountain.musictoday.com.

Three-day tickets purchased at the gate are $90. One-day tickets are, Thursday, May 28, $30; Friday, May 29, $30; and Saturday, May 30, $35. Children younger than 11 get in free with the purchase of an adult ticket.

Graves Mountain Lodge is off Old Blue Ridge Turnpike (Route 670) in Syria.

The performance schedule for the bands includes,

Thursday, May 28:

• 1:50-2 p.m.—Opening remarks.
• 2-2:40 p.m.—Heather Berry and Tony.
• 2:50-3:30 p.m.—The Wells Family.
• 3:40-4:20 p.m.—Junior Sisk and Ramblers Choice.
• 4:30-5:10 p.m.—Larry Cordle and Lonesome Standard Time.
• 5:20-6 p.m.—Cherryholmes.
• 6:10-6:50 p.m.—Heather Berry and Tony.
• 7-7:40 p.m.—The Wells Family.
• 7:50-8:30 p.m.—Junior Sisk and Ramblers Choice.
• 8:40-9:20 p.m.—Larry Cordle and Lonesome Standard Time.
• 9:30-10:10 p.m.—Cherryholmes.

Friday, May 29:

• Noon-12:40 p.m.—Next Best Thing.
• 12:50-1:30 p.m.—United States Navy Band’s “Country Current” bluegrass group.
• 1:40-2:20 p.m.—Mark Templeton and Pocket Change.
• 2:30-3:10 p.m.—The James King Band.
• 3:20-4 p.m.—The Lonesome River Band.
• 4:10-4:50 p.m.—Russell Moore and IIIrd Tyme Out.
• 5-5:40 p.m.—Heights of Grass Reunion, featuring Donny Grubb, Bill Lux, Vernon Hughes, Richard Ward and special guests.
• 5:50-6:30 p.m.—United States Navy Band’s “Country Current” bluegrass group.
• 6:40-7:20 p.m.—Next Best Thing.
• 7:30-8:10 p.m.—Mark Templeton and Pocket Change.
• 8:20-9 p.m.—The James King Band.
• 9:10-9:50 p.m.—The Lonesome River Band.
• 10-10:40 p.m.—Russell Moore and IIIrd Tyme Out.

Saturday, May 30:

• Noon-12:40 p.m.—The Bluegrass Brothers.
• 12:50-1:30 p.m.—The Mark Newton Band.
• 1:40-2:20 p.m.—Carrie Hassler and Hard Rain.
• 2:30-3:15 p.m.—Steel Drivers.
• 3:25-4:10 p.m.—Seldom Scene.
• 4:20-5:05 p.m.—Rhonda Vincent and The Rage.
• 5:15-5:55 p.m.—The Bluegrass Brothers.
• 6:05-6:45 p.m.—Carrie Hassler and Hard Rain.
• 6:45-7 p.m. - Closing, Graves family.
• 7-7:45 p.m.—Graves Mountain Jam, hosted by Carl Jackson and Mark Newton, featuring Rhonda Vincent, Hunter Berry, Carrie Hassler, Josh Miller, Mike Henderson, Tammy Rogers, Richard Bailey, Chris Stapleton, Dudley Connell, Ronnie Simpkins, Lou Reid, Fred Travers, Ben Eldridge and special guests.
• 7:55-8:40 p.m.—Steel Drivers.
• 8:50-9:35 p.m.—Seldom Scene.
• 9:45-10:30 p.m.—Rhonda Vincent and The Rage.