IBMA Names Grey Fox as Best Bluegrass Fest
If you want to hear the best bluegrass music, see the best bands and have the best bluegrass festival experience then the place to go isn’t down in North Carolina. Or the hills of Tennessee. Or some backwoods holler in Kentucky.
No, the best bluegrass event of the year took place right here in Nippertown – the Grey Fox Bluegrass Festival at the Walsh Farm in Oak Hill (Greene County).
The Grey Fox Fest was honored as the Bluegrass Event of the Year at the International Bluegrass Music Association’s annual awards show in Nashville last week. Among the other nominees were the 33rd annual Tri-State Bluegrass Festival (Kendallville, Ind.) and the Kawaguchi International Cross-Culture Festival (Kawagachi City, Japan).
The award was for Grey Fox’s 2008 festival, which marked the first year of the fest at Walsh Farm after a long tenure at the Rothvoss Farm in Ancramdale. (All other nominees were also for 2008 events.) It was Grey Fox’s third nomination for Bluegrass Event of the Year and the first win. The festival attracted bluegrass fans from all over the globe, including 37 states and 14 countries.
And if you want to find out just how much fun a bluegrass festival can be, mark your calendars for the 2010 Grey Fox Bluegrass Festival which rolls into Walsh Farm again on Thursday-Sunday, July 15-18.
If you can’t wait til then, check out the documentary feature film, “Bluegrass Journey” by Ruth Oxenberg and Rob Schumer, which was filmed at the 2000 Grey Fox Bluegrass Festival.
Here’s a clip from the film featuring the music of Peter Rowan and Tony Rice (who coincidentally performed at The Egg in Albany just last night):
Hey, thanks for the nice blog about us. We couldn’t be happier with the honor. I would only add that the IBMA World of Bluegrass Trade Show, Awards Show, Late Night Showcases and Fan Fest are ALSO among our big, big highlights each year. We go and do a ton of listening and always find new bands to bring to the Grey Fox stage. This year’s Award Show was great — hosted by Hot Rize and Kathy Mattea. And there were some very nice surprises as to who won in what category.
Check out this year’s winners at:
http://www.ibma.org/ibma.awards/currentpress/list_winners.asp
Enjoy! And thanks again for spreading the word about Grey Fox!
Mary
Thank you, Nippertown! This is really a tribute to our incredible festival family: the fans, the artists, the staff, many of whom have been there since the beginning! Can’t wait to see you in 2010.
I would also add that in addition to our great staff & volunteers, our co-producer Chuck Wentworth and office manager Lisa Husted were missing from this photo.
http://www.greyfoxbluegrass.com
Oh, yes, oh, yes – photo credit: Steve Ide