December 21, 2009

INTERNATIONAL NEWGRASS FESTIVAL DATES SET FOR 2010

Cadillac Sky at the 2009 International Newgrass Festival

Bowling Green, Ky. – The world’s first International Newgrass Festival will return for year two August 20-22, 2010 at Ballance Farms in Oakland, Kentucky.  Organizers confirm Sam Bush, John Cowan and Curtis Burch, three surviving members of the band that started it all, The New Grass Revival, will be in attendance and again perform with their bands and possibly other artists.

“We wanted to present a quality festival in year one that folks would talk about and then hopefully grow it from there.  We think that’s exactly what happened, so now we are looking at ways to make year two bigger and better,” festival director Kenny Lee said. 

Attendees of the inaugural festival commented on the beautiful, natural backdrop of the event, how clean everything was kept during all three days, and the level of talent the musicians possessed.  Wi-fi access is one request being looked into, and organizers hope to add more vendors and informational booths to this year’s festival.

Newgrass is a sophisticated, progressive form of music that blends bluegrass instrumentation with other styles such as jazz, blues and rock ‘n roll.  Organizers hope to attract fans from across the country again with the festival’s performers ranging from the originators of the art form to young and upcoming acts in the Newgrass genre.   

“It was amazing to hear these younger musicians at the 2009 Festival repeatedly pay homage to the New Grass Revival guys, thanking them for blazing the trail,” said Marissa Butler of the Bowling Green Area Convention & Visitors Bureau.  “The best part of the whole weekend for me was being introduced to new bands that completely rocked the stage and seeing how they blew everyone’s minds.”

The original New Grass Revival formed in the early 1970’s.  They rehearsed about 40 miles from Bowling Green in Hiseville and Temple Hill, Ky., so Ballance Farms in Oakland was a natural choice as the festival site because of its close proximity to the roots of the genre. A Bowling Green native, Sam Bush was honored in 2008 with a resolution from the Commonwealth of Kentucky as the founder of newgrass music.  Most recently, Bush received the Americana Music Association’s Lifetime Achievement for Instrumentalist award in September.

Three-day passes are available online (www.newgrassfestival.com) for a holiday pre-sale price of only $89.  After January 1, the price will increase to $99 with individual day tickets available later in the year.  The festival’s new online forum can be found at www.newgrasscommunity.com. 

The International Newgrass Festival is hosted by the Kentucky Blues Society with Curtis Burch serving as the Festival’s Entertainment Director.  Anyone interested in sponsorship opportunities or vendor applications should email ngfest@gmail.com or call 270-784-0757. 

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