Moniaive Michaelmas Bluegrass Festival
Sept 28, 2015 15:16:48 GMT
Wild Violet, ocarolan, and 4 more like this
Post by Cams on Sept 28, 2015 15:16:48 GMT
While you were all off having a blast at Halifax, I was at the Moniaive Michaelmas Bluegrass Festival. This was my second year and and it did not disappoint. The event is in its 7th year I think? Thereabouts anyway.
Moniaive is a fantastic wee village in the middle of Dumfries and Galloway. The vibe there is tremendous. There's a big camp site where we stayed and there's music everywhere. There are concerts on the Friday and Saturday nights in the main hall and I get the feeling that it's probably the best audience a bluegrass band could have outside of Kentucky or Tennessee! There were bluegrass bands from Italy, Netherlands, England, Scotland and, the headliners from the USA, the Corn Potato String Band. They were absolutely brilliant - more old timey than bluegrass, a trio of two fellas and a gal. No bass, just three multi-instrumentalists swapping banjos and fiddles and guitars and vocals harmonies to give you goosebumps.
There are workshops through the day on the Saturday so I went to the singing workshop and then intermediate guitar. There was also bass, fiddle, Appalachian clog dancing. Not sure about banjo? Probably. There were banjos everywhere, but don't let that put you off. They were being played by people who knew how to play 'em!
The eating places are great too - real friendly service and good prices too.
On the Saturday there was an open mic set up in a barn at one of the village hotels so we hung out there for most of the afternoon, supping drinks in the sun and enjoying the music. We signed up for the 6:30 p.m. slot and played a set. We really enjoyed playing to the Moniaive audience.
There were sessions going on all day long and into the wee hours of the morning in the local hotels and it was great wandering round the village during the day, bumping into people that you'd seen playing the night before and checking out instruments and things.
The drive there is lovely too; no motorways, just lovely A and B roads through Ayrshire and Dumfries & Galloway. Last year I stopped en route to take photos at quite a few places, it was so lovely.
I've come back feeling like I've been away for a week, totally refreshed and inspired to play. We even jammed in the bar on the Arran ferry on the way back home last night!
If you like bluegrass and old timey music, I would definitely recommend that you book for the next one. I will be!
Here's a wee video of us playing...
Moniaive is a fantastic wee village in the middle of Dumfries and Galloway. The vibe there is tremendous. There's a big camp site where we stayed and there's music everywhere. There are concerts on the Friday and Saturday nights in the main hall and I get the feeling that it's probably the best audience a bluegrass band could have outside of Kentucky or Tennessee! There were bluegrass bands from Italy, Netherlands, England, Scotland and, the headliners from the USA, the Corn Potato String Band. They were absolutely brilliant - more old timey than bluegrass, a trio of two fellas and a gal. No bass, just three multi-instrumentalists swapping banjos and fiddles and guitars and vocals harmonies to give you goosebumps.
There are workshops through the day on the Saturday so I went to the singing workshop and then intermediate guitar. There was also bass, fiddle, Appalachian clog dancing. Not sure about banjo? Probably. There were banjos everywhere, but don't let that put you off. They were being played by people who knew how to play 'em!
The eating places are great too - real friendly service and good prices too.
On the Saturday there was an open mic set up in a barn at one of the village hotels so we hung out there for most of the afternoon, supping drinks in the sun and enjoying the music. We signed up for the 6:30 p.m. slot and played a set. We really enjoyed playing to the Moniaive audience.
There were sessions going on all day long and into the wee hours of the morning in the local hotels and it was great wandering round the village during the day, bumping into people that you'd seen playing the night before and checking out instruments and things.
The drive there is lovely too; no motorways, just lovely A and B roads through Ayrshire and Dumfries & Galloway. Last year I stopped en route to take photos at quite a few places, it was so lovely.
I've come back feeling like I've been away for a week, totally refreshed and inspired to play. We even jammed in the bar on the Arran ferry on the way back home last night!
If you like bluegrass and old timey music, I would definitely recommend that you book for the next one. I will be!
Here's a wee video of us playing...
Jo whoever he is.
