News Along the Trail
On the February 1, 2011 Virginia Governor, the Honorable Robert F. McDonnell, issued two Certificate of Recognition. One declares July 2011 as Virginia Bluegrass Festival Month; the other honors Virginia resident Bill Clifton for his contribution as musician and as the promoter and organizer of the World’s first bluegrass festival held at Oak Leaf Park in Luray, Virginia on July 4, 1961. The Governor also officially recognized the Oak Leaf Bluegrass & Mountain Music Festival being held at Luray Caverns on July 2,3,4, 2011 as the festival celebrating “the 50th anniversary of this important moment in Virginia’s history and the Commonwealth’s rich heritage of bluegrass music.”
The Oak Leaf Bluegrass & Mountain Music Festival is a major venue on the Shenandoah Music Trail and both are organized by the Shenandoah Valley Mountain Music Makers Association, Inc., an all-volunteer, 501(c)(3) non-profit Virginia based corporation. The Association’s mission is to preserve, promote and maintain the integrity and roots of the Shenandoah Valley’s great acoustic music traditions.
As we look towards the Oak Leaf Bluegrass & Mountain Music Festival, we are reminded of the history of bluegrass music itself. The word “blue grass” to describe the music genre was first used in print in 1957 and in 1958 on a Smithsonian Folkways record Mountain Music, Blue Grass Style (SF 40038) assembled by the late Mike Seeger. According to the history of Billboard Magazine, prior to 1958 the music played in early years of Monroe, Flatt & Scruggs, Stanley Brothers, etc. was listed under several different musical categories. From 1944 to 1948 “Folk Music” was used. Folk was changed to “Country & Western” on December 10, 1949 and was carried until October 20, 1958 when the name was changed to simply “C&W”. The “Western” was dropped to “Country” on November 3, 1962. By that time “blue grass” was often referred to and listed in magazines and reference books as “hillbilly” or “mountain music”. The academic reference guide, Music Index, which reports all published academic papers about music, did not add “bluegrass” as a category separate and apart from “hillbilly” or “mountain music” until the 1987.*(see note below)
During the heyday of country/western music the various music styles of “hillbilly”, honky tonk, blue grass, string-band and the emerging Nashville sound all shared the same stage. Like all of the music parks in their day, Oak Leaf Park in Luray was no exception. Patsy Cline, Ralph Stanley, and George Jones would often appear on the same bill. However, beginning with the urban folk revival in the late 1950s this new music “blue grass” was catching on. As history indicates there was at least one bluegrass day prior to the 1961 Oak Leaf Festival. However it was not organized as a festival event.
The organizer and promoter of the 1st Festival was Virginia resident, Bill Clifton. The books written on history of Country Music all credit the 1st Bluegrass Festival to the Oak Leaf Park event in Luray, Virginia as the 1st bluegrass festival ever held. Bill Malone, an historian specializing in country music and other forms of traditional American music, authored in 1968 the book Country Music USA. This book was the first definitive academic history of country music. Malone also indicates that the 1961 Luray festival was the first bluegrass festival. Malone is Professor Emeritus at Tulane University, now resides in Madison, WI and continues to write as a Country Music historian. Malone also indicates that the 1st multi-day bluegrass festival was held in Fincastle, Virginia September 3, 4, 5, 1965. The promoter for that festival was Carlton Haney.
After that bluegrass festivals grew and became so popular that today there are thousands of bluegrass events held around the World annually. And we can trace it all back to one day in what is now an over-grown pasture field on Oak Leaf Road in Luray, Virginia. The Shenandoah Music Trail is bringing the first 50-years of the bluegrass festival full-circle. On July 2, 3, 4, 2011 the 1st Annual Oak Leaf Bluegrass & Mountain Music Festival will celebrate in grand style the bluegrass festival’s 50th anniversary. Hosted by Luray Caverns at the Luray Valley Museum, the three day celebration will include today’s great bluegrass talent including some of the musicians from the original festival.
The three-day festival event will also pay homage to the other great music from the Shenandoah Valley, including bluegrass, mountain music, old-time string band, traditional country, gospel and shaped-note singing, Piedmont blues, and folk music. With one main stage and two more intimate music spaces the festival will bring together a sample of music representing the musical history and traditions of the Valley. The festival will also have a 17th & 18th century arts & craft area, great food vendors, Shenandoah Valley wine & beer tasting areas, activities for every member of the family, lots of music, dry camping, and 24-hour jamming. So don’t forget to bring your instrument.
There will be music vendors, luthiers and instrument makers from the region, slow-jams and hands-on instrument and vocal workshops and an instrument petting zoo for the child in all of us. The Luray Valley Museum campus features a collection of buildings from the area including a restored 1860 log thrashing barn, 1854 blacksmith shop, 1830 Mennonite/Brethren Church, 1883 Hamburg Free School, which is one of the first African-American Schools in Virginia, 1840 Justice Bell House, and other historically significant out-buildings. The Luray Valley Museum has a great collection of Valley artifacts and art work with display and exhibit areas highlighting the Valley’s heritage. There is a mining sluice for children reminding us that the Valley had a brief period of silt-mining.
The Oak Leaf Bluegrass & Mountain Music Festival is the largest single music festival event of its kind in the Shenandoah Valley and the must attend event for 2011. For more information and tickets visit www.shenandoahmusictrail.com and follow the festival link or call 540-209-3540.
For more information about the Luray Valley Museum visit www.luraycaverns.com and follow the link to the museum.
Copies of the “Certificate of Recognition” are available on-line at www.shenandoahmusictrail.com
View the Bill Clifton Proclamation as a
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View the Virginia Bluegrass Festival Month Proclamation as
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*NOTE: The data used for this release is based on research by Donald DePoy, PhD. Dr. DePoy’s dissertation topic was titled “The Social Context of Bluegrass Music” and can be found on line at http://meandmartha.com/html/dissertation_introduction.html. Dr. DePoy is the Executive Director of the Shenandoah Valley Mountain Music Makers Association, Inc. and is a 5th generation musician from the Shenandoah Valley. He can trace his family roots in the Shenandoah Valley to the 1730s and his musical roots back to the 1850s. He has performed on stage for over 54 years and currently performs with his wife Martha Hills as Me & Martha. Last year they performed 162 public concerts and with a Project Grant from the Virginia Arts Commission they performed another 100 shows throughout Virginia to bring music to place-bound residents (i.e. nursing homes, rehab, assisted and independent living centers). Ms. Hills is an early childhood educator and is the Shenandoah Music Trail’s Outreach and Education Coordinator. Ms. Hills and Dr. DePoy are on the artist rosters of the Young Audiences of Virginia and the Virginia Arts Commission as traditional Virginia musicians. More information can be found on their website: www.meandmartha.com.
