Grey Fox Bluegrass Festival

Grey Fox Bluegrass Festival is an annual music festival held in mid-July in Oak Hill, Greene County, New York. Located at the Walsh Farm in the foothills of the Catskill Mountains, Grey Fox features a variety of acoustic music including traditional and contemporary bluegrass, jam bands, old-time, swing and Cajun.[1] The festival presents the genre’s premier nationally and internationally touring artists showcases emerging artists from around the country.[2] In addition to performances on several stages, activities include dancing, camping, children’s entertainment, yoga, and round-the-clock jamming. Grey Fox offers hands-on music workshops, traditional dance instruction, professional development seminars for musicians and event producers, and a Bluegrass Academy for Kids (for youths ages 8 to 17.)[3]

History

Grey Fox Bluegrass Festival began in 1984 as the Winterhawk Bluegrass Festival on the Rothvoss Farm in Ancramdale, Columbia County, New York on the site of the 1976 Berkshire Mountain Bluegrass Festival.[4] Producer Mary Tyler Doub moved the event to the Walsh Farm in Oak Hill, New York on the banks of Catskill Creek in 2008.[5] That year, Grey Fox was named Bluegrass Event of the Year by the International Bluegrass Music Association.[6]

The 86-minute documentary, Bluegrass Journey (2003), filmed in part at Grey Fox,[7] told the story of modern bluegrass and featured contemporary artists including Chris Thile, Tony Rice, Del McCoury, Jerry Douglas, Nickel Creek, and Tim O’Brien. In 2005, BBC World’s television series, Destination Music, highlighted 10 major music events around the world. The series began with the Grey Fox Bluegrass Festival, and was followed by selected events in Morocco, Spain, Ireland, Zanzibar, Mexico, China, India, Norway, and Mali.[8]

Acts

The festival program includes more than 40 acts on five stages to feature what the New York Times called "the cream of the twang-erati.[9]" Notable artists have included Sam Bush, Tony Rice, Nickel Creek and Béla Fleck.[10] The 2015 event included Del McCoury, Peter Rowan, Tim O'Brien, Abigail Washburn, Punch Brothers, Bill Keith, Hot Rize, the Infamous Stringdusters, the Gibson Brothers, the Steep Canyon Rangers, Balsam Range and others[11] In 2015, Grey Fox was the setting of a two-hour Keith Banjo Summit honoring the influential music of Bill Keith. The summit was hosted by Béla Fleck and Tony Trischka, with Noam Pikelny, Mike Munford, Eric Weissberg, Marc Horowitz, Mike Kropp, and Ryan Cavanaugh participating, and Bill Keith in attendance.[12]

Attending

Attendance over four days averages 6,000 patrons per day.[13] Attendees have hailed from nearly 40 states and a dozen countries including the United Kingdom, Canada, France, Germany, Japan, Spain, Ireland and Australia. The event runs Thursday through Sunday the third weekend of July.[5]

References

External links

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