POLITICS AND BLUEGRASS

Most Montanans  have become fatigued with all the political advertising which has dominated radio and TV during the recent primary election period. Well there is plenty of "politicking" going on in the world of bluegrass, too. The process of selecting the winners of the annual IBMA 2014 awards is in full swing. The e-mail boxes of professional members of the IBMA have been full of unabashed pleas for votes by many artists and record companies. The initial aspect of the nominating process has been completed. This is similar to the nominating committees of political parties in selecting who will be allowed to compete in coming elections. This will result in a small number in each IBMA category to be placed on the next ballot and will be further narrowed down for a final ballot to select the final winners. These are announced at the annual IBMA World of Bluegrass in the fall and are very valuable in selling recordings and tickets for festivals and concerts.  So the politicking will continue for two more elections and some of us will continue to have our e-mails congested throughout the summer. Next spring it will start all over again.  Politics is politics is politics whether in government or in music.

WHERE THE HELL IS MUSIC RANCH MONTANA?

These folks may need bumper stickers similar to the "Where The Hell Is Roscoe"of a few years back. It is located about 9 miles south of Livingston on the highway into Gardiner and Yellowstone Park. They have a lot of "classic" country music scheduled, but no bluegrass for 2014.  Last August they brought in Dailey and Vincent, one of the hottest groups in bluegrass today, but zilch for this summer.  For any lovers of the old stars of country music this is their schedule: July 12 Jeremy Parsons and Naomi Bristow, July 17 Charlie Daniels Band, July 26 Baillie & the Boys and Paulette Carlson, July 31 Bill Anderson, Aug 1 Penny Gilley, Aug 2 Bobby Bare, Aug 7 Jimmy Fortune, Aug 14 Eddy Raven, Aug 15 David Frizzell, Aug 16 Mel Tillis, and Aug 21 Johnny Lee & Nadine. Apparently the Music Ranch owners prefer to advertise over the internet and you can subscribe to their newsletter or just check them out at MUSICRANCHMONTANA.NET or call 406-222-2255. There are many other country music fests going on around the Billings region including the previously post Red Ants Pants in White Sulphur Springs and a new Rocking the Rims at Coulson Park (Yeah, that is where they recently found a badly decomposed body and it was the site of the original city dump, but it has been restored now) in Billings and more around Sheridan, Wyoming.  As this blogger prefers bluegrass, cajun, and Celtic music he won't be attending these events, but some readers swing both ways, oops, meaning both bluegrass AND classic country.

SECOND SATURDAY BLUEGRASS AT THE BLUE CAT

Breakfast and bluegrass at the Blue Cat Bar and Grill in Huntley saw the early crowd similar in size to the first event. This time though there were families with children. Most had been patrons of the Prairie Winds in Molt. They appeared happy with the atmosphere on a Saturday morning in a bar and grill. A correction from the last post is that the menu does include caramel rolls.  They also feature a weekly breakfast special posted near the front door. This event has been well attended by members of the Old Time Fiddlers. The same cannot be said of the Yellowstone Bluegrass Association however. I only spotted four exclusive YBA members including myself. There were three others who belong to both the fiddlers and the YBA. The fiddlers may be scouting out that locale for one of their Sunday afternoon dances, but any space for dancing appears much too small for their needs to me. If this venue is to continue to function it needs more support from the YBA. Let's hope the crowds continue to grow in size. The band shown performing is the Maverick String Stretchers.