Bluegrass On The Move

What a great weekend of music.  It began with fine performances by The Dismembered Tennesseans, Brand New Strings and also Balsam Range at the Bijou Theater in Knoxville on Saturday night.  All three bands provided a much needed break for us as it had been a long dry spell without attending any shows.  It was so good to see lots of our Dumplin Valley friends there, too.  The show was the first in a series of shows to be presented by WDVX.  
The next stop on our "weekend tour" was a "special" blueplate special at the WDVX studio on Sunday afternoon.  That show featured Balsam Range with their very special guest, John Driskell Hopkins (Zac Brown Band).  What a show that was!   All those guys have a new project just released and it is called "Daylight".    If you're looking for some great music, check it out.  Here is a link for more info on the project: http://bluegrasstoday.com/daylight-john-driskell-hopkins-balsam-range/
After the blueplate both bands headed over to Thompson Boling Arena for a show with the Zac Brown Band.  I wish we would have had tickets for that.  Would love to have seen our friends from Canton on stage with ZBB in front of 1,000's of fans.   I heard that Balsam Range made all of us bluegrass fans proud with their fine performance.   And I bet they gained a few fans last night.  Hopefully, some of those folks will come to Dumplin Valley to see them in September.  Wouldn't that be great?!
We should have the lineup finished this week.  In the meantime, here's a list of the bands we are proud to present for your enjoyment this year:
Thursday, 9/19/13:  Paul Williams & The Victory Trio; Donna Ulisse; Jimbo Whaley & Greenbrier; Cordle, Jackson & Salley  Friday, 9/20/13:  Rhonda Vincent & The Rage; Little Roy & Lizzy Show; Balsam Range; The Dismembered Tennesseans; The Spinney Brothers  Saturday, 9/21/13: Lonesome River Band; The Crowe Brothers; The Roys; Junior Sisk & Ramblers Choice + TBA

Balsam Range and John Driskell Hopkins

 

Ringing in 2013

 

Wishing You A Happy and Healthy 2013

 

My first thought as I begin my 2013 blogs is that I'm glad we didn't fall off the cliff.  Maybe that's because the news is on and it seems that's all they're

talking about. 

Wouldn't it be great if there were a Good News channel?!?  We could hear about all the people who survived cancer and other devastating disease last year, people who finally got back to work in 2012 and maybe even some stories about children's accomplishments in the classroom.   But I've been told that those kinds of stories don't "sell".  Well, I'm not buying that.  I know lots of people who love good news and I bet you do, too.   It would be a nice place to go when all that other news gets too heavy.  At least the election is over and we don't have to watch/hear those negative commercials for a while.  Yes, yes, I know.............there is power button on the tv and I can & do use it! ha

This year we are once again planning for the upcoming FESTIVAL SEASON with as much fervor as we can muster.  I'll be posting the rest of the bands pretty soon so jump over to our www.dumplinvalleybluegrass.com site to see them.   Hard to believe that this will be our 14th year of sharing music with some of the greatest music lovers I've ever seen.   Our festival families come from all over the world in search of a place to kick back, relax and enjoy some of the best picking and singing to be found anywhere.  If the walls of our old barn could talk...............................

We're also planning another camp out and jam weekend - May 17 & 18.  It will be held the same weekend as the annual Bloomin' Bar-be-que and Bluegrass event in Sevierville.  Since we won't be having any scheduled shows, you'll have plenty of time to head over to Sevierville and catch some of those shows and come back here and pick 'til your fingers can't take it anymore.   If you're planning to camp with us (at either event), you'll need reservations.  Just call us to set that up (865-397-7942).

By the way.................................about those New Years Resolutions people make every year...................well, I'm not making any.  Last year I resolved to do more blogging.   uh.....didn't work, did it?  Nope!  So this year I'm skipping all that and just letting nature take its course.  If I blog, then fine.  If I don't, you can read Ted Lehmann's blog.  It's a fine one filled with photos, videos and much commentary on all things bluegrass plus a few other thoughts wedged in here and there.  Check him out if you haven't already.

Oh, I want to thank Ashley Brown Photography, Sevierville for the family photo.  She did a great job the day we got our family together for photos. 

I hope you will check back to catch up on our news and we hope you'll make plans to join us this year.

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