I don't know about you, but I'm getting excited about the upcoming festival season. We are going to have so many talented and entertaining musicians here that the scouts for American Idol should plan a trip to check them out. Which bands are you looking forward to seeing the most? Are you anticipating your own personal discovery that you may have found a new favorite band? Or are you looking forward to seeing some of your old favorites?..........maybe a little of both? Yes, it's a hard call to make. We are always excited about seeing all of our bluegrass friends especially during the days leading up to the shows. Maybe the highlight of your festival experience is all the jamming. That's a lot of fun whether you play an instrument or just play the radio! :)
JuneFest promises to be another great event with the excellent lineup. If you haven't made your reservations yet, please give me a call soon. Campsites and tickets for September are also selling now. And I have to warn you that the campsites are nearly gone for that one. So...........if you are still sitting on the fence about whether you will be attending in 2010, go ahead and jump our way to get the best spots left.
Several of the bands have new cd's (or records.......for those of us old enough to remember vinyl) coming out prior to the festivals. All the bands will have their cd's on sale here and will be anxious to meet you, autograph your purchase and just visit a bit if that's what you want.
By the way................if you will scroll back through a few of the older posts here, you will see my plea for old photos. PLEASE rummage through those old photos and bring me a few for my project. Keep an eye out here and on the facebook fan page for further information as I plan to sweeten the pot a little if you bring me some photos I can use. Who knows???.......you might even become an important part of my project. Okay............enough blogging for tonight. Thanks for reading and we hope to see you soon!! m

Happy Easter

I found some sure signs of Spring today in the yard. Hope you enjoy them. We wish you a Happy Easter!

The Travelin' McCourys

A few of you have asked me about this group. I suppose that since Del's name isn't included there is a little confusion. So here is a photo of the group and the link to a website with more information on it. We know you are going to enjoy them as much as we do. www.myspace.com/thetravelinmccourys

The Boxcars

During JuneFest this year you will be treated to performances by many bands including a new formation of some familiar faces and voices. Here is the link to the webiste for The Boxcars. Check them out and get ready for a good show in June.
http://www.theboxcars.com/

iPod Swaps

Yesterday on my way home from Denver I was seated next to a very nice young lady from Johannesburg, South Africa. Noticing that she was using the earphones for her iPod, I decided to see if she might be interested in passing the time on our flight by swapping iPods. We already had our earphones out and hooked up to the in flight tv's.
I find it interesting to see what other people are listening to.....especially someone from another country. So, she was all for it except for the fact that she couldn't reach her iPod. You see............a lady had fainted in the aisle next to our row and my seatmate couldn't get up to get her iPod from the overhead bin. But I had a book to read and was more than happy to let her listen to mine. I asked her if she liked bluegrass (even though my iPod has all kinds of music on it) and she said "What?" so I repeated it and then she informed me that she didn't know what bluegrass was. It only took me a minute to explain it a little and then I handed over my iPod and I can only assume that she was really enjoying it because she was dancing in her seat and looked very happy. At one point she handed me the earphones and said "what is this instrument?". It was a banjo! I glanced over and she was scrolling through a bunch of songs and really was enjoying herself. Hopefully, we now have a new bluegrass convert in South Africa. Since she comes to the states quite often, maybe she will visit us here.
Unfortunately, I didn't get her name and I couldn't reach my flyers for the same reason she couldn't reach her iPod. She was really impressed with Rhonda Vincent when she landed on her music. It was fun to see her discover a new genre of music and enjoy it. Think I'll try that again on my next long flight.m

Morning DJ

Good job, Joe. Proud of you for getting up before the crack of dawn this morning and heading to WDVX for your morning with Freddy on his Rise and Shine show. I'm just sorry I didn't get to hear it myself. I was still in dreamland at the time. You should have woke me up and I could have gone with you. We had a good time last year visiting with Freddy. So it looks like someone else is going to have to give me a detailed account of what you said this year. One never knows what you'll say on the air. Maybe someone who heard it will send a comment. It's easy.............just click on the envelope or pencil below this blog and make your comments. We love getting feedback from the blog. Most people just e-mail me their comments but it really is easy to leave your comment here. Until next time........M.

Old Photos

I am working on a project involving the old "extinct" tourist attractions from the Gatlinburg, Pigeon Forge, Sevierville and Smokies area. I know many of you have been vacationing here for years and should have some family photos which most likely will have some of these places in the background. The attractions also include popular restaurants, gift shops, motels, etc. Do you remember Rebel Railroad? The Mountain Ocean Wave Pool? Porpoise Island? How about Mystery Hill? Homespun Valley? The bear who drank Yoo-Hoos? The list is long.
How many of you got dressed up in your Sunday best and went to Pigeon Forge or Gatlinburg for an Easter Sunday or Mother's Day lunch back in the 50's & 60's? There are bound to be photos of events such as those around somewhere. Anyway, if you or someone you know has some photos and would be willing to share them with me, it would be greatly apprreciated. I'm going to need lots of photos. I've already been through our family's stash and I know some of you are bound to have better pictures than I have. And if you have any good stories about something you experienced during your visits here (or if you live here..............something you remember about going to some of those places) we would love to hear about it. You can contact me at: dumplingrass@comcast.com. Our snail mail address is 525 E. Dumplin Valley Road, Kodak, TN 37764. THANKS SO MUCH!