I had so much fun with Billy Lee Cox, banjoist for Remington Ryde, I'll never forget it. And being able to talk with Tony Mabe, banjoist for the James King Band was also very enlightening. All of the top-name people are just so accessible at this festival. It reminds me of the LaFargeville Festival in so many ways that Mr. and Mrs. Dick Bartlett and the Thousand Islands Bluegrass Preservation Society host each year.
Picking in the John Hudson and Friends Band (for the third straight year now) has been a real pleasure. John and his lovely wife Nancy and John's folks, Don and Lois Hudson, are so friendly and accommodating to Mary and me we feel like part of the family. I so much enjoyed jamming with John and Don and all their friends who dropped by. And, as always, I enjoyed playing with John Hudson & Friends, comprised of: John, Leroy Lane (playing his home-built resonator guitar) and Kenny Meyer (playing standup bass).
When I wasn't jamming or practicing there, I could be found over at Dick and Pat Burdo's jamming with his many friends who show up, like Jerry, Kelly, Harold (Dick's brother who loans me his Gibson F5 to play), Rudy, Linda, Dave, Rich, Dick, and countless others who drop in for a tune or two.
It was also nice to see Junior Place and Duane Ormsby and visit with them. They're very talented musicians and wonderful friends. And I very pleasantly ran into Nancy Boyle and Kathy Bedore, friends of Mary's and mine who also follow me, Phyllis and Joe Ezero and Donnie Perkins in the band "Food Stamp Ramblers". They're also great Fans (me too!) of the celtic band "Inisheer", comprised of Joel Perkins, Phillip Perkins, Sue Grimm, Steve Borst, Phyllis Ezero and Eric Vanyserloo. Nancy and Kathy are dyed-in-the-wool music lovers!
No weekend is complete without picking with David Nichols and his talented wife, Nadine. They're so much fun to be with. Dave is the most talented luthier I've yet to meet. He and Nadine are most always fast at work at Custom Pearl Inlay in Whippleville, NY.
It was fun catching up with the folks from the Cedar Ridge Band, too. The Band is sounding so good with Carl Kithcart as their new banjoist. (Carl is one of my all-time favorite banjo pickers). Rick Moon was delighted with his new mandolin he recently purchased from Dick Pelletier. Dick is a very talented master builder from Kents Hill, Maine. Kenny is still delivering his hard-driving bluegrass bass sound and Butch Ryan is hittin' all the right notes at the right time. Mary and I also enjoyed seeing the women folk, too.
Mary and I saw many of our friends who I haven't mentioned here, but suffice it to say we had a great time.
I'll be posting pictures (taken by Mary) throughout this website shortly.