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Pat Walsh
Pat's Peeps Podcast
Ep. 281 Today's Peep Is Relaxed thanks to The Magic of Bluegrass: Finding Peace at the 50th CBA Father's Day Festival, Birds Singing, a Beautiful Sunset and the Man in the Maxi Muumuu
Have you ever craved a complete escape from the noise of modern life? The 50th Annual Father's Day Bluegrass Festival in Grass Valley offers exactly that - a sanctuary where time slows down and the only notifications you'll receive come from fiddles, banjos, and mandolins calling you to the next performance.
Walking through the Nevada County Fairgrounds, the first thing that strikes you is the atmosphere - families spread across the meadow on blankets and camp chairs, children playing freely, and the unmistakable sound of virtuosic bluegrass filling the air. It's my 27th year attending this festival, and the sense of community remains as strong as ever.
The California Bluegrass Association, founded in 1974 as a non-profit volunteer organization, has created something remarkable here. From the intimate Vern's Stage (conveniently located behind the beer hut) to the main meadow stage where legends perform, music surrounds you constantly. I watched in appreciation as the Clinton Davis String Band and Crying Uncle Bluegrass Band (performing a surprisingly moving bluegrass version of Paul Simon's "Graceland") showcased why this American art form remains vibrant and evolving.
What makes this festival special isn't just the exceptional performances, though there are many. It's the opportunity to disconnect completely - to sit beneath trees listening to birds between sets, to witness families setting up tents as sunset approaches, to forget about politics and headlines and algorithms for four blessed days. The festival grounds transform into a temporary village where strangers become friends through shared appreciation of this distinctly American musical tradition.
A highlight came when the festival received the prestigious Blue Ribbon Award from the Western Fairs Association, with the CBA President accepting while wearing the hat of founder Carl Pachter - a poignant reminder of how this music creates lasting legacies.
Whether you're a dedicated bluegrass fan or simply someone seeking respite from life's complexities, join us next year. Because in these divided times, there's something profoundly healing about sitting in a meadow as the sun sets, surrounded by nothing but music, community, and the simple joys we too often forget to cherish.
Hi there, pats Peeps, number 281. I hope you enjoyed our special California Dreamin' episode. Today I am at the Father's Day Bluegrass Festival. It's the first day here Put on by the California Bluegrass Association. It's one of my favorite weekends of the year when I need to get relaxed. This is the place I go Four days, today through the 15th, through this Sunday. Right now it is a gorgeous day, it's Thursday and I'm on the side stage. Right now it's called Vern's Stage. It's right behind the beer hut here at the Father's called Vern's Stage. It's right behind the Beer Hut here at the Father's Day Bluegrass Festival. And again, this is the same place.
Speaker 1:I was just a couple of weeks back during the Strawberry Music Festival during Memorial Day, and there was a lot of bluegrass, to be honest, there, even though the bluegrass excuse me, the Strawberry Music Festival is usually more eclectic than just Bluegrass as a wider variety usually, but they had a lot of Bluegrass. This is strictly Bluegrass, like the hardly strictly Bluegrass at Golden Gate Park used to be Bluegrass and then it became hardly strictly Bluegrass. Anyhow, if you can hear the background, this is how it sounds. It's beautiful. Sounds like they're doing a bluegrass version of Merle.
Speaker 2:Haggard. So I went down, I sing, fresh memories Take me back to the good old days. And to hear my mama sing the rock of ages left for me. She tried to turn me on to Jesus.
Speaker 3:I turned out to be those ways.
Speaker 1:I turned out to be the only alma mater ever raised Myrtle Hager, done bluegrass style. So folks are out here watching right now. They've got the chairs set up. They've got picnic tables red and white checkered picnic tables which to me, I mean that is just straight up Americana. I love that Families are out here. You've got kids playing in the meadow.
Speaker 2:I love the fiddle, my favorite instrument. I like the banjo, I like them all, but I like that fiddle.
Speaker 1:I'm standing in a spot right here where, all right, I'm going to try to explain this story to you. It's not so much a story, but during the Strawberry Music Festival and during the Father's Day Bluegrass Festival by the way, I'd love to see you out here. You know, there's just so many. There's a lot of different personalities, right. Bluegrass folks are very well, so are Strawberry Very calm people Listen. Very nice. There's a certain community spirit at both of these festivals. It's very peaceful.
Speaker 4:Come see us at the merch booth after we're done.
Speaker 1:Sign up for our hour, man.
Speaker 4:We have ten. Now we have ten.
Speaker 2:Okay, now.
Speaker 4:I can talk slower.
Speaker 1:So I'll tell you about this guy. He used to be out here all the time. You'd see him out here at both festivals and he was a big guy, I'm trying to do a nice Carter family song.
Speaker 4:Oh right, that's what I thought If you had 10. Okay, maybe not.
Speaker 1:I guess they're trying to decide whether they have enough time on this side stage before the main meadow stage begins.
Speaker 4:It's a cool song I got from Blind Willie Johnson, who's a great old blues singer and player. He had a bunch of kind of unique songs that sounded a little different than a lot of his contemporaries and we got a nice little instrumental to finish it out with. So thanks so much for listening everybody. We're hey Lonesome. Come see us around the Bay Area. We got a mailing list over here, so if you feel like seeing where we're gonna show up and play again, come and sign the mailing list. That's all we have to offer. Thanks so much and we'll see you guys out in the campgrounds.
Speaker 1:In the campgrounds they play bluegrass out in the campgrounds too, which is true, which is one of the things I love about this bluegrass festival. They play the, you know, a lot of times at night they'll be out there, gathered together, playing bluegrass. So this man was a big guy. He had to be like 6'4", 6'5". So, this big man, he had a big, big beard. It was a big, black and gray beard and he always wore one of those kind of floppy hats, you know, like Gilligan. So imagine a big dude. Gilligan had big, zz top, black and gray beard with a tie-dyed muumuu on. I'm not kidding, you know, to each their own right, always peaceful, always kept to himself. But he'd have a like remember back in the day they'd have mini dresses and maxi dresses he had the maxi muumuu, big beard and a maxi muumuu and he would literally stand in one spot if it was in the meadow or whether it was out here by this side stage, and I'm standing right where this dude. I wish I knew his name. They had a sign up for him the last couple of years, but I don't see it this time. But he would literally stand in one spot and he would dance and he would shuffle his feet and the shuffling of his feet. I'm standing on grass right now grass and very thin grass, dirt under trees, and he would wear a huge area into the grass where it would just be nothing but a big circle of dirt, because he would be out there shuffling his feet the entire day and the last couple of years, apparently, he passed away. I can still feel that man's spirit here at this place. Look, I mean, I, you know, I myself do not wear a maxi muumuu. This guy did. And who cares If a, if a Max Moo Moo and a Gilligan's Hat is your thing, brother, may peace be with you. So I've moved out to the main meadow now and it is extremely peaceful. No one on stage. I think we're probably oh I don't know a half hour before the next act comes out. This is just an opportunity.
Speaker 1:During the day, people go out and have something to eat. By the way, as I mentioned in previous podcasts here when we were at Strawberry, there's a lot of food booths out here and you have a variety of things you can eat. A lot of people bring their own stuff, obviously, but this is Nevada County Fairgrounds, like I said, grass Valley. It's going on through Sunday, the 15th. It's put on by the Father's Day Bluegrass. It's by the California Bluegrass Association. This is the 50th annual and this is my 27th bluegrass festival, so I also want to give a shout out to California Bluegrass Association. By the way, they're a non-profit, volunteer organization. They were founded in 1974 to preserve the and to promote bluegrass, to promote old time and gospel music here in California.
Speaker 1:This Father's Day festival promises four days, according to the I'm looking at their paper they put out here, when you come in, four days of fabulous music on three stages jamming and workshops, youth programs, kids on bluegrass. That's been a part of this every single year. You know the Navy Bluegrass Band has been part of this. You know I've seen bands like Del McCurry out here numerous times. She's infamous string dusters, blue Highway there's just so many bands that I learned about bluegrass music-wise coming out to this festival and so many others. But yeah, the kids on bluegrass.
Speaker 1:And again, that's one thing I love about this is the tradition of this music, unlike so many other musics. I mean, if you take a Excuse me, I get so relaxed here. I get very relaxed. Oh, my goodness, I'm in the shade. I'll relax. Kick back in my little chair.
Speaker 1:But if you think about other genres of music that are not right in the mainstream right now music from the past, doo-wop, music out of the 50s, it's not like you're really not that I'm aware of. Maybe they are somewhere and I'd love to be there if they are Like having doo-wop festivals and kids on doo-wop and they're up there singing doo-wop. If you're into standards, you know, like the old Frank Sinatra, dean Martin stuff. You know, I don't know, I'm not aware of any festivals where they're doing standards and where they have kids on standards. Maybe they do have classical, they might have classical. I'm not aware of that. If they don't have that, by the way, I think they should. Kids on classical is pretty good, but bluegrass does, and bluegrass still puts out.
Speaker 1:You know there are so many incredible artists now, some of which I just mentioned. There are so many incredible artists now, some of which I just mentioned, of course, rhonda, vincent, alison Krauss and Union Station. We just saw Dan Tominski here, also part of Union Station. You know the Steel Drivers, which is an incredible band, chris Stapleton's band that he was in prior to becoming a solo artist. All of these artists that you hear of, I mean these are I have heard about them because of Bluegrass Association and great radio stations, and I love the fact that they come out with new music.
Speaker 1:No other genre that I just mentioned beyond that does that I don't know a lot of new doo-wop or new. You know, I don't know Dixieland jazz or maybe they're coming out with that. I don't know. I couldn't really listen to much of that, no offense, but bluegrass, yeah, all the time, so many artists it's. You know that's a oh brother where art thou. That was the biggest selling album a few years back, won the Grammy. So there is a big audience for this. But we are just kind of, you know it's one of those things. It's like I look at it as, like you know, I'm a Zappa fan, frank Zappa, or a Grateful Dead fan, or a Bluegrass fan. You kind of either get it or you don't get it. I'm sure some people I just kind of dissed on Dixieland I'm sure people are saying, yeah, pat, you get it or you don't get it.
Speaker 1:So the California Bluegrass Association, I do like to support what they do. They have Luthier's Pavilion, luthier's, of course. They make instruments, sell instruments, world famous Vern's Beer and Wine Garden we were just there, large concession area. I always tell you about food, drinks, crafts. Yeah, they sell nice crafts. You know all the clothing and the jewelry and all of that kind of stuff and you can find some really cool, unique things out here. Don't forget, excuse me, kvmr Radio always supports these festivals. Love community radio, love KVMR. You've got the fiddle guy out here. You've got clothiers, rennington jewelers I'm just kind of taking a look around here artist merchandise. I love to support all of this stuff and I get so relaxed and they're asking to make this your organization and learn about the many benefits of being part of the CBA community. And certainly that's why I continue to support them, this your organization and learn about the many benefits of being part of the CBA community. And certainly.
Speaker 5:That's why I continue to support them will continue to support them.
Speaker 1:Mother and child walking by I mean kids playing together. It's just beautiful. Let's just take a look real quick at some of the artists. They're going to be here at the 50th annual CBA Father's Day Bluegrass Festival. Let me see if you know what. I probably don't know any of them. I might know some of them, but again, I'm always learning. Crying Uncle Blue, crying Uncle Blue's grass band, that's pretty good. I don't know them, that's pretty good. Clinton Davis string band, mm-mm. Junior Sisk Band, aj, that's pretty good. I don't know them, that's pretty good. Clinton Davis string band, mm-hmm. Junior cyst band, aj Lee and Blue Summit All the travel of McCurry.
Speaker 1:So that must be. That is Del McCurry, who I've mentioned when mentioned. I've seen numerous times whether it's here and it's strawberry. I it's Strawberry and he's always on Sirius XM Channel 77, the Bluegrass Station, dale McCurry I think he might have his own show on there, but they play a lot of him. But this is, I think, his family, his brother's, ronnie who's on Mandolin. This is the McCurry brothers who are playing here, the traveling McCurys, but Ronnie on Mandolin and Rob on the McCurry brothers who are playing here, the Traveling McCurys, but Ronnie on Mandolin and Rob on Banjo are brothers Born into the bluegrass tradition. Like I said, the tradition moves on. Their dad is Dell.
Speaker 1:Dell McCurry is one of these good old boys. He's one of these guys who reminds me of like right out of the 60s or 70s I don't know how to describe it, dude, that looks kind of like Porter Ragnar, if anyone knows. You know they used to have these old bluegrass, remember. Does anyone remember this? This just I just flashed on this. Oh my God, that is a flashback I just had when they used to have, like it'd be on weekend mornings, it seems like, and they'd have like like a bluegrass competition and it'd always be someone that looked like Roy Rogers and Dale Evans with these suits on and they'd kind of match and they'd have numbers on, like number 25, you know, or whatever the number was, and they would be competing. Oh my God, I just thought about that. But the good old boys you know, del McCurry reminds me of those kind of guys, a different era.
Speaker 1:Hi, there, he has that voice like this and like he knows everyone, he's up on the stage now. Oh, thank you very much. Thank you for tuning up here. Hey, everybody, it's good to see you. Well, hello, dottie. Dottie, it's always good, hank, how you, hank? Now I got a little joke about Hank. Now let me go back. Like he knows everybody in the audience, he got a joke or a story. Now, hank, you don't mind me telling the story, do you Hank? Well, hey there, dolores, good to see you, dolores. Oh, yeah, anyhow, dale McCurry, a throwback.
Speaker 1:So it'll be the Traveling McGurys tonight. Lori Lewis and Kathy Kallick, the Alum Ridge Boys and Ashley, bob Ikes and Trey Hensley I don't know, I'm losing my place here. Sorry, I don't know who these are. Who else we got here. Okay, laurie Lewis, in the right hands. Alright, laurie Lewis, I've seen Laurie Lewis several times. The Gibson brothers, who I have seen numerous times, and then they have all these other bluegrass festivals Bowers, bluegrass, any of them.
Speaker 1:So that's what's happening here'm in the meadow. It's nice and peaceful. I'm gonna go grab something to eat, perhaps oh, who knows, a couple of things to drink, if you know what I mean. And we'll be back for some music, sitting on the meadow, and this guy comes up with his, with this gal, and they sit in front of me and I recognize them from the band that I was just seeing on the side stage a couple of minutes ago that we were playing, and I said it's over on the Verns stage and I said, hey, I got you on my podcast, I got you a good mention on my podcast, pat's Peeps podcast. I introduced myself, he introduced himself and we got to chatting there and I said, hey, man, good stuff. I said you played a Merle, I think a Merle Haggard song, right. And he looks at me and they look at each other and I was actually Johnny Paycheck. I'm like, oh, dang it, that's right, it was Johnny Paycheck, not Merle Haggard, that's right. And I told him, you know, so I just wanted to correct myself. So any of you out there listening are going no, no, no, pat, that's Johnny Paycheck. Yeah, absolutely right.
Speaker 1:Sometimes it's hard to tell, you know, when they're doing a bluegrass version of it, because it sounds so different than the original. The last time I was out here, there was a bluegrass band on the stage and they were doing a song and it caught my attention and I asked my cousin Nick and my friend Hefe. I said what song is that? Come on, what song is that? Oh man, I don't know, I don't know. Well, I said listen, just listen, come on. Come on Now.
Speaker 1:Not everyone knows music to the same level I do, I guess. I mean, I guess that's true. People tell me that all the time, but I thought for sure, being rockers, that they would know this. But they didn't. Anyhow, they were doing Pink Floyd Fearless Bum, bum, bum, bum, bum, bum, bum Off of metal. Oh God, I love that song. Originally I was actually going to use that as the closing song every night on my radio show. Then I realized it's so dramatic and I don't want to be dramatic every night and I want to do something different all the time. So, anyhow, so is Johnny Paycheck, not Merle Haggard. I stand corrected.
Speaker 1:I just have to say, with everything going on in this world and all the negative things that you hear about, listen to the birds. I don't know. There's something about being here, like I said earlier, that just relaxes me. I don't want to hear anything about looting or immigration or any of it, any of it. It's such a blessing to get away from all of that for four days. Right now I'm sitting here and I'm watching a couple and they're trying to put up their tent. You know it's things like that. You know there's all these tent campers and it's just innocent, other things like that.
Speaker 1:But sometimes we tend to forget about the simple things in life life pitching a tent, setting up camp, getting away from it all. Whatever it is that you do in your life to get away from it, to make you feel better, to make you relax. I truly believe that we overlook that sometimes, that we overlook that sometimes Everything is so important, you know it's all so important. You know we better get back to the stress. You know we better start dividing based on politics and all of this stuff. Just listen to the peacefulness here. The sun's going down.
Speaker 1:I don't mean to be boring on this podcast and I hope I'm not. Time just passes by, you know, and I just know, and not to get too heavy, I know already that at some point when I look back in my life and I think about the most special moments in my life not to oversell it it's going to be things like this this is what I'm going to think about. I'm not going to. I'm going to think about my family and these golden moments where I don't know. It's almost like a.
Speaker 1:You know, when we used to go to Strawberry Music Festival out in Yosemite off Evergreen Road, it was like an eight mile road, not in the main part of Yosemite, an offshoot to Yosemite and it was out far enough where no one could communicate on their phones, like you couldn't call home, you couldn't really log on and check all the websites, and I think this was before a lot of the apps and things I mean. But it hasn't been that long ago. It's only been a few years ago since they have not had that out there. It hasn't been. It's not ancient times. But the point is you really didn't spend time on your devices.
Speaker 1:I'm doing this right now, but I'm standing here trying to share my experience with you. I'm not trying to look at videos, I'm not trying to check the news, I don't want to know what's happening in politics. I'm simply trying to relate to you and hopefully share with you the peace that I feel out here and I pray that some way, whatever way it is that everyone feels that and can find that some way, even if it's just for a few days. Hey, they got that little tent almost up over there and good for them. It's one of those little pop-up kind of tents they're climbing in right now. Good for them, good job. Hey, good job. That's great anyhow. So there's all kinds of tent tent campers out here. I just happen to be out here talking to you, so the next thing I'm going to do is I'm going to bring you some music from Music Meadow. I said that last time. I thought they were starting sooner, but now I know they're out there on stage just starting, so let's go check them out.
Speaker 2:Last December. Oh, I remember when I went blue-cold. Now baby, now I'm in blue-cold.
Speaker 1:Clinton Davis String Band. Oh, that was awesome. Oh, that sounded really good. I like that. The audience really liked them. It's hopping at the meadow now. Sun is getting ready to go down. Yeah, that was that really sounded good.
Speaker 5:Oh, thanks everybody for sticking around. That's the Clinton Davis String Band. They should be over there. We are going to have a very quick moment. A special guest come up here, the CEO and the president of the Nevada County Fairgrounds for a quick presentation.
Speaker 1:All right time for a quick presentation.
Speaker 2:Good evening. I hope you all are having a wonderful time tonight. My name is Tom Browning. I'm the president of the Nevada County Fair Board. Andrew Trigg is our CEO and we are excited tonight to present, in conjunction with the Western Fairs Association, the Blue Ribbon Award to the California Bluegrass Festival and the Nevada County Father's Day Bluegrass event that has been going on for 50 years on this location.
Speaker 6:All right, Can y'all hear me? My name is Teresa. I'm president of the association. I'm gonna be a tiny bit emotional for accepting this, because this fairgrounds has meant a lot to this organization for 50 years. Many of us have been coming myself 30, but there's people here who have been all 50, including the person whose hat is on my head, which many will recognize as Carl Pachter. The founder and member number one of the CBA had hoped to be here for the 50th. He didn't quite make it, he passed away a couple years ago, but I am very emotionally happy and grateful to accept this with his hat on my head on behalf of the CBA. Thank you very much, half-bucket.
Speaker 1:Thank you very much. Alright, there you go, the CBA. More from the meadow coming up.
Speaker 5:Everyone here has been coming to this festival since they're about seven or eight years old. It's so exciting. You could kind of call them the California Bluegrass Association's hometown heroes. If you will, right from California, please help me welcome the Crying Uncle Bluegrass Association's hometown heroes. If you will, right from California, please help me welcome the Crying Uncle Bluegrass Band Woo.
Speaker 3:The Mississippi Delta shining like a national star. What a great song I am following the river, down the highway, through the cradle of the Civil War. I'm going to Graceland Graceland, memphis, tennessee. I'm going to Graceland, this Tennessee. I'm going to Graceland Four boys and pilgrims with families, and we are going to Graceland Traveling companion is nine years old. He's the child of my first marriage. I have reason to believe we both will be received in Graceland Alright.
Speaker 1:It's a nice take on this song. All right, I'm going to leave it at that. That's Pats Pe, number 281. In a mellow mood, that's what the bluegrass does for me. I love it. We'll see you tomorrow for day two of the California Bluegrass Association's Father's Day Bluegrass Festival. Happy Father's Day weekend to all of you fathers out there.
