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"Horsehair... tree rosin.... catgut??? Tell me fiddles were intended for classical music only." -John Keim-
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The Bluegrass Page
Page Index: Brown County Breakdown Bluegrass Festival Images from previous BCBG Festivals
Brown County Bluegrass Festival June 19, 20 2009 A 100% Freewill Donation Festival! Bluegrass fans; pickers...
For the 2009 show, we have booked two evening's worth of outstanding acts for the festival. BUT before we talk about that, I would like to thank everyone for the great 2008 turnout, and everyone who made it possible- especially my wife, Joann who organized so many things and supported this idea from the start. I'm also much in the debt of Charles and Isabel Rogers (Mr. & Mrs. Mayor), Jeff Kramer, and Gary and Carolyn Bell, and all the bands who helped us out, and all the outstanding volunteers that helped put the festival on. Now, on to the '09 show...
Noxie Ridge Band is headed up by Dara Conley, (formerly Durst.) However, Dara is unable to be with us for this set, so us boys are going to put on a set. Those are big shoes to fill, so we'll have things polished up nicely. What's special about what we do?? Almost every tune we do is written and preformed by either Dara or a band member. How many groups can you say that about? Noxie Ridge will have our latest CD, "Like the rain" for sale at the festival. Gary Bell... (Banner Creek) What can I say? We couldn't put the show on without him. He was everywhere last year, either in the capacity of sound guy, or entertainer. Gary is working with some very talented young musicians who happen to be his neighbors, Sam Kuglin (mando) and Ben Kuglin (banjo). They're twins; both 17 and are fine musicians. Together with GB and Sherry Durst (and yours truly on fiddle) they've formed a band called "Banner Creek." Mark my word, these young musicians are destined for some great things. I consider
GB, Sherry and the Kuglins friends, and am honored to have them put on two sets for us.
Pastense will be with us both evenings too. This band has great vocals, and a state champ fiddle player- Diane Gillenwater. This lady can really play a fiddle, and the neat thing about her is her whole life revolves around fiddle. She teaches it, went to college for it, and plays fiddle for fun. (Some people have all the luck.) They do some Allison Kraus stuff, because of the talent of Jollene Thorpe on vocals. Susan Willits plays mandolin and an excellent Don Reno style banjo (which ain't easy), and is a great singer. Pastense is a 'fixture' at our festival. As long as they're agreeable, we'll always have a spot for this great band comprised of folks I consider friends. Wood Valley Pickers will be putting on a set for us. Their bass player, Betty Clemenson is a good friend of ours and a good bass player. She and the other folks in the group put on a high-energy show 'with a smile', as they say. They play a LOT in the Topeka area, and I'm looking forward to hearing them again. The Midday Ramblers have agreed to close out our Saturday night set, and are we in for a great one. They've recently released a CD and it's excellent. These guys are from Lawrence and are all excellent musicians. They've been on TV, are on youtube, and are one of the premier bluegrass bands in the state (and that's not just hype.) The Ready Brothers do a great job and are a lot of fun to watch/listen to. Ron Meier, the lead vocalist, is a good friend of ours as well as being the president of the Kansas Prairie Pickers, a group dedicated to the preservation of acoustic music in northeast Kansas. Anyway, the Ready Brothers have a new addition to the mix; Ben, a great banjo picker from the Kansas City area. These folks have also put out a new CD and it will be on sale at the festival. In reading my description of these bands, it occurs to me how many times I used the word 'friend.' I guess you could say our festival is an over-grown back yard barbecue where all my friends, both on stage in the form of a band, and off stage in the audience get together for two evenings out of the year and have fun. I hope you'll come to our little get-together and enjoy it as much as we do.
In case you are wondering about the setting, BCBG is held in the Fairview City Park with plenty of shade trees and a shelter building. Concessions are available, as are crude camper hookups, plenty of nearby parking and modern restrooms. (Sorry, no showers available.) Rain Contingency under covered pavillion. FREE WILL OFFERING!!! (Suggested donation- $7.00 per person) (That's dirt cheap, folks.) Please bring your own lawn chair! We will be posting updated information on this page, so please check back for new information. ABSOLUTELY NO ALCOHOL OR DRUGS PERMITTED. NOT RESPONSIBLE FOR ACCIDENTS.
(This schedule is Subject to Change) Friday
Saturday
Click here to see a .pdf of the 2009 flier (Caution! large file; may take a bit to download, and assumes you have Acrobat reader. Formatted to fit a letter-sized sheet (8.5" X 11")
To see what you missed out on in 2006, Click here to hear Prairie Acre's Tricia Spencer play Orion's Jig, a fiddle tune she named after her son. (Permission granted by Prairie Acre.)
Images from previous BCBG Festivals
2007 Photo Album Images by Danny White. Thanks, Danny!
Nearby Lodging and Map to Festival Lodging: Sabetha Country Inn, Sabetha Kansas- For reservations, please call 785-284-2300. (See below for details.) Koch Motel, Sabetha, Kansas- For reservations, please call 785-284-2145
Nearby Full-service camping sites:
Mulberry Creek, Morrill, Kansas Phone 785-459-2533
Sycamore Springs, Sabetha, Kansas Phone 785-284-3088.
On site camping: A limited number of crude camping facilities are available. For more information please contact the Fairview, Kansas City office (ask to speak to the city clerk.) Phone 785-467-3560. New in 2005.... We have four 30 amp camper hookups that will allow one A/C unit per camper. We plan to add to this number yearly, as they are quite costly. Cost to hook into one of these is $5.00 per day.
Nearby Dining: Cozy Cafe. If you want the best biscuits and gravy for miles and miles, eat here Friday or Saturday morning. Norm opens up at 6:30. The Cozy is on Commercial Street. Philly's Restaurant/Sports Bar. Phil is known for his BBQ beef and pork sandwiches, and I can honestly say the tenderloin sandwiches are excellent too. From the festival, get back on highway 36 and go east two blocks on the north side of the highway. Checkers. This is also a restaurant/bar, and Butch serves a huge hamburger and a great steak. Butch's bar is on Commercial street, just a couple of doors down from the Cozy.
For a map of Brown County Bluegrass Festival by Mapquest, click here.
Web sites for nearby towns: http://skyways.lib.ks.us/towns/Sabetha/
Fairview Mills, Fairview, Kansas is a feed ingredients producer, and a generous contributor to this event. Fairview Mills is the largest industry in Fairview. We appreciate their support of this event and our community. Holthaus Autohaus, Fairview, Kansas, 720 W. Oak Street, is a state of the art car dealership complete with shop, tire sales and not only on site sales, but if you tell Larry or Steve what you're looking for, he can find you one, procure it and bring it to his lot for your approval. These folks deal in HIGH quality used vehicles in a variety of price ranges. I bought a Buick Centaury from them in the fall of 08, and they're honest and great people, and I'm not just saying that. Please call them at: 785-467-3101 or 467-3102. Checkers Bar and Grill, Fairview, KS is a great place to stop by for a beer and supper. Try one of Butch's Butchie Burger. I have no clue what this thing weighs, but it's huge. He also cooks up a great steak, tenderloin as big as the plate, fries onion rings, etc. Nice place, good people. I eat supper here often.... 785-467-9219. Philly's Sport bar and Restaurant, Fairview, KS helps sponsor our event too. My son is a big sports fan and he enjoys the fact that he can get a great meal while watching his favorite sporting event. These are some fine people too; you won't find a better waitress than Connie, and Phil does his best to bring you great food and a well-stocked bar but also great surroundings. I eat dinner and supper here quite often too. Phone: 785-467-3192 or 467-3193. Sycamore Springs Resort, Sabetha, Kansas. Full service camping, Skating rink, miniature golf, cabins located among huge oak trees and acres of green grass. Betty and Dale keep the grounds absolutely beautiful. Jo and I love this place. (An absolutely perfect place for a bluegrass festival.... Hmmm.) The Sabetha Country Inn, Sabetha, KS is a very nice place to relax and catch a great night's sleep. Rick and his staff are big supporters of the festival and a lot of community events. Call early for a room, as they often fill up before festival weekend. They're only 7 miles from the festival, and have three restaurants within half a mile of them. Phone 785-284-2300. Roger and Lana Popkess I can always count on these fine folks for a donation to the festival. They're big bluegrass fans and have been with us from the start. Thanks so much, Mr. and Mrs. Popkess. Wenger Mfg., Sabetha, Kansas Sabetha, KS is my place of employment. Mr. Lafe Bailey of Wenger Mfg. is an avid supporter of bluegrass in the area, attends our festival. Wenger is a great place to work, and I truly mean that. We appreciate them supporting the festival.
Kansas Prairie Pickers jam/program, Fourth Sunday of the month, Auburn Kansas. Click Here for more information. Prairie Lake Festival, Sponsored by Kansas Prairie Pickers. June 7- 9, 2007, Prairie Lake, Holton Kansas. Click Here for more information. Brown County Bluegrass Festival, Fairview, Kansas. June 19,20, 2009. Click here for more information.
Kansas Prairie Pickers is the bluegrass club that I and most of my pickin buddies belong to. They have an EXCELLENT festival the week before ours. I really and truly enjoy being part of this club and would recommend it to anyone interested in Bluegrass music in Northeast Kansas, Southeast Nebraska, or Northwest Missouri. Click Here for more information.
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