News
Music
on the Hill
Bluegrass Festival comes to New Gloucester
By Jeanne Adams
New Gloucester--There's going to be a lot of pickin'
going on up to Thompson's Apple Orchard in New Gloucester.
Not apple pickin' though. Bluegrass is in season June
25-27th with Music on the Hill, Thompson's 1st Annual
Family Bluegrass Music Festival. 
Mike Thompson got the idea three years ago, "We
had the land, and this seemed a good thing to do with
it," and last year he cleared and seeded the
hill which has been in his family for generations.
Right, Thompson. The Monument: Adams photo
Mike's Dad, Herb Thompson passed away a few years
ago but "He would be all over this, he'd love
it," Mike said. This year he and festival volunteers
built the stage creating a natural open-air ampitheater.
"The acoustics are going to be great," said
Mike. There's room for 3,000 bluegrass fans over the
weekend. Rough camping is available on site. "Next
year we're going to double the space for campers."
It's a large event on private property for the quiet
village of New Gloucester. Organizers are hoping for
3000+ people over three days. The town held a public
hearing, "You've got hoops to jump through, but
they weren't excessive," said Mike about the
town's regulations. "Before the hearing I went
around to all the neighbors. They were all for it.
I had two pages of signatures. Everybody who showed
up for the hearing was for it, nobody showed up against
it."
There are still a few small things to do, but Mike
is pretty much ready for the festival. There will
be several food vendors with a good variety of food
from hamburgers to Cornish game hen. Breakfast will
be available for campers. There will be a few other
tables with vendors and the Pineland Community Optimist
Club will be there selling raffle tickets on a canoe
and offering events for kids.
Mike is grateful for all the folks who are helping,
"Sandy and Greg Cormier from Blistered Fingers
have been a huge help. You wouldn't have room in your
whole paper to thank everybody," he said.
Advance ticket sales are running as expected and bluegrass
fans are coming from all over - from down south and
as far north as Nova Scotia.
Nine bands will play over the course of the three
day event. Featured Bands from away include The Steven's
Family from Tennesee and The Chapmans all the way
from Missouri, and two New England bluegrass bands:
Traver Hollow from Connecticut and the Hemphill Family
Bluegrass Band from New Hampshire. The Festival offers
an open stage on Saturday at 11:30.
Sidebar:
Encyclopedia WordIQ.com Definition: Bluegrass music
nl:Bluegrass Bluegrass music is a form of American
roots music with its own roots in the Irish traditional
music and Scottish traditional music of immigrants
from the British Isles (particularly the Scots-Irish
immigrants of Appalachia), as well as the music of
African-American slaves. It was this tradition that
A.P. Carter used and collected for the songs played
and written by the Carter Family.
Bluegrass songs are played with each melody instrument
switching off playing the melody each time through,
while the others revert to backing; this is in contrast
to Old-time music, in which all instruments play the
melody together, when indeed they are playing together
rather than solo.
The bluegrass style was invented in the first half
of the 20th century by mandolinist Bill Monroe and
named for his band, the Blue Grass Boys, formed in
1939.
Monroe's 1945-48 band, which featured banjo player
Earl Scruggs, singer/guitarist Lester Flatt, fiddler
Chubby Wise and bassist Cedric Rainwater, created
the definitive sound and instrumental configuration
that remains the model to this day. Unlike mainstream
country music, bluegrass continues to rely on acoustic
stringed instruments. The fiddle, banjo, acoustic
guitar or folk guitar, mandolin, and upright bass
are sometimes joined by the dobro (also known as a
resophonic guitar), and a bass guitar is occasionally
substituted for the upright bass.
Besides instrumentation, the distinguishing characteristics
of bluegrass include vocal harmonies featuring two,
three, or four parts, often featuring a dissonant
or modal sound in the highest voice; an emphasis on
traditional songs, often with sentimental or religious
themes; and improvised instrumental solos.
