The 2nd Annual Upper Valley Bluegrass Festival opened at the Lebanon Opera House on Friday night with performances by Rhonda Vincent & The Rage and The Jerry Douglas Band. The bitter cold did nothing to keep the near sell-out crowd of about 800 people from filling the large, yet intimate, auditorium. Lebanon Opera House is located in City Hall on the pleasant and picturesque town square of Lebanon, NH.

Nearing the end of a long season, Rhonda Vincent & The Rage gave another one of their first rate performances, although seeming a little tired and dispirited, perhaps partly because of the looming exit of longtime mainstay Kenny Ingram and fairly recent addition Darrell Webb, who are leaving the band. According to Ingram, the changes signal new, and as yet unspecified, directions for the band. Aaron McDaris, formerly of the Grascals will be replacing Ingram. Webb will join Michael Cleveland & Flamekeeper in January and is being replaced by Ben Helson from Ricky Skaggs’ band Kentucky Thunder.

The Jerry Douglas Band gathered backstage for some quiet reminiscing as they, too, ended their 2008 tour. Taking the stage to warm applause, the band played its unique mix of genres and sounds built around the genius of Jerry Douglas on the Dobro. Jerry is backed by a very strong band of players, all fine soloists in their own right. Luke Bula on fiddle, as well as singing the only two vocals in the set, plays a soaring jazz informed fiddle that stands on its own while always complementing the lead. Alabamian Guthrie Trapp excels on guitar, both acoustic and electric. His picking on the acoustic guitar is lighting fast, accurate and always tasteful.

[This is an excerpt from Ted Lehmann's Bluegrass, Books and Brainstorms. Read the full review.]