Saturday’s third annual Mountain Song Festival held at the Whittington-Pfohl Auditorium on the campus of the Brevard Music Center in Brevard, NC stands as another example of the well run, thoughtfully programmed music festival’s power to attract significant audiences to hear an eclectic range of contemporary and traditional bluegrass music.

The festival featured four high powered acts, all associated with bluegrass music, but perhaps not pure traditional bluegrass according to some people’s lights. Nevertheless, the Steep Canyon Rangers, Cherryholmes, Tim O’Brien, and the Sam Bush Band as well as special guest Steve Martin raised the roof and kept the house rockin’ from early afternoon until well into the evening.

The Wittington-Pfohl Auditorium is an 1800 seat open air, covered auditorium featuring state of the art sound and light, comfortable seats with good sight lines, and a spacious stage designed to handle every kind of performance from grand opera to soloists. The home of a world famed music school during the summer, the Brevard Music Center, hidden away on the edge of Brevard and bordering the Pisgah National Forest, provides an ideal venue for a one day event.

The Steep Canyon Rangers led off with a high energy set of more-or-less traditional bluegrass greeted to huge enthusiasm by this home town crowd. A new song by bassist Charles Humphries not even yet named dealt with the ways in which society has become so complicated that black and white responses to gray issues no longer satisfy. This song should be sung everywhere right up until the election and beyond as it views the world in shades of gray. In their second set, the Rangers were joined by comedian, writer, actor, musician Steve Martin on banjo who played “The Crow” from his new banjo CD as well as singing an amusing song called “Late for School.” The band was then joined by Cia and Molly Kate Cherryholmes and Tim O’Brien for a rousing version of Foggy Mountain Breakdown.

The Cherryholmes family, who bill themselves as presenting “bluegrass on steroids” showcased a lot of material from their new Cherryholmes III album. This band has continued to improve and evolve over the years we’ve been watching them. Yesterday several elements of their performance stood out for me. First, they just plain seemed to be enjoying what they were doing. There was a verve, an element of genuine enthusiasm, I haven’t always felt in their shows. Each family member seemed more comfortable in their skin and with their role in the band.

Tim O'Brien, who has stood astride the world of bluegrass and folk music for more than thirty years, appeared solo in support of his new CD Chameleon. While musically and culturally very different, Tim, standing alone on this huge stage and holding a large audience rapt with attention, reminded me of nothing less than Pete Seeger in his ability to entertain and stimulate thought in his audience while introducing them to new and interesting music.

Saving the Sam Bush Band for a single long set to close the day shows the promoters’ programming savvy and good sense. His music, while always paying due deference to Bill Monroe, John Hartford, and other early innovators, continues to move in its own direction. His insistence on putting talented drummer Chris Brown on stage alienates many defenders of the traditional. Giving him the big canvas of a long, concluding set allows him to paint the musical picture he want for the crowds who stay to hear him. Nevertheless his music, loud and jam-band oriented, isn’t for everyone. Closing the evening allows those who object to his volume, the drums, or his sound can leave after a successful day. The more adventurous can stay to listen and to marvel at his continued innovativeness after more than forty years of performing. Opening with Mr. Monroe’s “Uncle Pen” and closing with an encore of a ramped up version of “Cripple Creek,” Bush’s set was high energy and lively.

[Note: This post is an excerpt from a longer article available on Ted Lehmann's Bluegrass, Books, and Brainstorms blog.]