Hardly Strictly Bluegrass
I used to claim that I threw good parties. But now I must retract that statement, because this guy, Warren Hellman, takes the cake. Apparently he like to throw this yearly festival, Hardly Strictly Bluegrass. To see the performers normally would set you back $100 or so for this three day fest, but he likes to do it for free, since he’s a philanthopist and all.
I only went on Sunday, and I went alone, because I’m new here and all and don’t yet have an established social circle. But it made for an interesting experience, as I got to do a lot of people watching and eavesdropping.
I caught the end of The Austin Lounge Lizards set, since they’re from my former home. Then I went and watched Ricky Skaggs, who played a really awesome set. Then I caught some of Ralph Stanley before I ran to see the real reason that I was there - the one, the only, Dolly Parton.
Unfortunately, I was not alone in this effort. This stage was particularly full - not only in the long narrow field in front of it, but across the street and perched up on an adjacent hill - basically anywhere where one could catch a glimpse of Dolly, there were lots of people. This meant that I could barely see or hear her, just a little sparkle of her blue and white sequins and that bleached blonde hair. She started with ‘9 to 5′ and then ‘Joleen’, and then ‘Crimson and Clover’. Then the sound got worse and the crowd around me started yelling ‘turn it up’, but it never was. Someone behind me started yelling “Dolly, I can’t see you!!!! Dolly, I can’t hear you!!!”. Yet another person had a cardboard full size cutout of her that he was holding above his head. It was really something else.
Besides the sound issue, the event was pretty well produced. There were lots of food options, from the usual fair fare to organic meals. There were some hippies offering ‘vegan energy balls, ganja free’ to walkersby. People generally seemed to be having a great time and there was lots of dancing and hand clapping. I will definitely return next year.