The first Canadian festival, a modest affair billed as a “Bluegrass Jamboree,” took place in August 1972. I was involved in its organization and presentation. Subsequently, the Jamboree grew into an annual festival that’s still running.  The Nova Scotia-based Downeast Bluegrass & Oldtime Music Society's website reads:  The annual family friendly Nova Scotia Bluegrass and…

(Editor’s Note: Read part one of our series on the Dayton Bluegrass Reunion here. Read part two here. Read part three here.) My series of memoirs on the Dayton Bluegrass Reunion closes with a gallery of snapshots taken during the day's proceedings. I had a new Japanese automatic camera of the type then described as "point and…

(Editor's Note: Read part one of our series on the Dayton Bluegrass Reunion here. Read part two here.) Working on CityFolk's Dayton Bluegrass Reunion, I heard local terminology for the culture in which this music grew. "Industrial working-class Appalachian migrants" was rarely spoken. "Hillbilly" was said sometimes with disdain, sometimes with pride. The preferred in-group…

Editor's note: Read part one of Industrial Strength Bluegrass and the Dayton Bluegrass Reunion here In 1987 I became involved with CityFolk's Dayton Bluegrass Reunion, "An All-Star Salute to Dayton's 40 Year Bluegrass History." Between October 1987 and March 1989, I worked by mail and telephone to help shape the Reunion, planned for April 1989. …

On April 22, 1989, Cityfolk, a Dayton, Ohio-based concert series, mounted their most ambitious evening to date, The Dayton Bluegrass Reunion, "An All-Star Salute to Dayton's 40 Year Bluegrass History." It was held at Memorial Hall in downtown Dayton. I'm reminded of this concert now because of an essay I wrote for its program booklet:…