Festival’s Second Week Keeps Winding Up with More Music

ABINGDON, Va.—Time was when Monroe Jamison was a fixture in Abingdon’s bluegrass music scene.
Jamison, a full-time lawyer and when-possible bluegrass picker, for years worked the bluegrass aspects of the Virginia Highlands Festival. But then he died in July 2007 at age 52.
So the VHF’s weekend of bluegrass and old-time music, scheduled for Aug. 8-9, was named in Jamison’s honor.
Acts slated to appear include Lost & Found, Dale Jett, North Carolina’s The Sheets Family and Elk Creek, Va.’s The Wolfe Brothers.
“Monroe was an extremely nice guy,” said Dale Morris of The Wolfe Brothers, “and he was real knowledgeable about bluegrass and old-time music.”
However, this weekend, as in weekends past during this and every year of the VHF, is not solely occupied by bluegrass and old-time music. Festival organizers make a point to offer variety. That carries from styles of music to range of prices of admission.
Take the show scheduled for Aug. 7.
“We will have a street party on Friday night,” said Linda Springer, festival coordinator for VHF. “We’ll close off Main Street. It starts at 9 p.m., and it’s free to the public.”
Local rockers Phantom headline the street party. They aren’t AC/DC or the Rolling Stones, but fans may well hear those classic bands’ tunes among many other songs.
“It should be a great night of classic rock and roll,” Springer said.
Now, some folks don’t roll with rock. For those who seek even more classic forms of entertainment, Springer said the festival will feature an evening of ballroom dancing on Aug. 8 at the Seniors Center in Abingdon.
“ ‘Dancing with the Stars’ has brought ballroom dancing back as a popular thing do,” Springer said, referencing the smash ABC television program.
The event starts at 8:30 p.m. However, come an hour earlier and take a lesson in ballroom dancing, included in the $10 price of admission.
“Then, we’ll turn you loose and let you dance,” Springer said.
But neither ballroom dancing nor rock and roll will quench the entertainment appetites of many a bluegrass and old-time music fan.
For those and for a number of years, Monroe Jamison worked with the VHF to stage the festival’s ever-popular bluegrass weekend.
Many a year he booked the Wolfe Brothers.
“We bridge the gap between old-time and bluegrass,” Morris said, who plays banjo in the longtime group. “Instrumentally, we’re old-time, but our singing borrows from bluegrass and old-time.”
Avid fans oftentimes travel far more than a country mile to hear such music. Through the years of The Wolfe Brothers’ appearances at the festival, they have indeed encountered some particularly ardent lovers of the music.
“A couple of years ago, there was a lady there from Spain,” Morris said. “She bought some CDs from us, and she still e-mails us.”
Classify that as but one reason why The Wolfe Brothers repeatedly return to perform at the massive VHF.
“We’ve been playing there for a long while,” Morris said. “It’s a good venue with great fans during a great festival.”

TOM NETHERLAND is a freelance writer. He can be reached at .

IF YOU GO
What: Monroe Jamison Memorial Bluegrass & Old Time Weekend at the Virginia Highlands Festival
When: Aug. 8-9
Where: Event tent, downtown Abingdon, Va.
Admission: $5 for a weekend pass; children under age 12 admitted free
Info: (276) 623-5266 or (888) 489-4230
Web and audio: http://www.geocities.com/wolfebrothers
And: http://www.vahighlandsfestival.org

MONROE JAMISON MEMORIAL BLUEGRASS & OLD TIME WEEKEND SCHEDULE – AUG. 8
Noon and 3 p.m. – Dale Jett & Hello Stranger
1 and 4 p.m. – Jonny & the Jam Busters
2 and 5 p.m. – Lost & Found

AUG. 9
Noon and and 3 p.m. – The Wolfe Brothers
1 and 4 p.m. – The Sheets Family
2 and 5 p.m. – The New Ballards Branch Bogtrotters

BALLROOM DANCING
When: Aug. 8, 8:30-11 p.m. with lessons at 7:30 p.m.
Where: Abingdon Senior Center, Abingdon, Va.
n Admission: $10
Info: (276) 623-5266 (reservations suggested)

TOM NETHERLAND is a freelance writer. He can be reached at .