Never Enough Music!

This here blog, already pretty darn quiet, will be all the moreso over the next few days as I head down to Nashville with my kidlets, to enjoy three days of nonstop bluegrass.

The International Bluegrass Music Association's World of Bluegrass and FanFest is the pinnacle event of the year for everyone from the grammy winners to gawking, admiring, wanna-bes like me. You know you're in Music City when you have to request a "jamming" or "non-jamming" floor when you make your hotel reservation.

In addition to the highly-acclaimed performers, you can catch all manner of jam sessions, from old friends to family bands, as you stroll through the event. Last year, I saw a family band with a slew of children, all performing. The youngest couldn't have been more than 4 or 5 years old. He sang lead and played fiddle. Unbelievable. Now, that's a family that probably doesn't watch much TV, I'm guessing.

I will be taking my little Kentucky mandolin along, because you can't help but catch the fever. You just have to play something, and this will prevent me from buying another instrument. Not only would that be expensive, but, I'd have to leave one of my children behind and use the spare seat for the instrument.

I plan to come away inspired and more dedicated than ever to encouraging the enjoyment, practice, and preservation of what some consider a flaky little corner of our history. And, I hope this blog will become fertile soil for ideas to grow interest in and practice of traditional musical forms right here in sunny Northeast Ohio. Stay with me, and stay tuned.