More time for 'picking and jamming'

LOWVILLE — The Tug Hill Bluegrass Festival is expanding to three days this year to accommodate growing demand.

This is the fourth year for the festival, held at Maple Ridge Center, 7421 East Road. The center is a Kentucky-style ranch that overlooks the Black River Valley.

"We've grown at least 50 percent each year," said Keith Zehr, executive director of the Adirondack Mennonite Camping Association, which operates the center.

He said that about 400 people attended the two-day festival last year and that there's room on the grounds for several hundred more fans. This year's festival is Friday through Sunday.

"We did a survey last year of the attendees," said festival co-organizer Shelene Atkinson, "and everyone said to have a three-day event."

She said similar bluegrass festivals run for three days.

"The best part about the festivals are camping for three to four nights and visiting with friends who love the music," Mrs. Atkinson said. "The picking and jamming that goes on after hours among the attendees is great."

Mrs. Atkinson's group, the Harrisville-based Atkinson Family Band, is scheduled to perform three times at the festival. That band, and other festival acts, also will perform at an "old timey" gospel-sing service at 10:30 a.m. Sunday.

Also new this year will be a children's concert at 10:30 a.m. Saturday featuring the Animal Crackers Band.

With more days come more expenses. "But we hope with the addition of a national act on Friday evening we could compensate for the added expense," Mrs. Atkinson said.

Valerie Smith and her band, Liberty Pike, with special guest Becky Buller will perform at 6:30 and 9 p.m. Friday.

Mrs. Smith is a native of Missouri who now resides in Bell Buckle, Tenn. Besides performing at hundreds of venues around the United States, she has taken her bluegrass act to such cities as Berlin, Dublin, Amsterdam and Copenhagen.

She has received three International Bluegrass Music Association "Recorded Event of the Year" awards and was nominated for a Grammy Award as part of the Ralph Stanley "Clinch Mountain Sweethearts" project.

She has appeared at the Grand Ole Opry in Nashville, Tenn., as guest of Country Music Hall of Fame member Charlie Louvin.

Ms. Buller, a Minnesota native, became the Minnesota Junior Fiddling Champion in 1996. She performed the fiddle tracks on the Atkinson Family's "Tearin' Up the Line" CD.

Her debut album is "Little Bird."

"Buller fiddles with a buoyant, silky touch of the bow," Joe Ross, staff writer for Bluegrass Now wrote in a review of the CD. "She also sings with an unmistakable sweetness of tone and wholesome sound."

BLAYLOCK IS BACK

Another top national act coming to the festival is Audie Blaylock and Redline, which appeared at the 2008 festival.

"We have Audie back because people loved him," Mrs. Atkinson said.

The new album from the band, "Audie Blaylock and Redline," has been receiving rave reviews in bluegrass circles and was at No. 7 on Bluegrass Unlimited magazine's Top 15 album chart earlier this month.

Mr. Blaylock, who is a former member of Michael Cleveland's band Flamekeeper, which will also appear at the festival, described the music of Redline as hard-driving bluegrass.

Mrs. Atkinson said the festival has been helped this year and last year by a grant from the New York State Council on the Arts.

"The grant this year definitely went to help us to bring three national bluegrass acts to the north country," she said.

She credited the St. Lawrence County Arts Council for helping organizers get the grants.

"They help to answer all kinds of questions and help to steer you in the right direction," Mrs. Atkinson said.

Mr. Zehr said organizers have received positive comments from performers the past three years.

"We're not pulling teeth to get the acts," he said. "They want to come here."