The Podunk Bluegrass Festival is a bluegrass festival established in 1996 and taking place in August each year in

Connecticut Connecticut () is the southernmost state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It is bordered by Rhode Island to the east, Massachusetts to the north, New York to the west, and Long Island Sound to the south. Its capita ...

, United States. The festival features local, regional, and national bluegrass musicians."Podunk Bluegrass is Back for Their 18th Year".
''Cybergrass'' Besides four days of music on the main stage, the festival hosts band and songwriting competitions, a kid's bluegrass academy, workshops with headlining bands, and separate picking and quiet camping areas.

History

The Podunk Bluegrass Festival was founded in the winter of 1995–96, by then Mayor of East Hartford, CT, Robert DeCrescenzo with assistance by recording studio owner Mike Hayden and musician/radio host Kevin Lynch. It was DeCrescenzo's vision to renovate large sections of the city and, in addition, establish an arts scene downtown. It was also his idea to make a bluegrass music festival a large part of that vision. DeCrescenzo vowed, together with Hayden and Lynch, to present a first-class bluegrass event. That summer of '96, DeCrescenzo promised to have the new downtown park built and ready to use in time for the festival. Roger Moss, then director of the Park & Rec Department, hustled to get the finishing touches completed a few weeks before the first festival on July 26–27, 1996. No small task, it involved laying sod at Martin Park where the main stage was constructed, and building a small bridge festival attendees could cross to access the park. In order to help publicize the inaugural festival, DeCrescenzo organized a breakfast in the Town Hall to promote the event on the Thursday morning before the festival gates opened in Martin Park. Some 40 people were in attendance. Town officials, potential sponsors, and invited press were treated to a live bluegrass concert by a group of local musicians. The official event kicked off on Friday, July 26, 1996, with a free bluegrass concert open to the public in the downtown park on Main Street. The lineup of artists for the first Podunk Bluegrass Music Festival included John Hartford, Mac Wiseman, Laurie Lewis, Larry Sparks & The Lonesome Ramblers, The New Coon Creek Girls, Lost & Found, plus local CT band Northern Bound. Until 2011, the festival was held in

East Hartford, Connecticut East Hartford is a town in Hartford County, Connecticut, United States. The population was 51,045 at the 2020 census. The town is located on the east bank of the Connecticut River, directly across from Hartford, Connecticut. It is home to aerosp ...

; in 2012 it was moved to Norwich, Connecticut.Adam Benson
'Podunk festival regulars praise Norwich venue'
NorwichBulletin.com, August 4, 2012. The 2013 festival had to be canceled because of scheduling conflicts with the minor-league baseball club at Dodd Stadium in Norwich. In 2014, the newly relocated festival was held the second weekend of August at the Hebron Fairgrounds in Hebron, Connecticut. After a successful five-year run in Hebron, Podunk moved to its current location at the Goshen Fairgrounds in the Litchfield Hills of Northwest CT. Podunk has hosted many widely known bluegrass bands, including

Kathy Mattea Kathleen Alice Mattea (born June 21, 1959) is an American country music and bluegrass singer. Active since 1984 as a recording artist, she has charted more than 30 singles on the ''Billboard'' Hot Country Songs charts, including four that reac ...

Ralph Stanley Ralph Edmund Stanley (February 25, 1927 – June 23, 2016) was an American bluegrass artist, known for his distinctive singing and banjo playing. Stanley began playing music in 1946, originally with his older brother Carter Stanley as part of ...

and the Clinch Mountain Boys,

Doc Watson Arthel Lane "Doc" Watson (March 3, 1923 – May 29, 2012) was an American guitarist, songwriter, and singer of bluegrass, folk, country, blues, and gospel music. Watson won seven Grammy awards as well as a Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award. W ...

Mac Wiseman Malcolm Bell Wiseman (May 23, 1925 – February 24, 2019) was an American bluegrass and country singer. Early life He was born on May 23, 1925, in Crimora, Virginia. He attended school in New Hope, Virginia, and graduated from high school the ...

, the

Del McCoury Band The Del McCoury Band is a Grammy award-winning American bluegrass band. History Originally the band was called Del McCoury and the Dixie Pals with Del on guitar and his brother Jerry on bass. The band went through a number of changes in personn ...

John Hartford John Cowan Hartford (December 30, 1937 – June 4, 2001) was an American folk, country, and bluegrass composer and musician known for his mastery of the fiddle and banjo, as well as for his witty lyrics, unique vocal style, and extensive kn ...

Vassar Clements Vassar Carlton Clements (April 25, 1928 – August 16, 2005) was an American jazz, swing, and bluegrass fiddler. Clements has been dubbed the Father of Hillbilly Jazz, an improvisational style that blends and borrows from swing, hot jazz, and ...

Jesse McReynolds Jesse Lester McReynolds (born July 9, 1929) is an American bluegrass musician. He is best known for his innovative crosspicking and split-string styles of mandolin playing. Biography McReynolds was born in Coeburn, Virginia. He and his brothe ...

Doyle Lawson Doyle Lawson (born April 20, 1944) is an American traditional bluegrass and Southern gospel musician. He is best known as a mandolin player, vocalist, producer, and leader of the 6-man group Doyle Lawson & Quicksilver. Lawson was inducted in ...

Ricky Skaggs Rickie Lee Skaggs (born July 18, 1954), known professionally as Ricky Skaggs, is an American neotraditional country and bluegrass singer, musician, producer, and composer. He primarily plays mandolin; however, he also plays fiddle, guitar, ...

and Kentucky Thunder, the

Lonesome River Band The Lonesome River Band is an American contemporary bluegrass band. The band has released 15 recording projects since its formation in 1982. Lonesome River Band is led by Sammy Shelor who is a member of the Virginia Country Music Hall of Fame ...

, Emmylou Harris,

the Seldom Scene The Seldom Scene is an American bluegrass band that formed in 1971 in Bethesda, Maryland. The band's original line-up comprised John Starling on lead vocals and guitar, Mike Auldridge on Dobro and baritone vocals, Ben Eldridge on banjo, Tom ...

Tony Rice David Anthony Rice (June 8, 1951 – December 25, 2020), known professionally as Tony Rice, was an American guitarist and bluegrass musician. He was an influential acoustic guitar player in bluegrass, progressive bluegrass, newgrass and a ...

Tony Trischka Anthony Cattell Trischka (born January 16, 1949) is an American five-string banjo player. Sandra Brennan wrote of him in 2021: "One of the most influential modern banjoists, both in several forms of bluegrass music and occasionally in jazz and ...

Sam Bush Charles Samuel Bush (born April 13, 1952) is an American mandolinist who is considered an originator of progressive bluegrass music. In 2020, he was inducted into the International Bluegrass Music Hall of Fame as a member of New Grass Reviva ...

, Tim O'Brien, David Grisman,

Peter Rowan Peter Rowan (born July 4, 1942) is an American bluegrass musician and composer. Rowan plays guitar and mandolin, yodels and sings. Biography Rowan was born in Wayland, Massachusetts to a musical family. From an early age, he had an interest ...

Dale Ann Bradley Dale Ann Bradley is an American bluegrass musician. She is a six-time (2007, 2008, 2009, 2011, 2012, and 2021) Female Bluegrass Vocalist of the Year, a distinction given by the International Bluegrass Music Association. She has released music b ...

, the Kruger Brothers,

Michael Cleveland Michael Cleveland (born September 18, 1980) is an American bluegrass fiddle player. Early life Cleveland was born in Henryville, Indiana. He was born completely blind and a childhood ear infection caused him to lose 80% of his hearing in one ...

Rhonda Vincent Rhonda Lea Vincent (born July 13, 1962) is an American bluegrass singer, songwriter, and multi-instrumentalist. Vincent's music career began when she was a child in her family's band The Sally Mountain Show, and it has spanned more than four de ...

and the Rage, the

Gibson Brothers The Gibson Brothers are a French musical group, originally from Martinique, who had their greatest success during the disco boom of the late 1970s. Their best known hit singles included "Cuba" and " Que Sera Mi Vida". Career The three brother ...

Nickel Creek Nickel Creek (formerly known as the Nickel Creek Band) is an American bluegrass band consisting of Chris Thile (mandolin), and siblings Sara Watkins (fiddle) and Sean Watkins (guitar). Formed in 1989 in Southern California, they released six al ...

the Steeldrivers The SteelDrivers are a bluegrass band from Nashville, Tennessee. Members include fiddler Tammy Rogers, bassist Mike Fleming, guitarist/vocalist Matt Dame, mandolinist Brent Truitt, and banjoist Richard Bailey. Past members include Kelvin Damrel ...

, and dozens of up-and-coming local and regional bands.

Recognition

In 2010, Podunk won the

International Bluegrass Music Association The International Bluegrass Music Association, or IBMA, is a trade association to promote bluegrass music. Formed in 1985, IBMA established its first headquarters in Owensboro, Kentucky. In 1988 they announced plans to create the International ...

award for Event of the Year.RECIPIENT HISTORY - IBMA AWARDS: Event of the Year
.

References

External links

Official website
{{Bluegrass music Folk festivals in the United States Bluegrass festivals Music festivals in Connecticut Music festivals established in 1996 1996 establishments in Connecticut

History

Recognition

See also

References

External links