The Venue

During a Pandemic Written By Dale and Darcy Cahill The pandemic has now been with us for almost two years. While it completely shut down the 2020 festival season, its grip loosened in the Spring of 2021 and festival promoters were faced with tough decisions. Should they have their festival at all? If yes, what…

Photos Courtesy of Ralph Stanley Museum Nestled in the beautiful Appalachian Mountains about eight miles northeast of Ralph Stanley’s birthplace, McClure, Virginia, sits a bastion of traditional mountain music.  Old familiar dirt roads wind through the piney glade Where all the longings of childhood dreams were made Where we passed the mossy mounds where I…

Hills of Home Bluegrass Festival The Dr. Ralph Stanley Hills of Home Memorial Day Weekend Bluegrass Festival held at the Hills of Home Park in McClure, Virginia is one of the longest running bluegrass festivals in the United States.  With the exception of the 2020 and 2021 events being cancelled due to the pandemic, the…

The Man Behind the Curtain “Pay no attention to the man behind the curtain,”is a famous line from The Wizard of Oz. Musical promoters often are the ones behind the curtain that rarely receive recognition, but without them, both musicians and fans would be at a total loss.  Milton Harkey is an important man behind…

One Filmmaker’s Perspective I first heard live bluegrass music when I was 26 years old. Growing up in New Jersey, and going to college in Washington, DC, meant that my experience with bluegrass was limited to seeing Bonnie and Clyde in 1967, and hearing parts of Hee Haw, or The Beverly Hillbillies on TV. That level of personal exposure was…

Despite being home to some of the best bluegrass musicians in the country and the site of some of the most important historical events, there aren’t many places to regularly see live bluegrass in Nashville. The Station Inn continues to be a bluegrass beacon and you can still hear bluegrass most weeks on the Opry…