First-Ever Earl Scruggs Festival
Finally Takes Place with Potential for the Future Intact
The Earl Scruggs Festival has been in the works for years now, yet the pandemic reared its ugly head and the hard decision to postpone it for two years in a row was made. Many music festivals had to shut down for at least one year during that period. The difference with the Earl Scruggs Festival, however, was that it was a brand-new event, and opening the gates for the first time had to wait.
Finally, in September of 2022, the Earl Scruggs Festival took place at the Tryon International Equestrian Center. There were two things that popped into my mind after arriving at the festival and those were that the Tryon International Equestrian Center was a huge complex, truly massive as a horse park and a music venue, and two, the legend of Earl Scruggs is so pervasive in the music world that his influence will remain intact for many years to come. Therefore, a festival in his honor makes perfect sense.
From now on, there will be generations that will never be able to say they saw Earl Scruggs perform live with his death having occurred in 2012. But, if you enjoy listening to American roots music, and bluegrass specifically, sooner or later you will have a face-to-face encounter with the syncopated, powerful and groundbreaking three-finger style of playing the banjo that was perfected by Scruggs over 80 years ago.
The Tryon International Equestrian Center is located about 30 miles from Scruggs’ hometown of Shelby, North Carolina. It is obvious from the minute you arrive that the venue is sprawling, sporting 1,200 horse stables and 12 arenas along with restaurants and boutique stores, all filling up 1,600 acres of ground. The main arena can seat up to 12,000 people and thousands more during a music show as fans are able to fill up the arena floor. It also boasts onsite RV camping spots and the facility also opened up much of its acreage for primitive camping during the festival.
Ultimately, if the festival takes off and becomes successful on a yearly basis, there is a lot of room for many more stages. For the first year, however, the organizers played it smart by keeping the festival to two main stages plus a workshop stage. The main stage features a large grandstand that houses a VIP section at the top. As the music fans walked from stage to stage, there were plenty of vendors and beer booths around to keep the lines short and moving fast.
Renamed the Flint Hill Stage, in honor of Scruggs, the grandstand arena featured music by The Earls of Leicester, Balsam Range, The Sam Bush Band, Jerry Douglas, Leftover Salmon, the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band, Béla Fleck’s all-star My Bluegrass Heart Band, Molly Tuttle and Golden Highway, Rob Ickes and Trey Hensley, Dom Flemons featuring Jerry Douglas, the Becky Buller Band and Darin and Brooke Aldridge.
The smaller and more accessible Foggy Mountain Stage proved to be popular as well with shows by Western North Carolina legends Acoustic Syndicate, Fireside Collective, Town Mountain, Chatham County Line, Unspoken Tradition, The Barefoot Movement, Laura Boosinger and Josh Goforth, and a wonderful array of lesser-known yet fun artists including Lakota John, Muddy Boots, the Clover Pickers, Trakas, Moore and Jenkins, Bella White, Rissi Palmer, Creekside Crawfish, and the Chatham Rabbits.
For all of the artists who attended, it was easy for them to recount their first rendezvous with the history and the sound of Earl Scruggs. The cool part of it is that while Scruggs’ addition to Bill Monroe’s band in 1945 meant that a new kind of music was being formed and solidified, Scruggs also developed an open mind about the genre and about music in general as the decades went by.
After 20 years of being in the legendary Flatt and Scruggs group, as we all know, Scruggs left his partner Lester Flatt and joined forces with his sons to make music that reflected the musically-innovative times of the late 1960s and early 1970s.
To celebrate the maiden Earl Scruggs Festival, Bluegrass Unlimited interviewed four acclaimed musicians who were on the lineup at the event, including 10-time International Bluegrass Music Association “Resonator Guitarist of the Year” Jerry Douglas, Vince Herman of the legendary jamgrass band Leftover Salmon, Jesse Iaquinto of the group Fireside Collective and six-string innovator Jon Stickley.
Jon Stickley is known as one of the best guitarists in the roots music world. Like many artists in the bluegrass and newgrass genres, Stickley came up through the rock and heavy metal music ranks before turning a corner one day and discovering the beauty and the power of bluegrass.
After a well-received show at the Earl Scruggs Festival, Stickley talked about his bluegrass journey and his trail to all things Earl Scruggs. “I was taking guitar lessons when I was young and I really liked bands like the Red Hot Chili Peppers and their guitar players at the time, but when my brother Jeff and I started jamming with Andy Thorn a little bit (who was a childhood friend and who now plays for Leftover Salmon), he was the one that said, ‘Hey, I’ve also got a mandolin, so why don’t you learn a couple of chords, Jeff can play the guitar, and I’ll play the banjo?’” said Stickley. “Andy said, ‘Here, take this mandolin and take this book,’ which was the David Grisman instructional book. He also gave me a few CDs, which turned out to be the first Grisman album and Sam Bush’s Glamor & Grits album, and that was the first stuff I ever heard of the bluegrass sound.”
From there, Stickley was hooked and began to go down the wormhole, seeking out the origins of this intriguing genre. “Then, the first couple of tunes that we learned as a group included Earl Scruggs’ ‘Ground Speed’ and ‘Foggy Mountain Breakdown,’” said Stickley. “That got me into listening to Flatt and Scruggs and all of that stuff, which happened around 1998 when I was a junior in high school. I then started to get into David Grisman and Tony Rice and began to learn about Béla Fleck and Sam Bush. All of those guys talked about was their influences, often mentioning Earl Scruggs, Bill Monroe, Lester Flatt and the Stanley Brothers. That made me want to go back and learn about who those guys were and to study up on the tradition, as it was obvious to me that the tradition was really important to this music. That is something that I have carried with me to this day.”
Even progressive and innovative artists like Stickley, who performed at the festival with his amazing trio of Lyndsay Pruett and Patrick Armitage, continue to soak up the sounds of the First Generation. “This whole weekend, I was driving around as we played shows out on the road, spending about 12 hours in our vehicle, and I listened to Bill Monroe and the Blue Grass Boys the whole time,” said Stickley. “I just wanted to go back and hear that original bluegrass band because anyone that you talk to, whether it is Marty Stuart or you listen to one of the bluegrass podcasts out there, they will talk about the power of those original Bill Monroe records that they all heard back in the day and how that just lit a fire under everybody. When you listen to those Monroe recordings with Earl, Earl’s style sounds completely developed even though his playing was such a new approach at the time. They are Earl Scruggs’ earliest recordings yet he is doing licks that you still hear everybody do to this day. It doesn’t sound like a rudimentary version of his playing as it sounds fully formed.”
For Stickley, the fascination and the journey with bluegrass music continues. “When I am writing my own music and coming up with stuff for the Trio, I still think about the approach of honoring the traditions of bluegrass while still trying to do my own thing,” said Stickley. “A lot of our timing as a band came from wanting to play bluegrass. I’ve always liked hard and fast music, going back to my heavy metal days, but it wasn’t until I tried to learn how to play bluegrass that I really began to appreciate the accuracy and the technicality and the virtuosity of all of those musicians that were working together to create that sound. Later on, I was lucky enough to see Earl Scruggs play live at MerleFest a couple of times.”
On Saturday of Earl Scruggs Festival, a special gig takes place on the Foggy Mountain Stage as the nationally-touring bluegrass band Fireside Collective is tasked with hosting and coordinating an all-star recreation of the Earl Scruggs Revue album titled Live at Kansas State. Featuring Jesse Iaquinto on mandolin, Joe Cicero on guitar, Tommy Maher on resonator guitar, Carson White on bass and Alex Genova on the banjo, Fireside Collective will bring to life the acclaimed Live at Kansas State album with an array of guests that include Jerry Douglas, Balsam Range, Unspoken Tradition, Alison Brown, Darin and Brooke Aldridge, Lakota John and Dean Mahoney on percussion.
The jam was an obvious hit with the crowd as the audience had fun throughout and rewarded the musicians with a standing ovation at the end. It went so well that there was talk right away of making this jam a yearly event at the Earl Scruggs Festival.
Iaquinto was tasked with coordinating the all-star musical throwdown with many other folks helping him along the way. “That jam was incredible,” said Iaquinto. “I thought the festival itself was a great for a first-time experience. The festival grounds were incredible and the festival had a great lineup and we loved working with the staff. I’m looking forward to seeing how the festival grows over the next few years and to watch how they take advantage of the space they have there.”
As for putting together the All-Star Earl Scruggs Revue Live at Kansas State Jam, it came down to production and Fireside Collective playing with some of their musical heroes. “The festival’s artistic director Steve Johnson was the first one to talk with us about it, and then (stage planner) Claire Armbruster had a hand in it as well as folks at The Bluegrass Situation,” said Iaquinto. “We also talked with Earl’s nephew, JT Scruggs (Festival Director), who was involved in the effort. We just wanted to pay tribute to Earl Scruggs and his family and his progressive approach to bluegrass music.”
While Fireside Collective has been around for a while now, they are still considered one of the younger, on-the-rise bands in the genre. Their latest Mountain Home Music label album is called Across The Divide. “Steve Johnson basically sent out introductory emails to everyone to see who was interested in participating in the Live at Kansas State jam and then he gave me those names, and I reached out to those artists,” said Iaquinto. “I came up with the tentative ideas of who was going to play on everything. But, of course, as soon as somebody claimed a song, four other artists wanted that same song. But, luckily, I was able to keep the process updated and I feel like we got a really good mix of artists lined up for each cut. Darin and Brooke Aldridge helped us a bunch because we had an artist that had to drop out and they learned their parts almost instantly. Honestly, every single artist that came to play brought a different and new energy to the jam, and it was so much smoother than I thought it would be. I was just trying to keep it together as much as possible.”
A lot of that meant Iaquinto and Fireside Collective paying attention to the bluegrass stars around them and making room for them to excel onstage. At one point, for instance, Iaquinto gladly pulled out his mandolin cord and handed it to Balsam Range’s Darren Nicholson so he could plug in and add his solo to the mix.
“Alison Brown crushed it, and Chatham County Line, Balsam Range and Unspoken Tradition were fun to play with as well,” said Iaquinto. “Two years ago, I would have been nervous hosting a jam like this. But, lately in life, I have been trying to just put it to the wind. I knew I had done as much as I possibly could, and then everybody’s unique skills in the Fireside Collective band helped to bring it together. The bass player is probably the one who has to learn the songs the most as he is guiding the whole thing. If he messes up, it can throw off the whole jam while other people can just stop playing and get away with it. So, I knew Carson was going to put a lot of work into it. I also asked Joe to write up the chord charts for everything, Tommy helped with some of the logistical stuff, and being that it was Earl Scruggs’ music, Alex did a great job of learning those banjo parts as well.”
The whole time, however, Iaquinto and crew were pinching themselves as they looked left and right at the great artists who were sharing music with them, and the audience could see and feel that sense of wonder as well. “Just to start the set out with Jerry Douglas was a lifetime goal,” said Iaquinto. “We have opened for him a few times, but to have him sitting in on something that we were taking charge of was pretty special. It felt pivotal, as in one of those moments where if you’re not present and aware of what is going on around you, you could miss how monumental it was for all of us in Fireside Collective.
“Eight years ago, none of those people knew who we were,” continues Iaquinto. “Heck, two years ago, some of them probably didn’t know who we were. But the jam helped to remind us of how far we have come, because sometimes you don’t notice your growth when you go through day-to-day life because it can be small steps that you experience along the way. That jam turned out as good as it possibly could have, and I have been getting a ton of feedback from people that loved it. It was certainly something special that I will remember for the rest of my life.”
For Vince Herman and Leftover Salmon, who headlined the final slot on the main stage on Saturday night, they have been a part of high-end jams since the band was created in the 1980s. During Leftover Salmon’s set at the Earl Scruggs Festival, they jammed with Jerry Douglas, Jeff Hanna of the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band, and fiddle greats Darol Anger and Casey Driessen.
Amazingly, after all of the years that Herman has been in the music business, he finally put out his first-ever solo album in November called Enjoy The Ride. It is a fabulous recording filled with original songs that reflects Herman’s time in the music business, showcasing many of the diverse genres he has dipped his hat into while staying true to his roots music heart. And, the word is out that Leftover Salmon will release an album in the spring of 2023 that will be a tribute to the famous roots music artists that influenced them over the years.
“I grew up with the Beverly Hillbillies TV show, so Earl’s music was always in my ears as far back as I can remember,” said Herman, about Flatt and Scruggs’ theme song on that program. “When I was growing up in Pennsylvania, I came to bluegrass and old-time music by going to the Smoky City Folk Festival in Pittsburgh. I saw all of these people playing these tunes together that looked like they had just met each other. I thought, ‘Wow, you can do that?’ Then it occurred to me, ‘I could travel,’ which was always in my blood, ‘and go and play this music and meet people and have this amount of fun?’ The social aspect of music finally came together for me. I saw the light.”
As Herman’s musical journey led him to West Virginia University and the Mountain State in general, and then out to Colorado where Leftover Salmon was formed; the early success of the band led to his first encounter with Earl Scruggs.
“I met Earl several times,” said Herman. “We recorded with Earl on the Nashville Sessions album (1999). That was just amazing. Absolutely amazing. Earl was a consummate gentleman. He and his wife Louise stuck around in the studio so they could meet Taj Mahal. He had never met Taj and they stayed until they could hang with him. Earl was a sincere, comfortable and warm human being. When Earl walked in, Mark Vann (original banjo player for Leftover Salmon who died of cancer in 2002) was sweating bullets. But then, he got to play with Earl and wrote the tune that we recorded with him.”
Herman and Leftover Salmon loved their visit to the introductory Earl Scruggs Festival. “I have never been to a festival at a large horse center like that and it is so cool that a festival for Earl could be grown into a really big thing there,” said Herman. “As big as MerleFest is, ‘Earl Fest’ should be just as important as Earl is certainly a pillar of the music. As for our set, it sure was nice to have Jerry Douglas sit in with us. From what I understand, Jerry helped to curate the festival as its official host and we were glad they involved us.
“Jerry and Jay Starling (son of John Starling of the original Seldom Scene) have known each other for a long time and the brotherhood of the Dobro is big,” continues Herman. “We are really happy to have Jay in our band now. Casey Driessen is an old friend and such an incredible player as his musical vocabulary and energy is off the hook. And, Darol Anger is a legend. Those two are a couple of the greatest fiddle players in the world. We just feel so lucky to be able to hang out and play tunes with our heroes. It feels like a dream, sometimes.”
Finally, as mentioned before, Jerry Douglas was the official host of the first-ever Earl Scruggs Festival and rightly so. Although Douglas is just in his mid-60s, he started playing bluegrass music professionally as a teenager, meaning he has been in this business for over 50 years. As a result, and because of his long-held stature as one of the genre’s top musicians, Douglas has spent time with and played with many legends who have passed away in recent years. One of those legends was Earl Scruggs.
“After Earl got back to feeling good and started picking the banjo again, he wanted to go out and play,” said Douglas. “So, Marty Stuart and Randy and Gary Scruggs were in the band, and they also brought me in, Glen Duncan on the fiddle and Harry Stinson played some drums. John Jorgensen was also with us playing some Telecaster guitar and mandolin and we’d just go out and do a big ole show. It wasn’t an electric show, but it was a mixed rock-and-bluegrass kind of show. It was the same kind of thing that his sons Gary and Randy did with Earl on the Live at Kansas State album. So, we’d be riding along in the bus and Earl and Louise would be sitting up front.”
As with many traveling musicians, of course, there can be a lot of quiet interludes on the road as you go from town to town on a tour bus, and Douglas took advantage of his time watching the miles roll by with Scruggs. That experience proved to be surreal for Douglas because seeing Flatt and Scruggs perform live with his family when he was a kid made him want to play music. While his dad, John Douglas, was a part-time bluegrass musician when Douglas saw Flatt and Scruggs’ band mate Uncle Josh Graves play the resonator guitar, his life changed almost instantly. Fast forward many decades later.
“We’d get Earl to talking on the bus after we’d get him to loosen up a little bit and he would start telling road stories,” said Douglas. “That was my favorite time to be up there, because all of a sudden, I’m six years old all over again. Here I am, listening to Earl Scruggs, and this is incredible. I used to listen to this guy play music in Ohio and although I was six hundred miles from him, he was in my house, and he was impressing me and doing all of these things and guiding my future without me knowing it. And then, I get to meet him and ride in the bus with him and talk to him like he is my friend, and he was my friend. It’s incredible to even think about those kinds of things happening. That is really living the dream.”
These days, while still playing amazingly-diverse music with his own Jerry Douglas Band, performing with Aly Bain in Scotland on the Transatlantic Sessions, touring as a solo act, and hopefully recording with Alison Krauss and Union Station once again in the future; Douglas continues to tour the country with The Earls of Leicester.
Coming full circle, The Earls of Leicester only play songs culled from the Flatt and Scruggs repertoire. The group features Douglas on resonator guitar, Shawn Camp recreating the front man charisma of Lester Flatt every night, Johnny Warren playing the same fiddle that his father Paul Warren played with Flatt and Scruggs for 20 years, and Charlie Cushman playing the five-string while widely considered to be one of the best Scruggs-style banjo pickers in the business. Therefore, it was only fitting that the group light up the main stage of the inaugural Earl Scruggs Festival.
“I love the Earl Scruggs Festival,” said Douglas. “I love the potential of it the most. The first year was really great and I was the ‘host.’ I didn’t know what that meant, (laughs) so I went and greeted everybody that I could. But I think the Tryon International Equestrian Center is an amazing site. They have so much potential there, and there is a lot they can do with it in the future. But, I think they started out right this year with just two stages. And, I think Earl would have liked this festival. It was the kind of place that you’d see the Earl Scruggs Revue playing.”
