Rogersville Homecoming Bluegrass Festival - 2006

I just got back from the 2006 Rogersville Homecoming Bluegrass Festival - it was great! I wish more people who claim they love Bluegrass music, but have never attended a festival, would take the time to attend at least one. You don't know what you're missing! I was a little surprised with what I thought was a relatively small turnout for Sunday afternoon, considering the lineup of bands on hand.

The lineup was very good this year, comprised of Rhonda Vincent & The Rage, Don Rigsby & Midnight Call, The Spinney Brothers, Ray Legere & Acoustic Horizon, True Blue, Timberland Express, Blue River, Gospel Connection, Janet McGarry & Wind River, and Eddy Poirier & Fern Maillet. Of course, the highlight of the festival was Rhonda Vincent & The Rage.

Rhonda's first show was a little disappointing for me - not because the band performed badly, but due to the sound not being up to par. It seemed the group had intended on using three condenser microphones, but resorted to using only one due to poor communication between Rhonda and the audience. It appeared Rhonda thought two of the mics weren't working, when in fact they were fine - maybe the monitor feeds for the mics in question weren't working? I'm not sure what the confusion was about. The end result was that Josh Williams' voice could not be heard doing the harmony on all of those great Gospel songs - a critical part of the set, in my opinion. Being familiar with all of the songs in the set, I knew where Josh's voice should have been, and believe me I was straining to hear any trace of Josh - I resorted to reading his lips.

Don Rigsby & Midnight Call, and the Spinney Brothers each had very good performances. Then there's Ray Legere and Acoustic Horizon; in my opinion, these guys are every bit as good, and a whole lot better than some of the biggest names in the Bluegrass business - and I'm happy to say they are from New Brunswick. What can you say about the musicianship of this group that hasn't already been said? They're awesome, and that's all there is to it! All of the other "local" bands had very good performances as well.

The festival ran an hour late, concluding at 7:00 PM, but believe me, it was well worth sticking around for. Rhonda Vincent & The Rage put on a spectacular show. This time 'round, each member had their own vocal and instrument mics, so there was no problem hearing the vocals or an instrumental break, when it was time.

Rhonda's last show was very moving, evoking a large range of emotions, from laughter to sorrow. After performing The Last Best Place, the band received a standing ovation, which brought tears to Rhonda's eyes, and mine as well. What can I say? I'm a softy.

Other than the mix-up with the sound of Rhonda Vincent's first show, I must say the sound was very good. It seems almost every one of us has something negative to say about the sound at a festival or concert, including myself. One of my biggest complaints in the past, has been that you can never hear the banjo - an instrument that you'd think would cut through everything, but I could even here the banjo nice and clear. My congratulations and thanks go out to the sound crew at this festival. Job well done!