Grammy-winning recording artist and Kentucky native Ricky Skaggs (right) joined the legendary Dr. Ralph Stanley (left) on stage Friday night, as part of Stanley’s 40th Annual Memorial Weekend Bluegrass Festival.
Each year, the festival takes place at the Hills of Home Park (Stanley’s Old Home Place) on Smith Ridge — located between Coeburn and McClure, Virginia — over the Memorial Day Weekend, and features some of today’s premier bluegrass bands.
The three-day festival celebrated its 40th Anniversary this year with performances by well-known artists such as Gillian Welch and Dave Rawlings, Rhonda Vincent and The Rage, Ricky Skaggs and Kentucky Thunder, Dailey and Vincent, Larry Sparks and The Lonesome Ramblers, Melvin Goins and Windy Mountain, George Shuffler, Ralph Stanley and The Clinch Mountain Boys, and a legion of other legendary Bluegrass pickers.
Apart from the heap of quality festival performances, many people — from all across the United States and Canada — come just to camp on the land where the legendary Ralph Stanley grew up, and enjoy a weekend of relaxation, merriment and community.
To many attending the event, the festival has a tradition of staging high-quality mountain music performances that represent the culture and music of the region — but isn’t necessarily limited to that.
Numerous festival-goers attend the event to simply meet other bluegrass admirers and take part in open jam sessions, which are plentiful all about the Hills of Home Park and accessible to anyone with an old-timey soul and a stringed instrument.
Although severe weather moved through the area on Friday evening, it did not dampen the spirits of those attending the festival: Acts of generosity and kindness were all about, music was in the air, and the true spirit of community was in full effect.
David Brubaker, of Charlotte, N.C., made a spur-of-the-moment trip to the mountains of Southwest Virginia when he heard Ricky Skaggs was to be performing alongside Ralph Stanley over the weekend.
Brubaker commented that the festival, in his opinion, was a complete experience — adding that he met a lot of interesting folks and even got to pick his mandolin a little bit at some late-night jam sessions.
“I had a wonderfully, enjoyable time,” said Brubaker. “The whole point of the festival, to me, was to have a really good time... and I absolutely did.”
In addition, the Ralph Stanley Memorial Weekend Bluegrass Festival was recently welcomed as a Crooked Road Affiliated Partner.
The Crooked Road’s mission is to support tourism and economic development in Southwest Virginia by celebrating and preserving the Appalachian region’s unique musical and cultural heritage.
As an Affiliated Partner, Ralph Stanley’s Memorial Weekend Bluegrass Festival will receive recognition in Crooked Road publicity and promotional materials.
A complete listing of the 44 Affiliated Partners and eight Major Venues of The Crooked Road: Virginia’s Heritage Music Trail can be found at www.thecrookedroad.org.
To learn more about the Ralph Stanley Memorial Weekend Bluegrass Festival, visit www.drralphstanley.com.
The Ralph Stanley Memorial Weekend Bluegrass Festival is held each year over the Memorial Day Weekend in honor of Carter Stanley, Ralph’s brother, who lies at rest on Smith Ridge.
Adam Young is a Staff Writer for the Middlesboro Daily News. He can be contacted by e-mail at ayoung@middlesborodailynews.com.
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