By CATHERINE ELLERTON
Moapa Valley Progress
What could be better than sitting under the shade of a tree; on a beautiful, clear day in October; listening to the toe tappin’ music of a variety of bands gathered to celebrate the 40th Anniversary of the Southern Nevada Bluegrass Music Society (SNBMS)?
These talented musicians not only play one instrument, they play several, from banjo to guitar to fiddle, bass, mandolins and dobros. In addition they add the vocals: as soloist or in harmony. ‘
Stuck In Reverse members: Jan and Peggy Ruesch, Joel Feldman, Warner Sankman and Jeff Weaver join together in musical harmony and soon pull the audience in with their light banter. They are as adept at Bluegrass as they are at Gospel.
In addition, two of the members, Jan and Peggy Ruesch are members of the group “Once Again,” along with Preston and Dave Cole – a folk contemporary band. The instrument that sets a folk contemporary band aside is the drum.
Scott Doney, one of the newest members of the Bluegrass group, ‘Aspen Ridge,’ along with Mike Brown, Fred and Sylvia Thule and Carl Tobler, further explained that the percussion in Bluegrass music is added as the result of the bass and mandolin playing and chopping against each other. As this reporter sat there listening to the impressive instrumental presentations of such songs as “Blue Ridge Mountains” and “Wabash Cannon Ball,” I was delighted to actually pick out the counter-play of the two instruments which made the pieces even more exciting.
There were 17 bands present at this Festival which had come back to Logandale after a short, but noticeable, absence. The Bluegrass Festival had been playing in Logandale for 30 years previously, and hit a snag. But after coordination and a lot of work by local Rik Eide and SNBMS, they were back, Board Officer, Brian Burns, explained.
Andrew Morris, Cole Porter, Ian Clarke and Justin DeMoulin of ‘Pittman Wash All-Stars’ add a bit of ‘twang’ to their vocals. I took a moment to talk with them and found out that there is a variety of Bluegrass music from Progressive to American to Traditional. The ‘twang’ is their preference. In addition to playing in Bluegrass venues, this versatile group also performs at McMullan’s Irish Pub in Las Vegas.
I joined Ron Griffin in the audience as we were awed by the instrumentals by ‘Out Of The Desert.’
Ron was a visitor from Utah but previously hailed from North Carolina. This festival was making him homesick for the Hoot ‘n’ Holler Party of the Bluegrass Festivals in the south.
The After Hours Jam Sessions were a great way to meet other musicians, learn their playing styles and learn to play together. Added features in the evening and late afternoon were jamming classes, a songwriters workshop, performers Q & A and a campground jam session that goes late into the night.
I leave you with a thought shared by Peggy Ruesch of the ‘Once Again’ band as they prepared to present an Alabama song. “May you enjoy one more sunrise.”
