Norwich hosts Family Bluegrass Festival this weekend
NORWICH – The Norwich Family Bluegrass Festival at the Chenango County Fairgrounds has become part of what organizer and performer Tom Doerfel says is, “The best kept secret in America.”
Like a time-released bulb, bluegrass music has flourished nationwide in recent years, perhaps when America has needed it the most. With no frills and no induced gimmicks, bluegrass has found the way to bring families and individuals together: honesty.
“Bluegrass music is of the people, by the people and for the people,” said organizer Dr. Mike of festival co-headliner, The Cabin Fever Band. “It is real.”
In his first year putting on the event, which runs this Friday, Saturday and Sunday, Dr. Mike expects to exceed the success the festival has always had. However, this year he hopes people who actually live in Norwich and in Chenango County will come experience the inclusive, laid back atmosphere that brings musicians, fans, families and interested newcomers all onto the same level.
“The biggest thing is that it is very family friendly,” he said, adding that besides the great stage and improvised sessions, “there are activities for the children every day of the festival, and it’s small enough that you feel comfortable letting your kids run loose.” He also encourages everyone with an instrument to bring it, and he added that an open stage will be provided on Friday from 1-3 p.m. Promising acts may earn a spot in next year’s festival line-up.
“If people just want to come and play with other people,” said Dr. Mike, citing that many come to bluegrass festivals just to play with other musicians hanging out in the crowd, “this is the place to do it.”
Fellow headliner, The Doerfel Family Bluegrass, is an arrangement of nine brothers and a sister, along with parents Tom and Cheryl, whose talents in bluegrass were uncovered randomly by listening to it in the late 90s. Since then the children, some playing banjos, mandolins, guitars, harmonicas, and singing as early as five years old, have seen accelerated development that’s come on about as natural as day turning into night.
“They love people,” said father Tom Doerfel, speaking about his children who run the band. “I told them, ‘you’ve found a way to put a smile on people’s faces, if you can find out a better way to put a smile on someone’s face, we’ll do that too.” The Buffalo-area family prides itself on practicing traditional methodologies of bluegrass, and they spend nearly two-thirds of the year on the road playing extensively in festivals, clubs, churches, and theaters.
Doerfel says one thing that drew his family to bluegrass and to the Norwich Festival is the camaraderie and respect people have for each other both on stage and in the crowd.
“We all look out for each other,” he said. “It’s been a huge influence on our family, and the environment helps build relationships within other families. They learn to do things together.”
To the Doerfel family, bluegrass literally and symbolically represents that necessary interdependence between people and families, and the era when that dependence meant people worked hard, and stuck out difficult situations. “There is no way we could ever, ever give back to the bluegrass community what they have given to our family,” said Doerfel, believing that the music could be beneficial for anyone. “I guarantee they’ll be impacted in a positive way.”
Other bands scheduled to perform the three-day festival include, The Delaney Brothers, Lynwood Lunsford & the Misty Valley Boys, Dan Paisley & the Southern Grass, Dave Nichols & Spare Change, Smokey Greene, Bill & Maggie Anderson, Atkinson Family, The Hunger Mountain Boys, and Al & Kathy Bain.
Admission for a three-day advance ticket is $36, which includes free field camping, Friday only and Sunday only tickets are $12, and Saturday only is $24. Hot water and electric hook-ups are $10 a night.
Other event organizers include Bill and Marion Kleine, and all the music at the Norwich Family Bluegrass Festival is supported by the Chenango County Council of the Arts, through public funding from the New York state Council of the Arts. For complete schedules and information on the festival visit www.norwichfamilybluegrass.com.
Like a time-released bulb, bluegrass music has flourished nationwide in recent years, perhaps when America has needed it the most. With no frills and no induced gimmicks, bluegrass has found the way to bring families and individuals together: honesty.
“Bluegrass music is of the people, by the people and for the people,” said organizer Dr. Mike of festival co-headliner, The Cabin Fever Band. “It is real.”
In his first year putting on the event, which runs this Friday, Saturday and Sunday, Dr. Mike expects to exceed the success the festival has always had. However, this year he hopes people who actually live in Norwich and in Chenango County will come experience the inclusive, laid back atmosphere that brings musicians, fans, families and interested newcomers all onto the same level.
“The biggest thing is that it is very family friendly,” he said, adding that besides the great stage and improvised sessions, “there are activities for the children every day of the festival, and it’s small enough that you feel comfortable letting your kids run loose.” He also encourages everyone with an instrument to bring it, and he added that an open stage will be provided on Friday from 1-3 p.m. Promising acts may earn a spot in next year’s festival line-up.
“If people just want to come and play with other people,” said Dr. Mike, citing that many come to bluegrass festivals just to play with other musicians hanging out in the crowd, “this is the place to do it.”
Fellow headliner, The Doerfel Family Bluegrass, is an arrangement of nine brothers and a sister, along with parents Tom and Cheryl, whose talents in bluegrass were uncovered randomly by listening to it in the late 90s. Since then the children, some playing banjos, mandolins, guitars, harmonicas, and singing as early as five years old, have seen accelerated development that’s come on about as natural as day turning into night.
“They love people,” said father Tom Doerfel, speaking about his children who run the band. “I told them, ‘you’ve found a way to put a smile on people’s faces, if you can find out a better way to put a smile on someone’s face, we’ll do that too.” The Buffalo-area family prides itself on practicing traditional methodologies of bluegrass, and they spend nearly two-thirds of the year on the road playing extensively in festivals, clubs, churches, and theaters.
Doerfel says one thing that drew his family to bluegrass and to the Norwich Festival is the camaraderie and respect people have for each other both on stage and in the crowd.
“We all look out for each other,” he said. “It’s been a huge influence on our family, and the environment helps build relationships within other families. They learn to do things together.”
To the Doerfel family, bluegrass literally and symbolically represents that necessary interdependence between people and families, and the era when that dependence meant people worked hard, and stuck out difficult situations. “There is no way we could ever, ever give back to the bluegrass community what they have given to our family,” said Doerfel, believing that the music could be beneficial for anyone. “I guarantee they’ll be impacted in a positive way.”
Other bands scheduled to perform the three-day festival include, The Delaney Brothers, Lynwood Lunsford & the Misty Valley Boys, Dan Paisley & the Southern Grass, Dave Nichols & Spare Change, Smokey Greene, Bill & Maggie Anderson, Atkinson Family, The Hunger Mountain Boys, and Al & Kathy Bain.
Admission for a three-day advance ticket is $36, which includes free field camping, Friday only and Sunday only tickets are $12, and Saturday only is $24. Hot water and electric hook-ups are $10 a night.
Other event organizers include Bill and Marion Kleine, and all the music at the Norwich Family Bluegrass Festival is supported by the Chenango County Council of the Arts, through public funding from the New York state Council of the Arts. For complete schedules and information on the festival visit www.norwichfamilybluegrass.com.
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