To find out more about Bluegrass where you live, contact one of these Bluegrass Music Associations ...
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Bluegrass grew out of the rural communities in the Appalachian Mountains, where life was hard and music was the only accessible leisure activitiy at the Saturday barn dances and Sunday church services.
In December 1945, Bill Monroe appeared on the Grand Ole Opry with a young banjo player, Earl Scruggs. This was a new sound that revolutionised music across the south of America. Bill Monroe grew up on a farm in rural Kentucky in a musical family. The sounds he heard throughout his young years were European based fiddle dance tunes and ballads, the soulful sound of black gospel singers and the blues of the black guitar players - as well as the sound of farmers calling their cattle across the hills. He amalgamated them all into a sound that he called the "high lonsesome sound" and that would become a genre in its own right called "Bluegrass" - the nickname of the state of Kentucky. Vertical Divider
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Made popular by the growth of radio, Bluegrass followed and narrated the social and economic developments in the USA.
Nowadays, Bluegrass is gaining new audiences thanks to stars like Chris Thile, Molly Tuttle and Billy Strings |
the story of Bluegrass: the early years
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Bluegrass music was "invented" by Bill Monroe in the 1940s. He grew up in Kentucky listening to traditional mountain music, brought over from his ancestors' Scottish home, and to the blues and gospel music of the local black population. Two of his biggest influences were his Uncle Pendleton Vandiver, right, for whom he wrote the classic song, Uncle Pen, and black bluesman Arnold Schultz (left). Throughout his early musical years he searched for the sound that encapsulated both of these influences that he wanted to hear in his music, first with his borther Charlie, and then with his own band The Blue Grass Boys (named after the state of Kentucky).
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His band went through several mutations before exploding onto the stage of the Grand Ole Opry in Nashville in 1946 with guitarist-singer Lester Flatt and a young banjo player named Earl Scruggs, who brought a new 3-finger playing style to the banjo, played against Bill Monroe's syncopated mandolin with the chop on the off beat, that would lay down the benchmark and become the definitive "sound" of Bluegrass music.
Listening to the drive and the beat on this early music in the late 40s, you can clearly pick up early signs of rhythm & blues or rock'n'roll and, indeed, Elvis Presley listened to Bill Monroe as a teenager and recorded his song "Blue Moon of Kentucky" on the B-side of his first record. |
Bill Monroe's music was very popular across the south and as demand for it grew new bands imitated the sound and radios played this "music of the blue grass boys". Thus the name stuck and Bluegrass Music became a new genre of American made music.
In the 1950s Bluegrass lost much of its momentum with the explosion of rock'n'roll but it gained new audiences again with the folk revival of the early 1960s, on the college campuses and through the Newport Folk Festival. Bands like the Country Gentlemen took the music to the sophisticated city venues and young artists like Jerry Garcia (Grateful Dead) and Peter Rowan gave the music a San Francisco twist.
In the 1950s Bluegrass lost much of its momentum with the explosion of rock'n'roll but it gained new audiences again with the folk revival of the early 1960s, on the college campuses and through the Newport Folk Festival. Bands like the Country Gentlemen took the music to the sophisticated city venues and young artists like Jerry Garcia (Grateful Dead) and Peter Rowan gave the music a San Francisco twist.
THE STORY OF BLUEGRASS: The TEENAGE years
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The new generation of acoustic music lovers grew up listening to the Beatles, the Rolling Stones and the Doors. Some went to Woodstock. They wanted to play their acoustic music and to express their influences. Bands started to play rock and pop songs in the Bluegrass style and to write new songs in their own modern Bluegrass style. In California, we saw the Weset Coast style of Old and in the Way (Jerry Garcia, Peter Rowan, David Grisman, Vassar Clements), whose inconic album drew many people towards Bluegrass (including the founder and president of Bluegrass in La Roche). In Washingon, the Seldom Scene perfected the Bluegrass-pop crossover style in the footsteps of the Country Gentlemen, playing modern and traditional songs in perfect Bluegrass style with impeccable playing and exquisite harmonies. Meanwhile, in Tennessee, a new band started playing what could be described as "rock music in a bluegrass style". The band, led by Sam Bush, gave itself a name to suit their music: New Grass Revival, a name that captures both the modern and traditional aspects of their music. While these bands, and many others, played their bluegrass with a contemporary attitude, they still continued to play the old songs of The Carter Family and Bill Monroe. Although these musicians were breathing new life into traditional acoustic music and capturing a whole new audience, Bill Monroe did not like the long hair and where they were taking the music in the beginning, famously saying "That ain't no part of nothing!"
Sam Bush, Peter Rowan and David Grisman actually went on to become respected elder statesmen of Bluegrass, appreciated by Bill Monroe. Bela Flek became the most famous banjo player in the world, experimenting with any form of world music that came his way. John Cowan joined rock legends the Doobie Brothers as their bass player. They all still play and promote Bluegrass music because while you can check in to Bluegrass music any time you like, you can never leave! Vertical Divider
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Album cover of the iconic Old & in the Way vinyl (1972) with John Kahn, Vassar Clements, David Grisman, Jerry Garcia, Peter Rowan.
Seldom Scene in Toulouse 1983 avec Sam Bush et Peter Rowan. John Duffy, Bel Eldridge, SB, PR, Tom Gray, Phil Rosenthal. Not in photo, Mike Auldridge
New Grass Revival (1984) with Bela Flek, Sam Bush, John Cowan, Pat Flynn
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THE STORY OF BLUEGRASS: the adult years
Rockygrass festival in Colorado
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In the 1970s the first Bluegrass festivals started to appear. Today there are hundreds of them all over America, Europe, Japan and Australia. Each festival is an event, where people of all ages, with family and/or friends congregate to camp, play music, swop new songs and hear the top acts of the day. Bluegrass music has become an accepted genre in its own right, with its own category at the Grammy Awards. Top Bluegrass acts play at Carnegie Hall and in the prestigious concert halls of Washington DC and Los Angeles.
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The development of the festival circuit was good news for professional Bluegrass musicians, giving them a chance to promote their albums, meet their fans and play for large audiences. It was also good news for Bill Monroe himself who became the recognised "Father of Bluegrass" and was much loved and respected, passing away in 1996 4 days before his 85th birthday. His "Father of Bluegrass" crown has not been officially passed on, but it is fair to say that Sam Bush, Peter Rowan and Del McCoury (the latter two Bluegrass Boys alumni) carry the torch between them with grace and honour, each in their own way.
In 1985 the International Bluegrass Music Association was formed as a trade assocation to promote Bluegrass music and advocate on behalf of its members, mostly Bluegrass musicians but also anyone involved in the music, from luthiers, to managers, to event organisers and even fans. It holds its annual World of Bluegrass conference, trade show and festival at the end of September in Chattanooga, Tennessee (previously in Raleigh, North Carolin, Nashville, Tennessee and before that in Louisville and Owensboro, Kentucky). The IBMA plays a difficult balancing act of keeping the traditional fans involved and interested, raised on Bill Monroe and other first generation musicians, and embracing the modern acoustic music fans, raised on a broad range of musical styles and thirsty to integrate new sounds into their traditional playing, all while recognising and promoting the extensive ethnic roots of the music. Bluegrass has been likened to a tree, with its roots planted firmly in the ground of its heritage (even the most far out, modern player will still enjoy jamming to old classics), and with branches growing upwards and outwards, feeding off the roots while exploring new ideas -- the two parts are inextricably held together by the trunk.
The Punch Brothers with Paul Kowert, Noam Pikelny, Chris Thile, Chris Eldridge, Gabe Witcher
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It is an exciting time for Bluegrass music. There are some great bands and we are lucky to have seen some of them at Bluegrass in La Roche, playing traditional and modern Bluegrass.
Musicians like Chris Thile, Sierra Hull, Noam Pikelny, Sarah Jarosz, Billy Srings are receiving worldwide recognition as they take the music to new places and to new audiences. Famous musicians from the world of rock and pop are embracing Bluegrass, like Led Zeppelin's Robert Plant, whose collaboration with Alison Krauss won a Grammy award. |
bluegrass in FranceLike many countries, in the early days Bluegrass in France was largely a concern for individual enthusiasts. Eveyrone interested in Bluegrass music knew everyone else and networks grew up around now legendary places in Paris such as the music store Quincampoix ("le folk c'est Quincampoix"), the American Cultural Centre, Lutherie Charles. There was, at this early stage, no need for a national infrastructure to support the music. There were also opportunities to play.
Some of the early French bands in the 1970s, such as Blue Grass Long Distance or Transatlantic, featured excellent musicians, who toured the USA, played on TV and are still considered the benchmark in terms of creativity and musicianship for many French bands today. The good news is that, with the renewed growth of Bluegrass music in France, many of these early pioneers are playing again, forming bands and returning to live performances. At the end of the 1970s, there was a thriving Bluegrasss community in the Paris area with concerts and festivals featuring leading American bands. The great American banjoist, Bill Keith (who played with Bill Monroe's Bluegrass Boys and pioneered the "single string" banjo playing style), moved to France, married and took French nationality. He was a regular at EWOB in Holland and played in France as late as 2015. In 2016 he was inducted into the IBMA Bluegrass Hall of Fame just a few weeks before his death. Vertical Divider
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significant events in french bluegrass history
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1982 - Joel Herbach, after launching Back-up, a glossy magazine about Bluegrass, organised the first Toulouse Bluegrass Festival, which put France firmly on the Bluegrass map in Europe and, even the USA. Top European and American bands played, including New Grass Revival, Peter Rowan and Seldom Scene (see article on previous page about Bluegrass). The festival lasted only for 3 years.
1987 - Launch of a new fanzine called Le Cri du Coyote. Only available on subscription, it is without doubt the best magazine in France (probably in Europe) covering the full range of American Roots Music. Its Bluegrass component by Dominique Fosse is first class. Dominique represents France on the band contest panel of La Roche Bluegrass Festival. 1992 - Bill Monroe played in France at Dore l'Eglise, where Christopher Howard-Williams, president of La Roche Bluegrass Festival was emcee! This festival was the precursor of what would become the Craponne Country Rendezvous, now Geen Escape, France's most important Country music festival, where at least one US Bluegrass act is featured every year. (This became an important factor in the development of La Roche Bluegrass Festival, because the two festivals regularly pool resources to bring a band over.) 1996 - Creation of France Bluegrass Music Association (FBMA) under the initiative of French Bluegrass stalwart, Jean-Marie Redon, and its newsletter. FBMA is going stronger than ever and several regional associations and events have also been created under its tutelage in the last 5 years. 1996 - Bluegrass invited to take part in the "Trad en Fête" weekend at La Grange Rouge cultural association in Burgundy (literally The Red Barn, see photo). This French Folk music meet started in 1982 and is still running. Bluegrass was an integral part of the weekend for 20 years and a major meeting point for Bluegrass enthusiasts from all over the country. Vertical Divider
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1998 - 1st national Bluegrass meeting held in Chilleurs au Bois, before moving to St Vincent sur Oust in Brittany and then to Neuvy sur Barangeon. This event went on to become FBMA's Spring Bluegrass Weekend in Vichy in 2008, where it continues to this day.
2002 - 1st FBMA Winter Bluegrass Weekend at Vichy, hosted by Jean-François Tronelle. Still an annueal event. 2006 - 1st La Roche Bluegrass Festival, launched by then FBMA president Christopher Howard-Williams.
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Bluegrass music has developed at different speeds around Europe, depending largely on the local folk music tradition and the country's exposure to American influences, mainly through the American Forces Network radio playing in areas where US troops were stationed after WWII.
Wherever it takes hold, it integrates some local influences, and you can find them all in the diversity of Bluegrass styles to be heard at Bluegrass in La Roche. As one may expect, the music is widely known and played in the United Kingdom, where the British Bluegrass Music Association (BBMA) is probably the best organised on the continent. Indeed Bill Monroe's ancestors hailed from Scotland, and Scottish traditional music is one of the major forces behind the genus of the genre. Likewise in Ireland where Bluegrass and Irish music live side by side with influences moving back and forth. One of the most successful projects of the 2000s has been the Transatlantic Sessions, produced by BBC TV, where Jerry Douglas, Russ Barenburg and Tim O'Brien (USA) team up with Aly Bain (Scotland) to bring together world class musicians from both sides of the Atlantic to play and record together, showing how closely tied the musical influences are. |
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Curiously, the epicentre of European Bluegrass music seems to be in the Czech Republic and Slovakia, where their own style of traditional folk music, called Tramp Music, has many similarities. The story was recently told in a film "Banjo Romanticka" by Dr Lee Bidgood of East Tennesse State University.
In the mid 1990s Paolo Dettwiler, from Switzerland, called an international group of people together in a drive to organise Bluegrass on a pan-European scale by creating the European Bluegrass Network, which later became the European Bluegrass Music Assocation (EBMA). Paolo and his team launched their first festival and trade show (EWOB - European World of Bluegrass) in Voorthuisen, Netherlands in 1998 to emulate the IBMA WOB. In 2002, Dennis Schutt left the board and set up a second EWOB in the Czech Republic and then Germany. In 2005, Dennis asked Christopher Howard-Williams if he could host the festival in France and La Roche Bluegrass Festival was born. The EWOB festival in Voorthuisen is still going.
Individuals, national associations and even board members found it difficult to identify a role for the association on a pan-European level but a series of international summits from 2010-15 created connections and laid some common groundwork and there is no doubt that international ties were created and strengthened, within Europe and with the USA, as a result of its initiatives and it's very existence has been a great help in allowing EWOB and Bluegrass in La Roche to develop. A new board was voted in in 2014. Following poor engagement, the board decided to dissolve the association, but a new team formed and in 2024 were voted in as a new board. EBMA has new drive today and in March 2025, over a hundred artists, event organisers, bookers and fans congregated in Prague giving a new impetus to the idea of pan European co-operation.
In the mid 1990s Paolo Dettwiler, from Switzerland, called an international group of people together in a drive to organise Bluegrass on a pan-European scale by creating the European Bluegrass Network, which later became the European Bluegrass Music Assocation (EBMA). Paolo and his team launched their first festival and trade show (EWOB - European World of Bluegrass) in Voorthuisen, Netherlands in 1998 to emulate the IBMA WOB. In 2002, Dennis Schutt left the board and set up a second EWOB in the Czech Republic and then Germany. In 2005, Dennis asked Christopher Howard-Williams if he could host the festival in France and La Roche Bluegrass Festival was born. The EWOB festival in Voorthuisen is still going.
Individuals, national associations and even board members found it difficult to identify a role for the association on a pan-European level but a series of international summits from 2010-15 created connections and laid some common groundwork and there is no doubt that international ties were created and strengthened, within Europe and with the USA, as a result of its initiatives and it's very existence has been a great help in allowing EWOB and Bluegrass in La Roche to develop. A new board was voted in in 2014. Following poor engagement, the board decided to dissolve the association, but a new team formed and in 2024 were voted in as a new board. EBMA has new drive today and in March 2025, over a hundred artists, event organisers, bookers and fans congregated in Prague giving a new impetus to the idea of pan European co-operation.