Bluegrass music

Tweet

There is a genre of music in the US culture known as "Bluegrass". I always thought it was because its origins were from the location around Kentucky that is known for bluegrass pastures. I was wrong. It developed in the Appalachians in the 1940's It takes it's name from a band that originated it. Bill Monroe and the Bluegrass Boys. Wikipedia has a nice article, I am going to quote a small section: "Bluegrass features acoustic stringed instruments and emphasizes the off-beat. The off-beat can be "driven" (played close to the previous bass note) or "swung" (played farther from the previous bass note). Notes are anticipated, in contrast to laid-back blues where notes are behind the beat; this creates the higher energy characteristic of bluegrass" So mostly you will see guitars, banjos, mandolins, and string bass. All of this to lead into a discussion. Winfield, Kansas, hosts a Bluegrass Festival every year in September. People come from all over to participate, swap tunes, and I imagine there are contests. There are also people who volunteer to come play at the Veteran's Home. At lunch today we had a trio. Pretty polished looking and sounding. Kind of led by a lady singer, but they do not usually perform together, they are from different places in the US. At 2:30 this afternoon we had a couple that to me would represent the roots of Bluegrass. The man played guitar, with a harmonica supported at his mouth to play as well when he was not singing. His wife sang and played banjo.She was a little bit of a thing with a big voice and she never smiled, looked very serious. The man played guitar without a pick, thumping the box of the guitar as he strummed. Bob enjoyed listening to both sets of music. We also watched the movie "Shrek". I stayed longer than usual today. I wonder if @TheHorse plays much bluegrass? I bet he would have enjoyed the day.