2001—June: Strawberry Park

The prospect of experiencing Dry Branch live was enough to get these dévotés to drive 96 miles from Arlington to the Festival and to spring for an overrnight motel room. We really didn’t and don’t count as fans of the other performers, with one startling exception. When we got there and settled down to read the printed program, we were delighted to learn that 74-year-old¹ Ralph Stanley and His Clinch Mountain Boys were also scheduled to perform.

Stanley, a reigning deity in bluegrass circles for many decades, had recently widened his audience (to include us and many others) with a singing rôle in the hit Coen Brothers film, “O Brother, Where Art Thou?”

¹NASHVILLE, TN -- February 26, 2013--Grand Ole Opry star and multiple Grammy-winner Ralph Stanley has signed to Moonstruck Management for management and booking. [Press release on drralphstanleymusic.com; that date, you may note, fell one day after Dr. Stanley’s 87th birthday. He’s an inspiration to all us old fossils.]