We had a great trip to Nashville for SPBGMA (Society for the Preservation of BlueGrass Music in America)’s convention. We met a lot of folks at our Exhibition Booth and hosted a great jam session each night in our Suite (our daughter Amy, who flew in for the weekend from WVU, counted 23 folks at one time in our room) when the crowd thinned down and we got to talk with some of the folks who crowded in, it turned out that we were playing for promoters from Canada, New York, and North Carolina, in addition to several radio DJs. We are seeing the results of our effort and the airplay we’re getting for our new CD and we already have bookings in WV, KY, OH, VA, and NC with possible trips to FLA, MO, and ALA in discussions. Two big events for us are the 13th Annual Lincoln County Bluegrass & Gospel Festival, held at the Mud River Dam (hence the shortened “Dam Festival”) and the innaugural GABEFEST 2011.

The Dam Festival is sponsored by the Lincoln County Commission and is free to the public. This year’s lineup is complete and features Blue Highway, Grasstowne, Don Rigsby, Jim & Valerie Gabehart, Johnny Staats and others. Saturday is all bluegrass and Sunday features all gospel, including the Tribute Quartet from Nashville, as well as the best local and regional gospel groups (click on the image of the flyer for more info).

Remember when you used to be able to go and enjoy an entire weekend bluegrass festival for a twenty dollar bill (about 25 years ago)? Well you can again at the innaugural GABEFEST 2011. Our goal with this event is to include local talent playing multiple days camping and jamming, and make it affordable for everyone. It will be held September 9-11, 2011 at the Lincoln County Memorial Fairgrounds, near Hamlin, West Virginia on WV State Route 3. Camping (no hookups) is free and ADVANCE tickets (until July 1) are only $20.00. Tickets will be available online and at several retail outlets, as well as by mail. The lineup features Lost & Found, The Darrell Webb Band, Monroeville, The Travelers (Norman Wright & Kevin Church), and others including your hosts, Jim & Valerie Gabehart. Stay tuned for more details.