Grass Stock '09

Over the past couple of months, I have been anticipating my trip to Guysville, Ohio for Grass Stock ‘09. It is a three-day fundraiser for Worldwide Bluegrass, an internet station that plays Bluegrass 24/7.

This is the third year that the event has been in motion, and it appears that it will far surpass any that have been up to now. Over 30 bands will compete to raise funds for this all-volunteer radio station that has visitors from around the globe on a daily basis. People come into the chat room from far away as Germany, Canada, Australia, Japan and all points of our United States.

Mr. Ron Workman, who owns the farm that this year’s event will be at, is also a very gifted musician and great host to the many families and artists that come to be a part of this fund raiser. His farm offers the free primitive camping with a regular campsite just minutes away. There are also hotels and motels in nearby Athens, Ohio. I am looking forward to meeting this super guy that has given so much to help out.

In all, there will be over 30 bands performing on three separate nights with plenty of other things to keep various family members in tow during the daylight hours. They will have workshops and hay rides for the kids with different things geared just for them. There will be plenty of fireside picking and singing before and after the shows.

One of my favorite bands will be there to help out ... Blue Storm, headed up by Richard Propps, will be one of the main event groups to appear on Saturday night. Unfortunately, they will not have Stevie Williams on stage, as he underwent a quadruple bypass just a week ago in Southern Ohio following a massive heart attack. As he continues to mend, please keep this top flight entertainer and good ole boy in your thoughts and prayers.

I will be camping out under the stars with many friends during this FREE event, and, if you are in the area, which is about 60 miles southeast of Columbus, Ohio and about 20 miles west of Parkersburg, West Virginia, please come by and enjoy the time of your life.

If you’re looking for a super station to listen to, please go to www.worldwidebluegrass.com and log into the chat room and say hello. It is user friendly and has such fine people as Rambling Ruby from Kentucky, Fishnchip from southern Ohio, Tamara from Kentucky and many more that are very family like in nature. You are only a stranger there once.

You will also get to chat with the many DJ's that volunteer their time at all hours of the day to keep the music going. Uncle Billy Dunbar from Iowa, Gracie Muldoon from Newport, Kentucky, Heather Mandich from Australia, Jean Johnson from Maine, Ken Hamilton from Arkansas, Gentleman Jim, who heads up his own band and is also a volunteer announcer, and Terry Poirier, originally from Canada and now in Kentucky, is another of the fine people that make up their roster, and the list goes on.

Please stop in and tell them I sent you. If you can't attend the August 13-15 fest, you can also donate to help keep Bluegrass of quality on the air by going to their website.

Percival A. Friend, Retired
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