How to go
What: Southern Ohio Indoor Music Festival
When: Friday and Saturday; starting at noon Friday and 11 a.m. Saturday
Where: Roberts Centre, 123 Gano Road, Wilmington
Cost: $30 (single day), $55 (both days). Children 16 and younger get in free.
More info: 937-372-5804 or www.somusicfest.com
The twice yearly Southern Ohio Indoor Music Festival is upon us again, and festival organizer/radio host Joe Mullins has assembled another lineup of up-and-coming and established bluegrass stars, partly based on his own travels with his band, The Radio Ramblers.
For instance, Mullins is excited about Mountain Faith, a family group hailing from the Smoky Mountains of North Carolina. They perform Appalachian-style, bluegrass gospel music.
“We saw them two years ago in Canada,” Mullins said. “It’s a dad, a couple of sons, and a daughter. They just blew us away with their warm spirit and vocal work. Their harmonies are phenomenal. This will be their first performance in Ohio.”
Another find is the Church Sisters, a pair of teen-aged twin sisters from central Virginia who punctuate their sibling vocal harmonies with the fiddle and mandolin.
“They sing in the style of Allison Kraus,” Mullins said. “They appeared on RFD-TV to rave reviews, and I got hundreds of people asking if we could get them here.”
On the more local front is Feller & Hill, comprised of multi-instrumentalist and Indiana native Tom Feller and Chris Hill, a banjo player who hails from Kentucky.
“They’re both veteran bluegrass players who’ve worked with other bands,” Mullins said. “They recently combined resources and came out with a strong CD full of hits. They’re doing real well on the bluegrass and acoustic scene right now.”
Among the established bluegrass stars will be returning headliners Daily and Vincent and Rhonda Vincent & The Rage. As with several other acts on the bill, Vincent will have two sets on the same day.
“The usual bluegrass festival model is an afternoon and evening set, and (Rhonda) prefers that,” Mullins said. “It gives her a chance to take pictures and sign autographs. She loves spending time with her fan base.”
The festival will also have the usual features that make it so appealing to bluegrass fans and amateur musicians, including instrument vendors and an instrument “check service,” which gives musicians a safe place to stow their instruments between playing so they can go watch their favorite acts themselves.
On both days, the festival will open with a banjo workshop and storytelling session by Blake Williams.
“(Williams) has had more banjo time on the Grand ‘ol Opry stage than any sideman,” Mullins said. “And there are so many strange and unique stories about (bluegrass inventor) Bill Monroe and Lester Flatt (of Flatt & Scruggs), and Blake is the only one who’s worked with both of them.”
About the Author