The seventh annual Brackendale Bluegrass Festival is satisfying budding musicians who are yearning to learn directly from the pros with five instrumental and vocal workshops at the Brackendale Art Gallery (BAG) on Saturday (May 2).
The workshops are sure to strengthen audience/artist interaction for the already intimate two-day concert, which features Hat Creek Stringband and The Courageous Mountain Rangers on Friday (May 1), and solo banjoist Elena Yeung and Redgrass on Saturday (May 2), said organizer Cam Salay.
"I think it's great for the people who attend the workshops because they can learn some skills on the guitar and then sit back and watch the concert that evening and see how all those skills fit in to a song," he said.
Local musician Perry Beckham is leading a two-hour guitar workshop (1 p.m.) and Yeung is teaching separate one-hour banjo (2 p.m.) and songwriting (3 p.m.) workshops. Redgrass's mandolinist Kris Boyd is leading a one-hour mandolin workshop (5 p.m.) after he and the rest of the band teach students the ins and outs of vocal harmony (4 p.m.).
Redgrass banjoist, guitarist and vocalist Steve Charles performed with Viper Central at last year's bluegrass festival. Although he has a lot of experience teaching music, the festival workshop setting is particularly special, he said.
"I find that part really fun actually, doing group workshops, because then you get to know the people and then you see them at the show later," he said.
"We're going to take a tune and teach people how to figure out the three parts for themselves, how it all works with the tenors and baritones, and give some basics on how to sing three-part because Redgrass does quite a bit of that."
Vancouver jazz bassist Adam Thomas is venturing into bluegrass by filling in for Sean Cronin, who is in Europe preparing for a Redgrass tour through Switzerland, France and Italy.
"Adam is a funny guy and a very good musician so it will be a treat to have different ideas on tunes," said Charles.
Salay calls the event a true old-time festival, with lots of dancing, great picking and everyone playing into one central microphone. Hat Creek Stringband opens the festival Friday (May 1) followed by Pemberton's The Courageous Mountain Rangers.
Yeung and Redgrass perform the following night after a full day of workshops.
The cost of each workshop is $10 and festival tickets are $20 per day or $30 for both days. Tickets are available at the BAG and The Bookshelf. The music starts at 8 p.m. both nights.
