BRUNSWICK — Thomas Point Beach, 29 Meadow Road, presents “The Bluegrass Special,” an event that revisits a beloved musical tradition, as musicians and audience members gather together for firstclass family entertainment over Labor Day weekend, Aug. 30 through Sept. 2,
A news release from event organizer Pati Crooker describes the weekend as follows:
In 2008, the Thomas Point Beach Bluegrass Festival retired after 30 years of being acclaimed world-wide as one of the best-managed and family friendly festivals anywhere. This festival was recognized internationally for the attention to quality and detail in all respects.
Park owner and manager Pati Crooker heard the requests of fans everywhere, and in 2011 created an encore of sorts in an all new family musical event, “The Bluegrass Special,” aptly named for a classic Bill Monroe song.
This year the event will expand with a fourth day dedicated to the fellowship and roots of Bluegrass. Thursday will kick off the events with bingo games, a potluck and social supper, and an open mic show that will feature the Maine bluegrass band Back To Basics.
The stage becomes fully alive on Friday with headliners Dailey and Vincent from Nashville taking the stage. The Grammy-nominated duo have wowed audiences everywhere they play. Friday’s schedule also welcomes first-timers to the Thomas Point stage, The Cleaverlys from Arkansas, the all-female sensations from Massachusetts Della Mae, as well as crowd favorites, Mountain Heart from Nashville and Lost and Found from Virginia.
Throughout the weekend, the stage show mixes Maine favorites like Evergreen and the The Katahdin Valley Boys with Bluegrass legends and some of the most influential and accomplished artists in Bluegrass today.
Jesse McReynolds celebrates 65 years in the music industry and is still going strong as he leads his band, Jesse McReynolds and the Virginia Boys, on both Saturday and Sunday. Saturday will showcase Larry Stephenson, one of the finest high lead, tenor vocalists in the industry, and headliner “The Queen of Bluegrass” Rhonda Vincent and the Rage.
Another female power house will grace the stage on Sunday, when 2011 International Bluegrass Music Awards Female Vocalist of the Year Dale Ann Bradley performs.
Sunday will also headline one of today’s top traditional bluegrass bands. Their tight brother harmony blend and songwriting genius have earned The Gibson Brothers their recent IBMA honors, Vocal Group of the Year 2011 and Album of the Year 2011.
Although the line-up is jam packed with nationally known favorites, some of the lesser known names are the ones not to miss. Snap Jackson & The Knock on Wood Players from California will perform both Saturday and Sunday. Snap’s known for its original songs that will have the crowd toe-tapping right out of their seats.
Inspired by Flatt & Scruggs and the Stanley Brothers, 10-year-old Johnny and brothers Robbie (13) and Tommy (14) joined their musically gifted forces together to create Sleepy Man Banjo Boys. The boys are nominated for a 2012 Emerging Artist of the year award at IBMA this fall and have been seen nationally on “The Late Show with David Letterman” and “The Ellen DeGeneres Show.”
Rounding out the line-up on all three days will be talented friends from Canada, Acoustic Heartstrings, and on Sunday, the hard-driving Lonesome River Band, and Thomas Point Beach favorite, Leroy Troy and the Tennessee Mafia Jug Band, both from Nashville.
Performances begin Friday, Saturday and Sunday at noon and end at 11 p.m. each day. When the stage shows are over, the best is yet to come, with the acoustic performances under the stars and the best field picking anywhere.
Four-, three, two- and single day tickets are available at the festival gates. Single day tickets are as follows: Friday, Saturday and Sunday, $50 (after 5 p.m., $40); weekend tickets include free camping and are $145 per adult (fourday) and $135 per adult (threeday). Children younger than 12 are free and teens (13-16) pay half the adult rate with an adult.
A single-day camping area is available for $20 per night.
In addition to great music, “The Bluegrass Special” will have food and gift vendors on site, and workshops and children’s activities throughout the weekend.
For more information, call 725-6009 or 1-877-TPB-4321or visit www.thomaspointbeach.com.
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