Five days and nights of music. 30+ bands on multiple stages. Workshops, seminars, showcases, and non-stop jamming in the Pickers’ Paradise Campground. In the middle of July, New York’s Catskills region is the center of the bluegrass world.
The Grey Fox Bluegrass Festival features many of the top names in bluegrass, plus emerging artists, regional talent and lots and lots of pickers and fans. The festival runs from July 12-16 at Walsh Farm in Oak Hill, NY. Check out the festival website for this year’s lineup, and all the information you need to plan your trip to Grey Fox.
In the runup to this year’s festival, Bluegrass Country is interviewing some of the artists and bands who’ll be headlining the show this year. Listen to the interviews on the air, and on the website.
Ron Thomason plays guitar, mandolin and banjo and sings with the Dry Branch Fire Squad, which he founded in 1976 and has been the host band at Grey fox “since forever.” He’s also been a math and English teacher, a farmer and horse trainer, and his skill and wit as a story teller has earned him the title “bluegrass court jester.”
In a recent interview with Bluegrass Country’s Michelle Murray, Ron talks about his days playing with Ralph Stanley, his role in starting Grey Fox and other highlights of his musical career. Listen at the link below.
In Dan Tyminski’s musical career, he’s played with the Lonesome River Band, Alison Krauss and Union Station, the Dan Tyminski Band and the Soggy Bottom Boys (providing the singing voice for George Clooney in “Oh Brother, Where Art Thou?”). Now touring in support of “God Fearing Heathen,” a new album of all original songs, he’ll be a headliner at the Grey Fox Festival in July.
Lee Michael Dempsey interviewed Dan Tyminski recently, talking about his approach to music and featuring 11 songs from throughout his career. The interview is broadcast in the second hour of the Lee Michael Demsey Show on Saturday, July 1, and you can also listen at the link below.
Andy Falco is a guitarist, singer, songwriter and one-fifth of The Infamous Stringdusters, one of the headliners at this year’s Grey Fox Festival.
Bluegrass Country’s Craig Harris interviewed Andy a few weeks ago, talking about the how the Stringdusters came together 20 years ago, why a progressive bluegrass band cut tribute albums to Bill Monroe and Flatt & Scruggs, and what it’s like to be onstage at one of your favorite festivals.
Hear the interview on the Chris Teskey Show at 3 pm Friday, June 24, or online at the link below.
Ben Wright attended his first Grey Fox festival as a teenager, when he had a job selling potato pancakes out of a trailer. As he told Bluegrass Country’s Michelle Murray in a recent interview, that’s where he discovered bluegrass, and it wasn’t long before he’d bought a banjo. This year he’ll return to Grey Fox as a headliner, playing banjo with his band the Henhouse Prowlers.
The interview aired on the Michelle Murray Show on Wednesday, June 21, and you can hear an excerpt at the link below. If you missed the broadcast, listen to the full interview on the Bluegrass Country Archive Player (select 6pm-12am – 6/21/2023).
July 2023 is a big month for Pictrola. The DC-based band’s first album, Time Rages On will be released July 14, and the next day they play the Creekside Stage at Grey Fox as part of the Emerging Artists showcase.
Tyler Gerber, Dan Henderson, Evan Sands, Mike Shade and Josh Ungar play the traditional bluegrass instruments, but their music is a swingy, eclectic mix of old and new. Bluegrass Country’s Michael Buckley sat down with the band recently as they talked about their musical journeys and played a few tunes. The interview will be broadcast on his show Americana Voices on July 8, and you can listen at the link below.