Bluegrass music fills Broadway high school

Local people with a taste for bluegrass music filled the Broadway High School auditorium on a drizzly Saturday afternoon this past weekend to hear toe tapping tunes and sweet melodies.

The annual Valley Bluegrass Festival, sponsored by the Broadway Hometown Partnership, invited six Shenandoah Valley bluegrass and gospel music bands to compete for 25 hours of recording time at Blue Ridge Recording. There was no fancy lighting or fog machine, but the audience enjoyment of each band was evidenced by the rhythm of toes tapping down each row.

Although each band was comprised of some combination of violin, mandolin, guitar, banjo, bass and harmonica, each had a unique style and sound. International Bluegrass Music Awards Nominated Artists Nothin' Fancy, started off the festival at 3 p.m.; this popular band did not compete, but they raised publicity for the event and came to support the lesser-known local groups.

Nothin' Fancy was followed by Daphna Creek, South River Gospel & Bluegrass, All4Hymn, Bluegrass Mountain Boys, Heartland, and Walnut Ridge Boys.

I was struck by the eclectic song combinations from Daphna Creek, who switched from a folk tune called "Salty Dog" to a gospel number, "Will there be any Stars in my Crown?" Both songs were well received by the audience. All4Hymn stood out from the rest with their polished sound, stage presence and slower numbers in which the female vocalist glided through several gospel melodies with a sweet bluegrassy timbre to her voice while the instrumentalists played a gentle underlying harmony.

Although there appeared be a greater age diversity within the bands than within the audience, who was comprised mainly of older adults, those who came to enjoy the music were diverse on another level; from the man dressed in gray camouflage on the right to a Mennonite church song leader and her family on the left.

When finally no more barbeque sandwiches, hot dogs, and hamburgers could be sold, and hours of performance had passed, All4Hymn came away with the top honors, and audience members left with full stomachs and souls.