Exploring Bluegrass Music in Bluegrass Country

Wouldn't you like to immerse yourself in bluegrass music and learn about its diversity, its emphasis on exquisite musicianship, and its firm roots in traditional American music?  We did this on Wednesday, May 18, 2022.  We even got a chance to try our hand making bluegrass music on our favorite bluegrass instrument.  Click this link to see Kathy pickin away on a banjo!

And, unless you think that Kathy was the only one discovering her inner bluegrass self, think twice.  David got into a mean bass mood himself, laying down that line:

But we get ahead of our story.

We only had a day to explore bluegrass music before moving on from the Owensboro-Bowling Green area.  We were camped in Franklin, Kentucky and got up early for a down-home breakfast at ConCon's Diner in Bowling Green.  It was what we hoped for to start our musical day:

Our first stop after breakfast was the Bill Monroe Museum in nearby Rosine, Kentucky:

The world first heard bluegrass music October 28, 1939, when 28-year-old Rosine native Bill Monroe sang "Muleskinner Blues" on the Grand Ole Opry.  Bluegrass evolved from traditional string band music Monroe played as a youngster.  He also incorporated sounds he wanted to hear -- Scottish bagpipes and Irish fiddles, gospel from the Baptists and Methodists, blues and jazz from Black farm-workers.  These sounds, played with an up-tempo, hard drive, were complemented by his tenor voice.  The result was a harmonious acoustic blend of mandolin, fiddle, banjo, guitar, upright bass and Monroe's trademark "high lonesome sound."  Bill learned his art from his Uncle Pen, a talented fiddler, and from Arnold Shultz, an influential fiddler and guitarist who introduced Monroe to the blues.  The genre takes its name from his band, the Blue Grass Boys, who named their group for the bluegrass of Monroe's home state of Kentucky. Monroe's performing career spanned 69 years as a singer, instrumentalist, composer and bandleader. Because he created the style, he is often called the "Father of Bluegrass."  The museum displays this photo of Bill Monroe in later years, holding his beloved mandolin:

Though small, the museum concentrates effectively on Bill Monroe as a musician and a person, as well as his musical family members.  One room boasts a large mural that depicts young Bill, in the back center, with his Uncle Pen to his left, and other family members and friends, on the front porch of his homeplace:

In keeping with its emphasis on Monroe as a person, the museum has acquired many of his personal possession and displays them in a homey setting:

But the personal touch goes both ways, and the museum also lets visitors put themselves in the shoes of Bill Monroe.  You can have your photo taken as you pick out your own music on banjos and other instruments (recording contract provided separately):

We enjoyed the museum immensely -- our enjoyment augmented by the friendly personal guidance of the volunteer who staffed the welcome desk of the museum.  We walked away with a CD anthology of Bill Monroe's most famous performances.

Having thus dipped our toes into the headwaters of bluegrass (as it were), we decided to jump into the stream with both feet and ride it down wherever it would take us.  This led us to the Bluegrass Music Hall of Fame and Museum in Owensboro, Kentucky, which is another half hour's drive from Rosine:

This new $15 million facility opened in 2018 near the banks of the Ohio River.  And it appears we were right to treat this visit as a ride down a musical stream, because the Museum's motto is, "Drifting Down the River of Sound."

The Museum, through fabulously curated exhibits of video, graphics, music and artifacts, takes the visitor from the sources of bluegrass music, into the dawn of the bluegrass era with the likes of Bill Monroe, Flatt & Scruggs, and many more of the early performers, through their starvation years of the 1950's and 1960's when rock and roll dominated the music market, into the bluegrass revival that was nurtured in festivals that gained popularity in the 1960's and 1970's.  One comprehensive exhibit, titled, "Modern Roots & Branches," presents an overview of the roots of this engaging music style and some contemporary artists and sub-genres considered "branches" of bluegrass.

Our understanding of the development of bluegrass over time was buttressed by one of the first exhibits we saw, showing a basic timeline of bluegrass music:

We were also fortunate to have come to the Museum just after they installed a new audio tour system.  It is state of the art, and provided numbered explanations of nearly 50 stations as we moved through the Museum's exhibits.  This allows the Museum to play examples of the music and performances we learn about as we move through the exhibits.

But probably the most novel exhibit in the Museum is its "Picking Parlor," where visitors are free to pick up and play a wide variety of the standard bluegrass instruments -- banjo, mandolin, fiddle, guitar and bass and resonator guitar:

It was in the Picking Parlor where we got to try our hand at some basic bluegrass chords.  While we didn't earn any applause, that practice inspired us to pick up a few more CD's with performances by artists such as Alison Krauss, John Hartford, Old Crow Medicine Show and Punch Brothers, a contemporary group we have not heard yet.  This way, our float trip down the River of Sound will continue for many more hours!

The Museum wasn't the end of our journey, however, because we found Lure Seafood & Grill, an excellent pub across the street, for some creative cuisine and an excellent choice of craft beer.

A long walk was in order after lunch, and we were pleasantly surprised how attractive and interesting the Owensboro waterfront along the Ohio River has become.  The approach to the River is beautifully landscaped --

-- and a wide variety of large and small public spaces are provided for all sorts of relaxation.  We can imagine street festivals being held here on a summer's evening:

Smothers Park (formerly Riverfront Park) was established in 1816 as the first City park. The park was renovated and expanded as part of a multi-million dollar riverfront upgrade and reopened in 2012.  The park features 3 signature fountains with a show every 15 minutes and a cascading waterfall:

Lazy Dayz Playground has been named the top playground in the world (2015) by Landscape Architect’s Network.  Given its spectacular features, we can understand why!

The Park has clearly inspired further development in downtown Owensboro, which appeared to us to make the downtown an attractive place to live and work.  One example of the expanding amenities was this mural and sculpture we found along a side street approaching the Park:

By the time we finished our walk, we had spent the whole day drifting down the Rivers Ohio and Sound and needed to get home to walk a cat and have dinner.  

While we knew we wanted to explore the bluegrass museums in the area, we had no idea how comprehensive and interesting the experience would be.  Be sure to make a point to visit these destinations if you have the opportunity.