Today is sadly the last day of Wintergrass. Of course, even I can get banjo-ed out after awhile, so it’s probably good that it ends eventually. Friday was a fun evening, and until I heard Sam Bush’s band, I would have said that Darrell Scott was my favorite artist of the evening. The lineup this year has been pretty spectacular, and the range of musical styles pretty broad, so it’s difficult to pick one “favorite”. Sam and his band would be my choice for Friday though. They played a two hour set at the end of the evening, and even though it was approaching 1 AM, they had the huge packed ballroom at the Hyatt on its feet.
Yesterday we had a few food experiences. It started with breakfast at the Hyatt, with menus printed especially for the occasion.
From there we went to a workshop in the afternoon. It was a combination of food show and Cajun band. The band, the Red Stick Ramblers, played in the background while their lead singer made a huge pot of gumbo. After it was done, we all got to eat. The band did a fabulous “real” set later in the evening as well, minus the gumbo show.
Because we’re sort of wimpy old farts, we took a short nap before the evening festivities. Here are a few shots of last night’s fun.
Michael Doucet has been one of my favorites for years. He’s an unbelievably talented Cajun fiddler; he usually heads up the band BeauSoleil, but was here last night on his own.
There was knitting, and wine drinking. There’s that sock.
More crazy fiddling. That’s Darol Anger, another gem.
Last but not least last night was Scythian. This is a Washington DC based band, they sort of play Celtic rock, but that’s an understatement. They also play insane gypsy Klezmer style rock, and I just wish someone could bottle their energy. Their show sported the only rap-hip-hop performance, and likely the only extended crazy drum solo. The accordion guy and the fiddle player are brothers, and yes, they are that cute. Click to see.
I’m a bit sleep deprived, so you’ll need to google all of those bands yourself. I need some serious coffee this morning to get up and going for today’s show. My favorite of yesterday is….impossible. I can’t choose, and I think that’s a good thing!
Love me some Sam Bush. Will have to look into Scythian.
That breakfast menu looked amazing and I am curious what yarn are you using for your socks.
One of my daughters lives in Red Stick (Baton Rouge) & we are going for a visit in a few days. Louisiana schools close for a couple days for Mardi Gras. Hope to eat gumbo at least a couple of times although we have decided against going to NO for the Aquarium & gumbo at the Gumbo Shop (& a quick visit to the Quarter Stitch). Love Cajun music. One of the restaurants we eat at most times we visit has Cajun music & dancing every evening. The kids love it too.
I love Cajun music too. At the other end of the spectrum, we sang Beethoven’s Agnus Dei this morning. Both get the spirit moving, although in slightly different ways.
What a fun annual tradition. I look forward to reading about it each year. So glad you had a good time.
Cajun music and good gumbo….life doesn’t get much better!
Did you have to work today??