NQC Bluegrass Pickin Jamboree 2008

Wednesday afternoon I hosted the annual NQC Bluegrass Pickin Jamboree. We held it in the larger showcase room in the South Wing of Freedom Hall in Louisville, KY. We had a record breaking crowd, topping the 2200 mark.

Barry Scott (formerly with the Perrys and Doyle Lawson and Quicksilver) and his band, Second Wind kicked off the showcase. Barry Scott was, is and forever will be one of the greatest lead/tenor singers ever. Barry, keep that group together. They're a winner.

Next up were the Rochesters. They are a mainstay, each year, at the showcase. As always, they did a fantastic job. Ben Rochester could play with any group in any field of music. He is dedicated to the Lord and to his family. I sure wish we had world for full of Ben's.

The one and only Primitive Qt. was next. Man, they are the Primitive Qt.; need I say more?

Wrapping up the main line-up was the multi-award winning, Paul Williams and the Victory Trio. Sound engineer, Duane Burke, came up to me afterwards to tell me that Paul and his group blew him away. Duane said, "Paul and the entire group was clear as a bell. I understood every single word. What a tenor!"

I was happy to help "break" some new folks into our world of southern gospel music. Allen Frizzell and his family sang a couple of tunes. He brought his friend and Bluegrass Music Hall of Fame banjo icon, JD Crowe, to pick along with he and his family. JD was so impressed with the event, he asked if he could bring his entire band, New South to play at next years event.

Bama Blu-grace took the stage for a number. They have really picked up a head of steam of the last year or so. They did a great job.

Finally, I met a trio of young men from Nashville called Appointed, earlier in the week. These boys got the goods! I had them come and do a tune. I couldn't help myself so I asked Paul Williams for his mandolin and picked and sang along with them as they tore it up! Watch out world, Appointed is well on their way.

As always, the Bluegrass Jamboree hosts the Front Porch Fellowship Bluegrass Gospel Awards. Now, I could tell you who the winners were, but I'm going to make you wait to read about it in the November issue of Singing News Magazine. By the way, Kenneth Kirksey got some unbelievable shots at the event. Click here to see 30 hand-picked pictures from the 2008 Bluegrass Pickin Jamboree.