A simple accompaniment at bluegrass fests: camping

April 12, 2009|Bonnie Jernigan, Globe Correspondent

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"This is the best physical venue of them all," Versch said. "It's in a park built just for music festivals. The main stage is in a bowl-shaped area with big oaks and Spanish moss."

The park stretches more than 500 acres, many set aside for camping, with hiking trails and a lake for canoeing and fishing.

After Suwanee comes Merlefest.

"Amazing, spectacular, magnificent, and inspiring are just a few of the words to describe the experience," Versch said after last year's festival. "I saw Sam Bush four times: with Levon Helm, with Peter Rowan, Tish Hinojosa, Laurie Lewis, and Mike Bubb; with Doc Watson's 'Docabilly' set, and his rip-roarin' Watson Stage set on Friday night. He blistered it," Versch wrote in his blog.

How does he manage not to be overwhelmed by so many musicians, and so many things going on at once? "Just make a decision and go with it," he said. "Get it in your head that whatever you see is going to be good."

Versch said Grey Fox, held mid-July in the Catskills, is his favorite. He first tried out his camping idea here and the organizers embraced his venture.

His advice for first-timers? "Prepare for rain, and hope to be overprepared. Think Gore-Tex."

When a Saturday afternoon thunderstorm blew through Merlefest, I was sure I'd find all my gear soaked. But the tent was water tight, and everything stayed dry. On Sunday, I wore a poncho while I listened to the final acts. More rain. My son and I gathered our dry belongings from the tent and left the take-down to Versch. Slipping a bluegrass CD into the player because we couldn't bear for the music to stop, we drove away as simply as we had arrived.

Bonnie Jernigan can be reached at bonnie@heypayattention .com.