Festival features Grammy ’grass

Ernest A. Jasmin, for the Northwest Guardian

The bluegrass bands weren’t nearly as high-profile as, say, U2, Gorillaz or Kanye West. Nonetheless, a couple of acts that are scheduled to appear at next week’s Wintergrass Bluegrass Festival had big nights at the 48th annual Grammy Awards earlier this month.

The Del McCoury Band will return to Wintergrass, the Northwest’s premier bluegrass festival, which is set to kick off Thursday and continue through Feb. 26 at the Sheraton Tacoma Hotel, First Baptist Church and Courtyard by Marriott in Tacoma. The DMB will perform songs from last year’s “The Company We Keep,” the disc that earned the veteran outfit a golden gramophone for best bluegrass album on Feb. 8.

And the rising stars in the Grascals will be among the biggest attractions, too, playing songs from their self-titled debut album, which was a runner-up in the same category.

“I’m kind of like a 40-year overnight success,” McCoury joked during a recent call to his home in Nashville.

The win, just a week after McCoury’s 67th birthday, was his first in six nominations. Still, the bandleader said he wasn’t too anxious in the days leading up to the awards ceremony.

“I don’t think I ever really got wound up in it to where I’d think about it for weeks or anything like that, you know,” he said, speaking with an easygoing twang. “I’m sure if I were younger it would probably affect me different than it does now.” With a chuckle, he added, “I figured sooner or later I’d probably win one, ’cause the percentages are usually that way.”

The Grascals are considered an up-and-coming act. But they still know a little bit about being in the spotlight, with members who have backed Garth Brooks, Dolly Parton and the Osborne Brothers.

Lead singer Terry Eldredge has also performed with the Sidemen – the house band at Nashville’s renowned bluegrass bar, the Station Inn – with Del McCoury’s sons Rob and Ronnie.

“We were disappointed when we heard Del McCoury’s name instead of ours,” singer Jamie Johnson said, also calling from Nashville. “But if you’re gonna lose to anybody who is in that category, Del McCoury’s the one.

“One, he deserves it; that’s the first point. The second point is he’s been up for it five or six times, and he’s never won it, so this is his first Grammy. And three, they’re good people. The Del McCoury Band, the whole family, are friends of ours.”

Both the Del McCoury Band and the Grascals plan to release new albums in 2006, so fans can expect to hear new tunes at Wintergrass.

McCoury said his band had just finished recording a gospel album. “We don’t have a name for it yet,” he said. “It’ll be out in May.”

Johnson said his band had already picked out a nice cross-section of traditional and original tunes for its forthcoming album. “We’ve got about seven or eight songs that we have picked that we know we’re gonna play for sure,” he said. “Right now, realistically, we’re looking for a late-September, early-October release date for the second album.”

This is a big year for Wintergrass, which drew more than 4,000 spectators last year. The International Bluegrass Music Association named the festival the bluegrass event of the year for 2005. And both McCoury and Johnson rank it among the best festivals at which they have performed.

“It’s a great festival out there. I would say that Wintergrass ranks among five of the top bluegrass festivals in the country,” McCoury said. “We play Seattle, too, quite a bit. We have a certain amount of fans we see every time we come up to that part of the country. And I’m sure that (Wintergrass) is where we gained a lot of fans. It’s a great thing for that part of the country.”

Johnson considered last year’s debut appearance at Wintergrass to be a major springboard during a time when the Grascals were having trouble getting booked elsewhere.

“Basically, as much as the Grascals have grown in the last couple of years, we started with Wintergrass,” he said. “That was the first major festival we played. They took us on when they didn’t know if we were gonna amount to anything or not. They didn’t know how our live show was gonna turn out (and) didn’t know if the Grascals were gonna stay together. They took a chance on us, and we’ve grown with ’em ’cause we’ve become really good friends with all the folks that are on the board out there at Wintergrass.”

Picking pickers

Here are five attractions bluegrass and country fans won’t want to miss at the 13th annual Wintergrass festival:

The Del McCoury Band: McCoury has more than four decades of experience under his belt, dating back to performing with the late, great Bill Monroe in the ’60s. McCoury’s group just won the Grammy for best bluegrass album for “The Company We Keep.” Catch the band at 11 p.m. Feb. 25 and 4 p.m. Feb. 26 at the Sheraton Tacoma Hotel’s pavilion stage and 7:30 p.m. Feb. 25 at First Baptist Church.

The Grascals: This sextet was named emerging artist of the year by the International Bluegrass Music Association and also won song of the year for “Me and John and Paul.” More recently, the band’s self-titled debut was a runner-up for bluegrass album of the year at the Grammys; 8:30 p.m. Feb. 24 and 10 p.m. Feb. 25 at the Sheraton’s pavilion stage; 11 p.m. Feb. 24 at First Baptist Church; and 5:45 p.m. Feb. 25 at Courtyard by Marriott. The band will also take requests during a bluegrass karaoke event at 11:30 p.m. Thursday at the Sheraton ballroom.

The Duhks: This Nova Scotia-bred band delivers an edgy sound that combines elements of traditional bluegrass with Celtic, blues and salsa influences. Catch the Duhks (pronounced “ducks”) at 7:30 p.m. Feb. 24 at the Sheraton’s pavilion stage and 10:30 p.m. Feb. 24 and 11:15 p.m. Feb. 25 at the Sheraton’s Collings Ballroom,

Guy Clark: This legendary Texas troubadour will make his first Wintergrass appearance at 7 p.m. Feb. 24 at First Baptist Church and 10:30 p.m. Feb. 24 at the Sheraton’s pavilion stage.

The Kids Academy: Fourth- to eighth-graders can learn about bluegrass from instructors Joe Craven and Beth Fortune. Small-group breakout sessions are available for instruction on any bluegrass instrument. Registration is 9 a.m. Feb. 24 and 25, and the academy continues through 4 p.m. each day at the Court­yard by Marriott. A full schedule of events is available online at www.acousticsound.org.

What: 13th annual Wintergrass bluegrass music festival

When: Thursday through Feb. 26

Where: Downtown Tacoma at the Sheraton Tacoma Hotel and Conference Center, 1320 Broadway; First Baptist Church, 902 Market St.; and Courtyard by Marriott, 1515 Commerce St.

Tickets: Single-day passes are $10 to $50 (varies by day and age). Festival passes are $25 to $105. Family weekend passes (two adults and up to four kids, age 6 to 17) are $270.

Information: 253-428-8056 or www.wintergrass.com for a full schedule and breakdown of ticket prices