TUNBRIDGE — After a two-year pandemic hiatus, the Jenny Brook Bluegrass Festival has returned, and the bluegrass community could not be more excited about it. Although the organizers, Candi and Seth Sawyer, were able to host a smaller MiniFest last fall, it wasn’t the same as the June festival, which has been an annual event since 2001.
“It’s so good to be back again, I can feel the excitement in the air with the early arrivals that are here reconnecting with old friends,” Candi Sawyer said Wednesday, the day before the 3½-day event began. “The pandemic kept our close-knit family apart for way too long; it’s time to make up for lost time!”
Dusty Clampitt, an attendee, former volunteer and fiddle player, has been coming to Jenny Brook every year since the festival moved to Tunbridge in 2009. Like many attendees, he looks forward to Jenny Brook in particular.
“It’s a good mid-sized festival, it’s an absolutely gorgeous location, the promoters are sincere (and) they put on a good show,” he said.
When the festival’s in town, the fairground lot — site of the Tunbridge World’s Fair each September — is transformed into campgrounds filled with RVs and tents. Although the music from the main stage echoes out across most of the lot, within the campsites, there are often groups or individuals playing their own jam sessions. After performances on the main stage, attendees can go to the Sugar House Stage and play with performers. Clampitt said the collaborations are like “live karaoke for bluegrass.” Many individuals also play with their camping neighbors, friends from years past or whomever they happened to meet that day.
The main stage is flanked by two tents with open seating directly in front of the stage. Chairs are provided partially by the festival but mainly by the attendees and are available to everyone. On the other side of the lot is Fernan’s Playhouse, named after organizer Candi Sawyer’s grandfather, where the barn dance, kids’ academy, workshop stage and daily yoga are held.
In addition to listening to bluegrass or playing an instrument, there’s face painting and various vendors selling food, clothing, instruments and antiques. Performers offer group lessons, and there is a zone dedicated to kids with games and crafts as well as a kids’ academy where participants are encouraged to learn or practice an instrument regardless of past experience, culminating with a performance on the main stage.
Marla and Joe Singleton come up from Massachusetts to attend the festival annually. This year, they are vendors. Their company, The Dyed Life, sells upcycled, hand-dyed clothing.
Joe Singleton, who plays guitar and sings, has been coming to the festival for the past 20 years and Marla for roughly 15.
One of the biggest draws to bluegrass for many of the attendees is the interactivity of the genre. The Singletons said that at festivals, it’s rare to see individuals who are not performers carrying around or playing instruments, yet at bluegrass festivals, that is considered a norm. This creates a sense of community among the festival-goers. Many attendeees have been attending for decades, meeting up with the same groups of people only when there is a festival.
Eric Gibson from The Gibson Brothers has performed at every Jenny Brook festival except the first and the MiniFest last year. To explain what drew him to bluegrass, he pointed to its authenticity:
“I like the honesty of it,” he said. “You know you can’t hide behind a lot of special effects; it’s real. It’s gonna sound good under a tree somewhere. … You wanna talk about roots music … it doesn’t get any rootsier than that.”
Gibson said the Sawyer family is able to create an atmosphere that allows for extraordinary experiences. The Singletons said that other festivals in the area tend to feature more regional artists, but Candi Sawyer “has a different goal in mind” and can bring big names in bluegrass to Tunbridge, which according to Marla Singleton, is what keeps them coming back.
When recalling what got him into bluegrass, Joe Singleton told a joke popular among fans: “My friends dragged me to a bluegrass festival this weekend, and that’s pretty much what I’m going to be doing for the rest of my life.”
The festival runs through 12:30 p.m. on Sunday. Gates open at 8 a.m. and close at 9 p.m. on Saturday and Sunday. Day passes for Saturday are $60 and $25 for Sunday. The festival is taking place at 1 Fairground Road, Tunbridge. More information is online at jennybrookbluegrass.com.