Pickin' in the Pines

Paige and I headed up the hill to Flagstaff last weekend to visit our good friends Jonathan and Katie and to take in a little bluegrass at Pickin' in the Pines. We headed out Friday afternoon with Luke in tow. Grandma came over to our house to watch the older three for the weekend. After the drive up to Flag, listening to some informative talk radio (Paige's favorite!) we met up with Jonathan and Katie, as well as Paul, for dinner. Then off to Jonathan and Katie's house to crash in their spare bedroom.

Saturday morning we headed out to the Pine Mountain Amphitheater for some Pickin' in the Pines. Paul had already grabbed a spot up on the grass, so we dropped all our stuff by him. I wandered around the amphitheater a little bit, and noticed that there were seven tables up near the stage, each with a "Reserved" sign on them... and one empty table with no sign at all. We decided to go for it, so we moved all our stuff up to the table and pretended it was reserved just for us. Why no one had taken that table yet, I have no idea, but it turned out great for us. We got our own table, close to the stage, under the shade. It was perfect!

We got there a little late and missed the first couple of acts, so the first band we saw was Steve Smith and Hard Road.

Luke curled up on top of the table and fell asleep to the twang of their guitars...

He was awake for the next band though, Spring Creek...

Jonathan enjoyed reading through a National Review magazine...

and Paige and Katie chatted away most of the afternoon.

Paul and I were the biggest two bluegrass fans, so the other three were good sports by hanging out with us for the entire day. Even though they insisted they were having fun, I know the immersion in hillbilly music eventually bored them. I think it was good for them to be exposed to some culture though! (In case the sarcasm doesn't translate... between myself, Paige, Jonathan, and Katie... the last one you would call cultured is me.)

Next up was The Billy Pilgrims. I even managed to get a little video of one of their songs.

The sun eventually made its way under the awning for a short while, so Luke had to borrow my hat to shade his bald little noggin...

Carolina Chocolate Drops were up next, and were definitely the highlight of the show (at least for me.) They are more of a traditional folk band instead of a bluegrass act, but the the crowd loved them and they got some major applause. If you ever get a chance to see these guys, don't miss it. Unfortunately it doesn't look like they are headed anywhere west of the Mississippi for quite a while.

Somehow Luke managed to sleep through part of their act.

Just so you don't wonder about my dietary choices, the bottom of my T-shirt, hidden by Luke, says "Tasty, tasty murder." While Luke slept, he missed out on this fantastic band. I got a few of their songs on video. Get ready for some good toe tappin' foot stompin' tunes...

Georgie Buck, with Dom working the jug and the "clacker" (or whatever the technical term is.)

Rhiannon with a very cool solo...

A guest on the mandolin...


Cornbread and Butter Beans

Hi Ho Fiddle I Day, with dancing by Dom and Rhiannon...

UPDATE: One more video from someone else on youtube. Yes, I think she is playing a kazoo...

Luke did however wake up in time to get in on a little backrub action from an entire line of bluegrass babes! That little guy is a chick magnet! The 4th and 5th girls back were actually in the band contest, and were pretty good.

We hung around for the last few acts, and then headed out to dinner. Sunday we headed back down to Phoenix. Jonathan and Katie are moving back to Utah, so this is probably the last time we will see them in quite a while. It was nice to get out of the heat, spend some time with friends, and hear some great pickin'!