Bringin’ back the bluegrass

New sound captures youth

Mike Andies doesn’t think through his nose.

Stepping away from the traditional bluegrass twang, Andies and his band Nothin’ Fancy have spent the past 11 years taking this particular music genre to another level — away from the stereotypical nasal sound to one of a smoother, contemporary style.

"We’ve all been around music since the early ages," said lead singer Andies, a native of Timberville. "We have our own sound. Bluegrass today is not near what it was back in the ’60’s and ’70’s."

There still are Bill Monroe sound-alikes out there, and people such as Andies have followed the pluckings of the recently passed Charlie Waller since he first picked up a guitar at age 10.

But since "O’ Brother Where Art Thou" was brought to the big screen in 2000, bluegrass fans have popped up from California to the Carolinas to jump on the motor-home bandwagon and see what has become of the former Appalachian mountain music.

And it’s not the fan base that one might come to expect.

"I had not anticipated the appeal ‘O Brother’ had for the younger age group," said Wayne Bledsoe, editor and founder of the internationally recognized Bluegrass Now Magazine. "They’ve become far more appreciative of this music. When Ralph Stanley is signing autographs, there are young kids who just flock to his table."

The majority of Bluegrass Now readers also are college-educated.

It’s not just considered hillbilly music anymore, y’all. If you look at the bluegrass artists out there nowadays, it’s tremendously diverse," Bledsoe said. "More and more women are taking leadership roles. Just look at Allison Krauss." Third Time Out has more of a pop-contemporary sound.

And then there is "jam grass," where bands such as The String Cheese Incident and Yonder Mountain String Band have put together a new form of rock using bluegrass instruments.

"It’s not just bluegrass in the tradition of Bill Monroe," said Tim Reamer, executive director of Broadway Hometown Partnership, the organization responsible for this year’s second annual Valley Bluegrass Festival. "It’s got a lot more energy. You’re able to relate to it a lot more than in the past."

Nothin’ Fancy prides itself on the entertainment value of its music. F rom the lyrics, which Andies writes himself, to shaking hands with the busload of fans who follow the band, bluegrass devotees won’t find it surprising that Nothin’ Fancy is up for the Best Emerging Artist award by the International Bluegrass Association — the equivalent to the Country Music Association awards.

"You can be the best musician in the world and, during shows, stare at your feet, and it won’t be entertaining," Andies said. "We try to get the people on the edge of their seats, thinking, ‘What are they gonna do next?’ We take our music very seriously, but we also have to entertain."

This Saturday, Reamer is counting on the popularity of bluegrass music to bring all age groups out to the Valley Bluegrass Festival, which Nothin’ Fancy headlines.

"This is my hometown; it’s almost like a homecoming for me," Andies said. "For me, it’s a real nice feeling to be able to come back. There are a lot of fans around here."

For more information on the Valley Bluegrass Festival, visit www.bhp-va.org.

For more information on other area bluegrass festivals this month, see the calendar on page 10 or visit www.thebreeze.org.