In honor of the 30th Rocky Mountain Bluegrass Festival (a.k.a. RockyGrass) being held this month in Lyons, we thought we'd take a nostalgic look back at some of the old CBMS newsletter sent to us by past Editor, Mike Williams (now living in Helena, Montana). Here, exactly as printed, is the following from the May, 1973 newsletter:

"Substance of CBMS Press Release concerning the Festival in August (April 18, 1973) Bluegrass music fans from all parts of the country are expected to attend the first annual Colorado Rocky Mountain bluegrass Festival scheduled August 24, 25 and 26 at the Adams County Fairground in Henderson, Colorado

"The festival is co-sponsored by traditional bluegrass favorite Bill Monroe and the Colorado Bluegrass Music Society (CBMS), a non-profit Denver CO area organization formed to promote bluegrass music in Colorado. Monroe is generally regarded as "the father of bluegrass music" and has been uniquely honored by being voted a member of the Country Music Association Hall of Fame.

"The Colorado festival will follow in the tradition of the big bluegrass festivals held annually all over the country.

"The three-day Colorado festival will feature Monroe and his Blue Grass Boys, Lester Flatt and a half-a-dozen either nationally known bluegrass bands, as well as many local bands. Activities will include an old time fiddler's contest, with participants coming from throughout the United States. There will also be banjo, guitar and bluegrass band contests.

"CBMS president H. Conway Gandy, a Fort Collins attorney, said this week, 'Our festival will be the first major bluegrass festival ever held in this part of the country, and we expect it to be one of the major festivals of its type in the nation in the next few years.'

"Bluegrass music was originated by Bill Monroe in the late '40's. Although it was build upon and has absorbed elements of either styles of southern Appalachian music, bluegrass has a distinction of it own. Bluegrass bands most commonly include bass, guitar, banjo, fiddle and mandolin. Bluegrass is the only full-fledged string band style in which the banjo has a major sole role.

"The Colorado Bluegrass Music Society currently has more than 50 members. The society holds monthly meetings and "pickin' sessions" and has sponsored several bluegrass concerts in the area to raise money for its objective of bringing name bluegrass musicians to Colorado.

"Those attending the festival will be able to use camping facilities at the fairground, which is about 15 miles north of Denver CO. Festival tickets will be sold at the gate.

"The only additional comments I [Editor Mike Williams] have to make to the news release are that at the present these bands which are confirmed to play are: Bill Monroe and the Blue Grass Boys, Lester Flatt and the Nashville Grass, the Bluegrass Alliance, McClain Family and the Stone Mountain Boys. There will be several other well-known national bands plus local bands. In reference to local bands, if a band makes less than 50% of the total income of the members collectively, then it is considered to be "amateur" and can enter both the bluegrass band contest as well as performing in the festival."

The July, 1973 edition of the CBMS Newsletter included an announcement of the Festival and, besides the five groups listed above, also included these bands or individuals that also played at the first Festival: "County Gazette, Ray & Ina Patterson, Hylo Brown, Hubert Davis, City Limits, Denver CO Grass, Haystack Mountain Boys, and the Possumtrotters." The admission prices were set at "Friday $4, Saturday $6, and Sunday $5", "or, a truly fine deal, ALL THREE DAYS $12." The announcement also include the statement: "Sorry, no advance sales; tickets available only at the gate." Hard to believe those early CBMS folks put the first Festival on without any advance sales, what with this year's RockyGrass already a sell-out before the gates open.

By the June, 1974 newsletter the Society had the Second Rocky Mountain Bluegrass Festival organized. In a front-page article in that month's issue, Lynne Desourdy wrote:

"It was reported by the Society's president, Gene Milligan, that the following bands will appear at the festival: 1. All three days - Bill Monroe, James Monroe, McClain family; 2 Saturday and Sunday - Ralph Stanley, Country Gazette, Monroe Doctrine, Clyde Moody, Bobby Smith and the Boys From Shiloh, Lester Flatt; 3. These bands will be billed as local bands and will fill in where needed - Dudley Murphy, Ray and Ina Patterson, Tzigane Balalaikas, Big River Band (N. Mexico), Haystack Mountain Boys, Colorado Sage, City Limits, Denver CO Grass Possumtrotters, Tyndall County String Band, Williams Family.

"Since a good number of bands have been confirmed, poster printing will begin. In Re: last month's newsletter - there was an erratum concerning the poster contest. Art work must be submitted by June 15th and no later. The work selected will undoubtedly be used on the programs as well."

An extensive report on the Second Annual Rocky Mountain Bluegrass Festival was given in the September, 1974 newsletter and included the following: "A welcome addition to the festival this year was Ralph Stanley and the Clinch Mountain Boys whose solid, old-time bluegrass and tight harmony singing were without parallel. In fact, the response to the Clinch Mountain Boys was so strong that Stanley was asked to play in this area if the band was to be passing through anytime in the future and it appears that this may come to fruition . . . " In the Guitar Contest that year, Mark O'Conner [sic] (from Bellingham, Washington at the time) took Third Place; in the Fiddle Contest he did better, taking Second Place.

By the February, 1975 newsletter, CBMS had already organized a Festival steering committee, with Jack Davis named to head the Schedule & Talent Committee. One gets the sense that those CBMS pioneers were getting the hang of putting on the Festival, for by the May, 1975 newsletter the announced lineup for the "Third Annual Colorado Rocky Mountain Bluegrass Festival" were (in alphabetical order as listed) : "Norman Blake, Bluegrass Crusade, City Limits, Country Cooking, Country Gazzette [sic], Kyle Creed, Crossfire, Denver CO Grass, Front Porch Pickers, Haystack Mountain Boys, Jim & Jesse, Dudley Murphy, Ray Patterson, Bill Monroe, Possum Trotters, Ralph Stanley, Stump Jumpers, Tecumseh, Town & Country Review, Tyndall-Okeh Stingband, Whiskey Before Breakfast, [&] Williams Family."

The September, 1975 newsletter reported that the Festival was "the best bluegrass festival we have held to date. The Official Crowd Estimator placed the total attendance at 7864, just under last year's record 8252." One wonders about how the "Official Crowd Estimator" came up with those counts; were attendance each day estimated, then added together for a total? In any event, announced winners in the Festival Contests include Second Place in both the Fiddle and Guitar Contest for Tim O'Brien of Boulder CO. Let's see now, with the Country Cooking boys coming from the East to play the Festival and Tim doing so well in the contests, was this when the idea for Hot Rize started, Pete?

This then is a bit of the history of the first three Rocky Mountain Bluegrass Festivals. Enjoy the 30th Anniversay of the Festival this July, 26th through 28th, in Lyons.

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