Music festival, bluegrass

Will the Circle Be Unbroken & #SpreadTheKindness Link Up #136

August 20, 2019 / 57 Comments
Music festival, bluegrass
This is not a sponsored post.
Kenny Cox and me, drenched after a rain storm.

Will the circle be unbroken? When you are surrounded by the kindest, most loving, down to earth folks in the middle of the Pennsylvania mountains, the answer to that question will be a resounding yes. An unbroken circle of friendship, of music, of gratitude, good will, tenderness, and universal affections. There wasn’t a person there who lacked in benevolence and grace and it felt very much like home.

Pennsylvania mountains
The clouds hovering between the mountains after the storm.

I spent this past weekend at the 17th Annual Hickory Fest held at Stony Fork Creek Campground in Wellsboro, Pennsylvania. Hickory Fest, also known as Music in the Mountains, is a nationally recognized music festival held every August in the rural area of north-central Pennsylvania, featuring the best in bluegrass and acoustic music. It is the music that brings the people there, but it is the close-knit family atmosphere filled with so much love that keeps everyone coming back year after beautiful year.

Hickory Fest 2019, Music in the Mountains

This was my first year attending this event and I was an invited guest of both Fireside Collective and Jakobs Ferry Stragglers. Thank you, my friends, for allowing me to be a part of something so monumental and so overwhelmingly poignant. And a huge debt of gratitude to Frank Serio and all of the event organizers for not only making me feel welcome, but making me feel special…like a true VIP. I am moved beyond words by the warmth of your generosity and hospitality.

I arrived to the very dark campground much later than I wanted on Friday night. Traveling alone in the dark always gets my anxiety elevated to uncomfortable heights. With my tent in tow and my car packed with way more stuff than I needed, I checked in at the festival grounds and was escorted to the VIP area of the campground to set up for the night. Since my band friends were not arriving until the following night, I was told to sleep in their cabin rather than set up my camp site in the dark. What a sense of relief that gave me.

The gorgeous moon rising up over the mountains on Friday night.

I caught the last three sets on Friday night, Verlon Thompson and Shawn Camp, The Jakobs Ferry Stragglers, and Driftwood, then spent the late night and very early morning hours having girl talk with my friend Libby of JFS (remember I met her at the Busy Bird Bluegrass Festival).

bluegrass music
Verlon Thompson and Shawn Camp
bluegrass music
The Jakobs Ferry Stragglers
The Jakobs Ferry Stragglers merch table.
Bill, managing the JFS merch table with Niko, the JFS bass player.
The Driftwood merch table.
Michael and Dee. Dee was the happiest fan I have ever met!

I woke up the next morning to a beautiful day, sipped my coffee on the front porch of the cabin, enjoyed the musical creations of so many different bands throughout the day, and watched Libby capture the whole scene in her painting of the stage and venue. Her painting was then raffled off in the fundraiser for the Sue Cunningham Music Scholarships in the Wellsboro School District and the Dreyfoos School of the Arts.

Libby at work.
Nikki and Mark, the winners of Libby’s painting.

The very late night on Friday led me to needing a nap on Saturday afternoon, so I headed back to the cabin to get a little rest. As I was dozing in the cool summer air, the most heavenly sound drifted across the field and tickled my ears awake. It was the haunting cry of an angel and I awoke from my slumber completely transfixed. Like Merrida followed the Will O’ the Wisps in Brave, I was so captivated by the celestial voice I was hearing on the air that I followed it in a spellbound state. It led me to Abby Owens, sitting alone on the stage, her voice weeping its way to an immortal utopia. As I sat enchanted in that mountain field, my mind was blown that one woman could carry the power of a million universes in her voice. And I was humbled that she was so willing to share it with the rest of us.

Abby Owens

In the early evening hours of Saturday, a torrential hail storm moved in over the mountains and pelted us for nearly an hour. My fragile little tent, at least a decade old, could not withstand the power of nature’s whim and my bedding was completely drenched. This situation led me to one of those moments where I had to dictate the direction of my perspective. I could either get really upset or merely surrender to God’s will. Getting upset over nature has always proved to be a fruitless endeavor, so I laughed it off and slept on the dry and warm bench seat of the band’s van. But that wasn’t until after I got to watch Jakobs Ferry Stragglers perform their second set followed by Fireside Collective who were closing out Saturday night.

In the wake of the hailstorm, musicians gathered on cabin porches and played. Here is Libby of JFS playing her fiddle with Tommy of FC on his dobro.
More musicians were jamming on the porch at the cabin next door.

Unfortunately, I did not make it through the entire Fireside Collective set on Saturday night as my body just quit. I had come down with a severe head cold, my body was aching, my head was congested, and I became just too tired to function any longer. We must know our limitations and listen to our bodies even when we don’t necessarily like the message our bodies are sending us. So off to bed I went and slept quite soundly inside that warm and dry van.

The Jakobs Ferry Stragglers on Saturday night.
Fireside Collective closing out Saturday night.

I spent the greater part of Sunday relaxing on the porch and just as we were gearing up for Fireside Collective to close out the weekend, with Kenny Cox, Verlon Thompson, and Abby Owens bewitching the crowd from the stage, another grand storm moved over us. Without the hail, it brought substantial winds instead knocking tree branches on my car (yikes…no damage was done, thankfully) and blowing tents over. This storm shut down the sound system and the stage for the remainder of the festival. But it did not shut down the festival. The three brilliant artists who were on stage simply moved themselves, their instruments, and the remaining spectators under the pavilion for an intimate conclusion to their set. They were joined by Fireside Collective for the most beautiful rendition of Johnny Cash’s Will the Circle Be Unbroken. It was stirring and emotional as the entire crowd joined in communal song to honor the memory of Sue Cunningham.

Abby Owens, Verlon Thompson, and Kenny Cox just before the storm forced everyone to take shelter.
Verlon Thompson leading the crowd in Will the Circle be Unbroken.
Abby Owens with Tommy and Joe of Fireside Collective.
Jesse of Fireside Collective
Fireside Collective with Kenny Cox on drums closing out the weekend.

There are about a million more details I could share about this weekend in the Pennsylvania Grand Canyon, uniting with wonderful people in a community that comes together year after year in love and charity. They flood in separately and unite as one tribe connecting with the universe and with nature through the earnest passion of their music.

Carson of Fireside Collective, making it his mission to educate people about the musical genius of Steve Lukather.
Our required selfie…complete with the trash trailer.

If you have never attended a festival of this sort, I think you should. Next August 14-16, 2020. I will be there. Join me and experience it firsthand because my words cannot do it justice. Follow the Hickory Fest Facebook page and watch for details.

And now your featured favorites from last week.

Theresa of Vintage Style Files shared so many amazing vintage outfit photos in her post, Roaring Twenties Lawn Party Fashion-2019. I felt like I stepped into a simpler, purer time in this post. And now I need to make myself a lace canopy for sitting outdoors.

Theresa of Vintage Style Files

Chrissy of Granola and Grace shared seven valuable tips she learned for a professional shoot in her post, Tips for That Next Photography Shoot. The photos that resulted from her recent photo shoot are absolutely stunning!

Chrissy of Granola and Grace

You are invited to the Inlinkz link party!

Click here to enter

Keeping it on the edge,

Shelbee

Linking up with these Fabulous Link Parties.

I am a midlife woman, wife, and stay-at-home mother of 2 boys and 2 cats. I have a passion for helping other women feel fabulous in the midst of this crazy, beautiful life.

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