The Worlds First Bluegrass Festival

THE “WOOSTOCK” OF BLUEGRASS MUSIC
The Worlds First Blue Grass Festival
Fincastle At Cantrell’s Horse Farm 1965

The first Blue Grass Festival held anywhere was a three day event held at Cantrell’s Horse Farm (formerly The Poor Farm). It was about a mile Northeast of Fincastle, Virginia. It was billed as the “Roanoke” festival, however, because no one knew where Fincastle was. Unbeknownst to the locals at the time, it was truly an earth-shaking event in retrospect!
They never realized what was taking place was a change in the music industry. It set the stage for the recognition of (up to 1965) an obscure form of music called “Blue Grass!” Labor Day week September 3rd, 4th and 5th, 1965 was the date of this first Blue Grass festival ever held, however, let’s first explore the events that led to the momentous occasion.

It all began when a Boy Scout leader by the name of John Cantrell decided to host a Boy Scout rally at his farm (the old Poor Farm) in 1963. The rally site was a huge old hay barn on the property. After the rally was over, having cleared up the barn, Cantrell decided to have a County Music Dance. The entry fee being very small (with children free), it caught on very fast as a family affair, good clean fun. Rain or shine, the barn dance went on. The Cahoon boys assured Cantrell they would pull out any stuck cars or trucks free, if only he would not cancel on account of rain. These barn dances drew a big crowd of boisterous, but well-behaved, fun loving people.

The barn dances led to a Blue Grass Theme Park on the property west of the barn in the sparsely wooded area there. This also took off to success. At this time a promoter name Carlton Haney joined with Cantrell and booked several big names involved with the park. These two formed a loose, informal partnership with Haney promoting and Cantrell handling the finances. They drew performers such as Ernest Tubb, Bill Anderson (who sang so soft he had to stop and ask the crowd to be quiet so he could sing), Bill Monroe, Kitty Wells, the Carter Family, Johnny Wright, Carl Pearl Butler, Porter Wagner and Norma Jean, Joe and Rose Lee Maphis, Bill Phillips, Ruby Wright, Melba Montgomery and George Jones. A George Jones performance was rained out one time so he went to the barn and started drinking and gave a free performance on his own. The rules were strict about drinking at any of these functions, but George was a closet drinker and functioned quite well even under the influence in his early years.
This led to the First Blue Grass Festival.

The festival crowd straggled in, if it can be called a crowd. There were maybe 150 the first night and never more than 1,000. Some were country-and-western fans making do with Bill Monroe. Some were curiosity seekers or just had nothing else to do. Many were uncertain folk music buffs, giving Blue Grass a try. Some were veteran festival-goers, already ground-hardened from the Newport, Warrenton and Philadelphia folk festivals, a few of them building, though they couldn't know it, to Woodstock.

It took place where the stage was erected for these park activities. It was mostly centered around Bill Monroe and his band, as he was known as “The Father of Blue Grass Music”. It was emceed by Haney; and its theme was “The Story of Blue Grass.” The show opened with “The Mule Skinner Blues,” This song with its distinct rhythm was thought to be the first recognized authentic bluegrass song. This event was attended by only about one thousand people; however they were the “purist” from all over the country. They had “workshops” during the day and shows in the evening. This set the stage, however, for the event that shook the town and county in September 1966, when over six thousand people converged near a town of some four hundred unsuspecting souls!

This one brought blue grass fans from all over the world. Some of the stars and their bands featured were: Bill Monroe, Clyde Moody, Don Reno, Jimmy Martin, Mac Wiseman, Jim Eanes, Osbourn Brothers, Red Smiley, “Tater” Tate, Larry Richardson, Bobby Atkins, Joe Stone, Geo Winn, Butch Robbins, and many more. Little Ricky Skaggs then only fourteen years old won the juvenile prize in his class.

John Cantrell said that people were coming in so fast (at $2.00 per day) he just threw the money in the back of his car. It was a good-natured riot but lots of fun! With all those mobs of people there were no great disturbances since people came for blue grass!

The dogged persistence of the stars, fans, backers and promoters (especially backers and promoters like Edwards, Haney, Rinzler and Cantrell) helped get blue grass ( still two words at the time) rolling. They were all pioneers just as much as “The Father of Blue Grass”, Bill Monroe, was the wagon master.


Muleskinner News 1973 Article The First Festival
http://www.fincastle-bluegrass-festival.com/The%20First%20Festival-Muleskinner.pdf