LOWER LAKE – Smiles, toe tapping, applause, and great American roots and bluegrass music filled the air at the fourth annual Old Time Bluegrass Festival held Saturday at the Anderson Marsh State Historic Park in Lower Lake.
Grammy award-winner Laurie Lewis, accompanied by Nina Gerber, headlined the show and brought the estimated 1,200 guests to their feet again and again.
Lewis, best known for her fiddle playing, singing and songwriting, has been called “one of the preeminent bluegrass and Americana artists of our time,” and enchanted the crowd accompanied by Gerber, who performs with many other luminaries of American roots music.
“This is a beautiful place and a wonderful festival,” Lewis told the audience from the stage just before her last song of the evening on Saturday.
The festival was presented by the Anderson Marsh Interpretive Association (AMIA), a nonprofit organization that seeks to promote education and interpretive activities at the park, the Children’s Museum of Art & Science (CMAS), and the Clear Lake Chamber of Commerce, as a benefit to help support education in science, history and performing arts for the children of Lake County.
Bluegrass banjo player and Upper Lake resident Pat Ickes with his band Bound to Ride returned once again to the festival, which was much appreciated by their fans who were treated to original tunes and classics.
A member of Bound to Ride, Larry Chung, reintroduced this reporter to bluegrass about 10 years ago when he played weekly with a band of rotating musicians at Cato’s in Oakland. Growing up in southern Illinois, my grandparents were bluegrass fans, taking my brother and I to shows near and far, including the Grand Ole Opry.
