B L U E P R I N T S DCBU Newsletter of the D.C. Bluegrass Union Fall/Winter 2014 ! DC Bluegrass Festival! February 27- 28, 2015 Sheraton Tysons Corner Jerry Douglas and the Earls of Leicester, Seldom Scene, Tim O’Brien, Blue Highway, Sierra Hull, The Bankesters, Grass Cats, Gold Heart, Bluestone and much more! Tickets and info: www.dcbluegrassfest.org ! ! Honoring Hazel Dickens Hazel Dickens was a mainstay of the DC bluegrass scene until her passing in 2011. For both urban and rural aficionados of the music, Hazel was inarguably the real deal. Blue Prints Fall/Winter 2014 From hardscrabble beginnings in West Virginia coal country in 1935, Hazel moved to Baltimore, MD, as a young woman to find factory work. She quickly connected with local musicians. Dickens started performing throughout the Baltimore/ Washington region and was soon recognized for her singular mountain singing style and her gift with a lyric. Hazel wrote of coal miners, unionization, hard times, feminism and much more. She recorded several albums B L U with duo partner Alice Gerrard in the 1960s and 1970s and went on to release four records as a solo artist. Among her best known songs are Won’t You Come and Sing for Me, West Virginia My Home, A Few Old Memories and Mama’s Hand. Hazel was awarded a National Heritage Fellowship in 2001 from the National Endowment for the Arts. Dickens also received the Washington Monument award from the DC Bluegrass Union shortly before her death. The laurel celebrates the contributions of DC musicians to bluegrass music regionally and nationally. E P R I N T S F A her in a funeral scene singing Hills of Galilee in the 1987 movie Matewan about labor troubles in an Appalachian coal-mining town. Dickens also appeared in the 2000 film, Songcatcher. Hazel was a protest singer in the finest folk tradition. Her songs Black Lung, about the loss of her brother to the disease, and the feminist Don’t Put Her Down, You Put Her There, place her among the best of her generation. Everything about Hazel’s music was unvarnished. Her delivery ranged from a moan to a holler. It was pure mountain soul with no apologies. Folk musician extraordinaire and musicologist Mike Seeger heard Dickens and introduced her to his then wife, Alice Gerrard. The two quickly formed a musical bond and began performing as a duo on the bluegrass festival circuit in 1965. They sang in the lead/tenor style that typifies the music and unwittingly became trailblazers for women in the male-dominated bluegrass industry of the time. Dickens’ spirited version of the union anthem They’ll Never Keep Us Down graced the documentary film Harlan County, USA in 1976. John Sayles included Dickens told No Depression magazine in a 1999 interview, “I’m not sure if they looked at us as a novelty, or if they took us seriously,” she said of the male musi- L L 2 0 1 3 cians in the business. “There were a lot of them, especially down through the years, that gave us respect.” Dickens and Gerrard parted ways in 1976 and Hazel’s music became markedly more political. She recorded three solo albums for Rounder Records, Hard Hitting Songs for Hard Hit People (1981), By the Sweat of My Brow (1984), and It's Hard to Tell the Singer From the Song (1986). Rounder released a compilation of Dickens’ music, A Few Old Memories, in 1987. During her lifetime, Dickens became a guiding light for such musical luminaries as Dolly Parton, Emmylou Harris and Alison Krauss, all of whom recorded her songs. She was considered both a songwriting lodestone and a direct female link to the tough, rural roots of the music. Hazel’s life came to a close at age 75 due to complications from pneumonia. She left behind unforgettable music for future generations to discover and many appreciative fans and friends. The DC Bluegrass Union has launched the Hazel Dickens Song Contest to honor her life and musical legacy. Entries are due by January 1, 2015. Cash prizes! First-place winner Bl will play his or her song at the 2015 DC Bluegrass Festival. Find more information at www.dcbu.org/songcontest.htm. Randy Barrett Wine Tasting Fundraiser Come enjoy wine pairings with some great cheeses and appetizers at the Curious Grape on January 17, 2015. The event is limited to 50 people so make your reservations today by contacting Regina Derzon at 703-915-2271. Tickets are $65 and the restaurant is located at 2900 S. Quincy St in Arlington, VA. All proceeds benefit the DC Bluegrass Union. End-of-Year Giving While we’re banging the drum, we hope you will keep DCBU in mind for your 2014 year-end charitable giving. All donations are tax deductible. Your gift helps us keep the many activities of the organization funded in our mission to promote bluegrass music in the greater Washington, DC area. You can make a donation online at www.dcbu.org/donate.htm. We also welcome old-fashioned checks. Please sent to DCBU, 1429 Martha Custis Drive, Alexandria, VA 22302. Thank you! Wishing All the Best to Terry Wittenberg Terry Wittenberg has stepped off the DCBU board after five years of excellent work as our festival manager. Terry was a tremendous asset to the organization and we will miss having him on the team. *** Renew your membership today at www.dcbu.org *** Bluegrass DJ Ray Davis Dies at 81 We were saddened to hear of the death of the legendary former WAMU DJ Ray Davis on December 3, 2014. Ray’s career spanned more than 60 years. His Ray Davis Show was a mainstay of the Washington bluegrass scene. Ray was also a promoter and record producer. We send our condolences to his family. passes and a hotel room for Friday and Saturday night!). Individual tickets are also available for purchase at the member rate of $85 for the full festival. Visit www.dcbluegrassfest.org for more information. Bluegrass Calendar December 19, 2014 - Friday Patuxent Partners American Legion Post No. 268 11225 Fern Street, Wheaton MD 20902 Time: 8:00 Saturday December 20 Bluegrass Christmas Jamboree Lucketts Old Schoolhouse 42361 Lucketts Rd., Leesburg, VA 20176 Time: doors 6, show 7, Tickets: $15 door Bud's Collective Phone: 540-671-9828, Email: [email protected] Bright Box Theatre Loudoun Street, WInchester, VA Time: 8:00p, Tickets: $15, $10 advance, $15 at door December 26, 2014 - Friday Give the Holiday Gift of Festival! 2015 DC Bluegrass Festival tickets make the perfect holiday present. We’re offering outstanding package deals (only $310 for two festival Jordan Tice & Friends, Mike Munford, Patrick Mcavinue, Mark Schatz 49 West Coffee House 49 West St, Annapolis, Md Time: 8 &10PM, Tickets: 15$ Fall/Winter 2014 B L U E P R I N T S F A L L 2 0 1 3 January 8, 2015 - Thursday Blue Moon Rising December 27, 2014 - Saturday Harpeth Rising Bud's Collective Uptown Concerts at Baldwin Station Seven Mountains Bluegrass Assoc. Music Series Phone: 540-671-9828, Email: [email protected] Sykesville, MD Clementine Contact: 410-795-1041 reservations Time: 8:00PM, ,Tickets: $15.00 Goodwill Fire Dept., 2318 South Queen St., York, PA Time: 5:30 doors, 7:00 Main Street, Harrisonburg, VA Time: 8pm, Tickets: $5 January 10, 2015 - January 3, 2015 - Danny Paisley & The Southern Grass Larry Stephenson Band Holy Cross Lutheran Church Lucketts Old Schoolhouse 1090 Sterling Road, Herndon, VA 42361 Lucketts Rd., Leesburg, VA 20176 Time: 7:30 pm, Tickets: $15 Time: doors 6, show 7, Tickets: $15 door DCBU 1429 Martha Custis Drive Alexandria, VA 22302 Doors open at 6:30 pm, barrier free and smoke free facility, light snack service, children 12 and younger admitted free, 5th DC Bluegrass Festival! Feb 27/28, 2015 Sheraton Tysons Hotel Vienna, VA. Jerry Douglas and Earls of Leicester, Seldom Scene, Tim O’Brien, Blue Highway, Sierra Hull, The Bankesters, Grass Cats, Gold Heart, Bluestone, more! Info: www. dcbluegrassfest.org