Bluegrass 'field-pickers' leave Sidney after 4 days
Copyright © 2003 Blethen Maine Newspapers Inc.
SIDNEY — It was strangely quiet as recreational vehicles began rolling out of the Blistered Fingers Bluegrass Festival grounds Sunday morning. Nary a field-picker could be heard.
Ashley Jandreau, 7, of Sidney has fun with Charlie, her cousinšs cocker spaniel, at the Blistered Fingers Bluegrass Festival on Sunday. click to enlarge
The folks who play instruments outside their campers, after all, had been at it until 2 or 3 in the morning. On the final day of the four-day festival, many were just emerging. They were packing up, and getting ready to hit the road.
But the field-pickers are just as much a staple of a bluegrass festival as are the stage performers, promoters Gregg and Sandy Cormier say. Simon St. Pierre of Sherman Mills spent three days on the grounds, putting on a show with his fiddle. Duane and Brian Mason, now in their 60s, have been field picking since they were kids.
"I'd say probably 55 or 60 percent of the people who come here do not watch the stage show," Gregg Cormier said. "There's as good a talent out there on the field as there is on the stage."
Kenneth LaPorte, who comes all the way from Medway to help with parking and security, said most of the field-pickers know each other.
"These people, they go to these festivals just to be with other musicians," LaPorte said. "They'll be playing outside their camper, and then all of a sudden, 10 or 15 of them will be playing."
The field-pickers and everyone else who attended the 20th Blistered Fingers Bluegrass Festival were treated to great weather. Though light rain made the campgrounds soggy Sunday morning, sunny skies prevailed from Thursday through Saturday.
There was no such luck the week before, when heavy rain on June 14 wiped out the main day of the three-day Detroit Bluegrass Festival. Forecasters were gloomy about the weekend weather, but this time, at least, the Cormiers were thrilled that they were wrong.
There were as many as 1,000 RVs, and up to 5,000 people attended the festival, Gregg Cormier estimated.
"We lucked out with the weather," he said. "We were worried when we saw the early weather reports. We grew probably 15 percent.
"We fill the motels in Augusta and Waterville. The stores ran out of ice. We're quite an asset to the community, I know that."
Field-pickers aside, top-notch stage entertainment like Rhonda Vincent & The Rage and the Lewis Family helped bring out music fans. Churchgoers from all over come out to see the Lewis Family's mix of southern bluegrass and gospel, the Cormiers said.
The RVs at these festivals keep getting bigger and bigger. Some buses with $600,000 or $700,000 price tags were on the grounds, and a few needed help getting out.
"A lot of these folks, these are their homes," Sandy Cormier said. "They've sold their homes and bought these RVs, and just follow the festivals."
Once they're gone, the Cormiers' job is about done.
"When they leave these grounds, you won't even find a cigarette butt," Gregg Cormier said.
The Cormiers expect even bigger crowds in August, when bluegrass returns to the scenic Kennebec Valley. They are mowing another field for the 21st Blistered Fingers Family Bluegrass Festival, scheduled for Aug. 21-24.
Larry Grard — 487-3288
lgrard@centralmaine.com