Boats & Bluegrass 2012

"The bluegrass is just smoke & mirrors", he said. Boats & Bluegrass ia a Winona, MN festival on the Mississippi River, 50 yards from a campground with 40+ bands playing from morning to night. We set up camp and relaxed in the afternoon sun, moved from stage to stage filling up on fiddles and banjos and harmonies and we even made it through the smoke and mirrors and found our way to the boats. Starting a festival to get people on the river and then stocking it with grade A bluegrass bands, now that is some artful deception. The only problem is finding the time to soak it all in.

The entrance to Boats & Bluegrass. 

Dr. Bob's Midway Show

Corpse Reviver

Aerial dancing with Jess & Jess

Steve Kaul & the Brass Kings

Hanging out with my husband at camp

My cuddly niece, Tula. 

She's really into saying names right now so I got to hear 

"Hi Pol Pol" all weekend.

My brother and his gals

Sometimes we'd have the whole river to ourselves for the longest time.

Yonder was the banks and the islands, across the water;

and maybe a spark--which was a candle in a cabin window;

and sometimes on the water you could see a spark or two--

on a raft or scow, you know, 

and maybe you could hear a fiddle or a song 

coming over from one of them crafts.

It is lovely to live n' a raft.

--Mark Twain, Huckleberry Finn

Nicholas Mrozinski

Driftless Fire Tribe

Paper Bird

Good morning campers. Time for coffee and more bluegrass.

I loved this band but I don't know who they are. They shall remain nameless. She had a big husky, country voice that you don't hear a lot of in these parts.

Something going on around every corner

Paddling out to a sandbar for a surprise musical guest

A nice calm day on the river.

Nice B&B sand art

Surprise! It's Pert Near Sandstone!

Pert Near Sandstone from Polly Scott on Vimeo.
After some bluegrass on the beach and a nice paddle back to shore we ended up with a dead car battery.  One of the guys from The Hobo Nephews of Uncle Frank ended up jumping our car. Perfect ending to a great weekend. I'm not sure if the bluegrass brought us to the boats or the boats brought us to the bluegrass. It was all one beautiful, loud, chaotic, exhausting and exhilarating blast of a weekend. And we didn't even see the half of it. I guess we'll need to go back next year.

For more information visit: http://www.boatsandbluegrass.com/Home.html