MANCHESTER CENTER, Vt. – The seventh annual Green Mountain Bluegrass and Roots Festival (GMBR) in Hunter Park, Manchester Center, Vt., brought visitors from around the U.S. to immerse themselves in four days of Americana, folk, and bluegrass music.
The performers over the course of the four-day, family-friendly festival, held between Aug. 13-16, included some well-known artists of the genre, like headliners Watchhouse, I’m With Her, and Vermont-born singer and musician Dan Tyminski. A much-anticipated 10-year reunion of Cahlen Morrison and Eli West was just one highlight of the event.
In addition to the packed musical lineup across three stages, attendees were encouraged to camp in one of three camping areas. A variety of local food and craft booths, Vermont craft beer, wine, and spirits, a kids’ corner, and daily community experiences like dance and yoga classes were part of the festivities.
By Saturday afternoon, RVs were crowded in the Hunter Park South camping area, and families cooled off in a small swimming hole just off site in the Battenkill River. Camp chairs lined up in front of the main stage staking out space in anticipation of the evening’s performances, but a good-sized crowd sat in the sunshine, listening to the day’s main stage artists.
Jill and John Turpin, the festival’s promoters, share a passion for bluegrass, the artists, and the communal experience of a music festival. The stated mission of GMBR is “Community. Collaboration. Inspiration.”
“Since the first bluegrass festivals were introduced in the ‘60s, loyal fans of the music have gathered, often with campers and folding chairs in tow, to listen to old-school and new-school pickers play,” reads the GMBR mission statement. “Beyond the pure talent represented by these performers, there was a rapport, a clear and special bond that they shared, that was evident to all who were lucky enough to bear witness to one of these special collaborations. Our mission is to help bring together the titans of today’s bluegrass, roots, and Americana music, both known and unknown, and provide them with a fertile field that will foster nothing short of a new golden era of musical collaboration.”
That was the energy of the day, evident in the crowds of festivalgoers gathered in cheerful groups, reuniting with old friends, laughing, sharing an appreciation of Americana music, and enjoying a gorgeous August day among the Green Mountains of southern Vermont.