THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Sunday, July 16, 1995 TAG: 9507190605
SECTION: VIRGINIA BEACH BEACON PAGE: 04 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY DAWSON MILLS, CORRESPONDENT
LENGTH: Medium: 93 lines
If bluegrass music is your cup of tea, the Pendleton Bluegrass Festival at Camp Pendleton will let you have your cake and help others eat, too. The three-day event, Friday through next Sunday, is bringing in a line-up of bluegrass heavyweights to benefit SHARE, a program of the Foodbank of Southeastern Virginia.
Scheduled to appear are Chubby Wise, Hickory Ridge, Chief Powhatan, the Tidewater Bluegrass Boys, Blue River Band, Southside Virginia Band, Solid Rock, the Stevens Family, County Seat, Southern Transfer, Dixie Coast, Muddy Creek, Lonesome At The Top and Curly Maple. Additional performers are still being booked according to Brent Ramey, producer for the event.
``We have some really good groups, with players from all over the state,'' he said. ``We've got top-of-the-line players . . . One of the best mandolin players and one of the best guitar players will be there; some as good as you can find anywhere in the country.''
Robert R. ``Chubby'' Wise, Ramey said, is a national figure who helped usher in bluegrass. Known as the inventor of bluegrass fiddle, he has performed for more than 50 years and is co-composer of ``Orange Blossom Special.'' He has played with Bill Monroe (and his Bluegrass Boys Band), Hank Williams, Lester Flatt and Earl Scruggs and has been recording since the 1940s.
Ramey, who was unfamiliar with bluegrass until he took on this project, had something to say about each of the performers. Chief Powhatan, for example, is a full-blooded American Indian.
The Stevens family, consisting of father, mother and two daughters from Hampton, Tenn., has played throughout the United States and Canada. They have five recordings to their credit.
Muddy Creek and several other bands such as Solid Rock and Southern Transfer, perform bluegrass gospel as well as traditional bluegrass.
Sunday, the final day of the festival, will feature an emphasis on gospel music and no alcohol will be served that day.
One of the stars of the festival will be guitarist and vocalist David Ratcliffe, who grew up in Great Bridge. Ratcliffe, who has played with Jimmy Martin and the Bluegrass Cardinals, has performed in 38 states and Japan and on national television as well as for Sen. Robert Byrd and President Jimmy Carter in the White House. He has six recordings to his credit.
Having spent the last several years performing country and western, Ratcliffe, who now lives in Suffolk, has only recently returned to his first love, bluegrass.
Bluegrass veteran Travis Holloway, who can play ``anything,'' including Dobro and mandolin and who will be appearing at the festival, said, ``We're excited about the prospects of how it's going to turn out. So far we're encouraged by the efficiency of Brent's staff and organization.''
It was the Foodbank that got Ramey involved in the first place. He was working there as a volunteer when he was tapped to pull the event together. SHARE, the beneficiary of the festival, provides food primarily to ``at-risk'' participants largely comprised of the elderly and working poor. With 225 neighborhood host sites in Hampton Roads, it serves more than 6,000 families per month.
Unlike other programs, SHARE participants pay a nominal charge for each ``unit'' of food they obtain and also perform two hours of community service. The volunteer service adds up to more than 160,000 hours annually.
``SHARE provides a well-balanced and nutritious food package,'' said Ramey. ``The food addresses physical hunger and the community service addresses spiritual hunger.''
Started locally in 1989, Hampton Roads' program is one of 27 in the country. There are others also operating in foreign countries.
Weekend tickets to the festival, sponsored by WCMS radio are $20 advance purchase; $25 at the gate. Daily tickets are available for $10. Call 800/253-7842 or 804/853-1608. ILLUSTRATION: Photos by DAWSON MILLS
ABOVE: David Ratcliffe, left, and Travis Holloway talk with Brent
Ramey, producer of the Pendleton Bluegrass Festival, as O.C.
Strickland, Harlan Baumgardner, Vic Sielski and Ed Sipe prepare to
strike up a tune.
LEFT: Muddy Creek, featuring vocalist and guitarist Laurie Neitzke,
also will be appearing at the festival.
Graphic
WHEN AND WHERE
Pendleton Bluegrass Festival, 6 p.m. to 11 p.m. Friday; noon to
11 p.m. Saturday; and 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. July 23 at Camp Pendleton on
General Booth Boulevard. Tickets are $20 in advance, $25 at the gate
or $10 per day. Children 12 and under, free. Military discounts
offered. Tickets available at A&E Music Center, 3800 Holland Road;
Foodbank of Southeastern Virginia, 2308 Granby St., Norfolk; and
Bailey's Guitars and Repair 246 N. Battlefield Blvd., Chesapeake.
Call 800-253-7842 or 804-853-1608.
by CNB