Mama Corn played some cool shows...

[songsmith]

The band I play in, Mama Corn, was asked to play the Grey Fox Bluegrass Festival in Oak Hill NY (in the Catskills, near Albany) several months ago, and last Thursday, we did it.
First of all, I was astounded to even be asked to do it... when Jeremy (our banjo-player) said to keep the 3rd weekend in July open for Grey Fox, I replied, "Sure, and I'll keep the 2nd weekend in February open in case the Grammys call, too." Grey Fox is one of the top 5 bluegrass festivals on the planet, and every bluegrass band in the country wants to play there. The lineup this year included newer-style acts like Keller Williams and the Travelin' McCourys, Infamous Stringdusters, The Steeldrivers, MilkDrive, The Duhks, and Della Mae; also traditional bluegrass like Danny Paisley & The Southern Grass, Del McCoury, Lonesome River Band, James King, The Gibson Bros., Jim Gaudet & The Railroad Boys and Dry Branch Fire Squad. There were also collaborations of bluegrass giants like Tim O'Brien, Jerry Douglas, Mike Bub, Chris Thile, Bryan Sutton, Noam Pikelny and various McCourys. Even the Carolina Chocolate Drops.

And Mama Corn.

We arrived Wednesday night, for our Thursday 3pm showcase, and our nervousness was amplified when everyone started telling us we were the most talked about new band there. People had been hitting our Youtube videos, and Facebook page, and were really looking forward to hearing us, they said. They told us to make sure we had lots of CD's and promo material, and that we probably had no clue what we were in for. (They were pretty much right.)
After setting up camp in French Guyana-style heat and humidity, we settled into our tents in the already-crowded artist camping area. Most of the other artists had snazzy RV's and tour buses, but many actually tent-camped, too, as it was tradition to do so.
Much of Thursday was taken up by simply trying to survive the hottest conditions so far this summer... the slightest effort brought rivers of perspiration, and we just sort of sat around and hydrated until shortly before our set, though we did manage to rehearse at the campsite, one of the perks of being all-acoustic.
At 2:30pm, we ambled the 100 yards or so to the Creekside Stage, and managed a quick soundcheck, as we were the first band at that stage. We soundchecked with an obscure late-1950's gospel song, Heaven's Satellite... and the magic started. That brought people in from far and wide (the grounds were PACKED by this time, at least 10,000 people onsite), and within a minute or two, our stage was at overflow capacity. After a quick rundown from management and an intro by a nice lady from New Hampshire Public Radio, Mama Corn was off and running.
It was one of those experiences every performing musician dreams about, and works toward. We played really well, especially at the front of the set, and the audience was profoundly kind to us. Every song brought huge waves of applause, people were clapping and dancing, and laughing at our obviously-corny jokes. At one point, during an original of ours called Another Couple Days, it all just seemed like a dream, we had them eating from the palms of our hands, and I wondered if it was real. It really did go that well. When we left the stage, we actually got called back for an encore. The opening showcase band on a Thursday afternoon in 111-degree heat index, and we got called back to the stage for an encore.
When we finished our encore, we had an onslaught of CD buyers and well-wishers, and had several radio personalities from New England, New York and New Jersey add our CD to their playlists. We even placed one with Bluegrass Today Magazine, who promised to review it soon in their publication. Just before we started playing, I overheard a well-dressed man telling the sound people,"This is probably the most important field recording you will do all week. Don't mess it up" , and he walked away without talking to us, or even looking at us. I don't know what that means, but my mind is racing with it.
The remainder of Thursday was a blur of well-wishers, new fans, old friends, and incredible music. I watched a set from one of my heroes, Danny Paisley, and chatted with Nora Jane Struthers, who has a top ten Americana record right now. I also hung out with a band from Florida, Laney Jones, and numerous other musicians. The rest of Mama Corn wandered around the backstage area, hob-nobbing with national musicians and drinking free top-shelf beer in the hospitality tent. We all did our best to get some sleep in the brutal heat and humidity, because Friday was a travel day to a festival at a West Virginia resort on Saturday.
That one went well, too. We made a LOT of new fans, and met some incredible musicians there, as well. We even did an encore, the only one of the festival. I got REALLY lost on the way home, at one point GPS had me on a single-lane dirt wagon-path on a foggy West Virginia night, with the soundtrack to Deliverance playing in my head. I thankfully found my way home, purty mouth unmolested, and slept in my own bed... replaying this amazing week in mind. I'm sure I'll keep doing that for many years.

This all sounds very much like I'm boastful and full of myself, and I don't deny that. I don't play gigs like this every day. I just wanted to tell my friends that someday, if the stars align and you've paid your dues... someday there will come a time when you realize it was worth it. I guarantee you, your most outrageous daydream can come to life. If I never get to do anything like this again, that's cool. We did it. We watched a documentary about Grey Fox years ago, when we first started, and talked about how cool it would be to play shows like that... and we did it.

[bassist_25]

Congrats on the cool gigs, Johnny. Sometimes, those awesome gigs make the suck gigs all worth it...sometimes.

A friend from high school hipped me to Kellar Williams years ago.

[PanzerFaust]

It's all about being in the right place at the right time sometimes huh???

Very Cool....

[kayla]

Awesome story. love it! congrats on an awesome gig.

- kayla.

[whitedevilone]

Congrats Johnny!!Amazing what happens when you put in the work.Luck only plays a small part IMO.Sounds like a weekend you'll remember always.Very happy for you cats.

[nakedtwister]

A well deserved weekend for the Cornheads. Congrats guys!

[onegunguitar]

[MistValkyrie]

that's awesome, man!

[Jasaoke]

I keep looking for the "like" button on Rockpage...


Don't worry about being boastful; you SHOULD be.