Winfield, 2009

In the beginning Bill Monroe, took the quintessential American musical
idiom and re-invented IT, and he in turn was re-invented, re-created
by IT.

This quintessential American musical idiom was patriotic and
conservative (but always nursed an anti-rich people resentment). It
was religiously orthodox (in a lunatic, fundamentalist way). It was
played by extremely talented and skillful musicians in a fast, fluid,
novel way.

And it was danced in a joyous American way.

It is called bluegrass music (because of Monroe's origins in the Blue
Grass state of Kentucky).

Then, starting in the late 1960's, the hippies took IT over. They
re-invented bluegrass. And then were themselves re-invented by IT.

This still quintessential American music preserves remnants of its
lunatic fundamental orthodoxy. It still preserves an anti-rich
people/corporation agenda political resentment. And IT is a kind of
psychedelic music, broadly influenced by entheogenic plants, attaining
greater and further powers of musical virtuosity, fluidity, speed,
novelty, musical elegance.

And is danced to in a joyous, American way.

Winfield (which began in earnest in 1971) remains an important place
in the continuous furthering of Bill Monroe's and Kentucky's legacy.

When the Teluride Bluegrass Festival was founded, Winfield was an
important antecedent, inspiration, model. Teluride was a further
continuance of the spirit of Winfield.

And the spirit of Winfield, the spirit of the bluegrass music festival
as we know them, perhaps begins in the lunatic American musical
religiosity at Cane Ridge, Bourbon County, Kentucky in 1801, with a
(huge for that time) frontier, camp meeting in the first Great
Kentucky Spiritual/Musical Awakening.

Frontier families traveled by wagon 50 to 100 arduous, rutted miles.
During that four-day festival credible witnesses testify that at least
3,000 of the 20,000 people in attendance fell to the ground under the
unnatural excitement, in a religious and musical ecstasy. People
convulsed and contorted. Other effects were wild, ecstatic dancing,
spinning on the feet in the manner of the whirling, dervishes of the
East.

People sang, shouted, moaned and played the instruments of the
American frontier; fiddles, banjos, harmonicas, mandolins, guitars,
wash-boards, base buckets in a state of feverish
religious/sexual/musical/sheer exhilaration.

The influence of Cane Ridge, Kentucky is still plainly visible in the
intense, speedy, paroxysms of music. This supernatural musical
influence is seen and heard in all the acoustic music performed, and
yet is especially apparent during the musical championship
competitions.

In the National Flat Pick Guitar contest held on the afternoon of
September 19, there were 37 contestants from 19 states and from
Canada, the United Kingdom and Australia.

This year first place was won by Bryan McDowell, 18, a high school
senior from Canton, NC. This achievement was preceded by McDowell doing
the amazing and unprecedented feat of taking first place in the Walnut
Valley Mandolin contest and the Walnut Valley Old Time Fiddle contest.

This is the first time one individual has placed first in three
contests at the Walnut Valley Festival in the same year.

Second and third places in this contest were won by close friends of McDowell.

Second place was won by Brandon Davis of Independence, VA. Davis
placed third in this competition in 2008. This year, third place was awarded to
Eric Hardin of Warrensville, NC. Hardin placed first in the banjo
competition in Winfield in 2004.

McDowell plays fiddle, Davis plays guitar and Hardin plays banjo. In
their band 'Second Circle'. They all play each others instruments.

Featured performers at this year's festival were: Bill Barwick,
Stephen Bennett, Roz Brown, Tom Chapin & Friends, Beppe Gambetta, The
Greencards, Buddy Greene, Ron
Block & Jeff Taylor, Pete Huttlinger, The Infamous Stringdusters, Wil
Maring & Robert Bowlin, Marley's Ghost, Andy May, John McCutcheon,
Adam Miller, David Moran, Joe Morgan & Friends, Mountain Heart,
Mountain Smoke, David Munnelly Band, Notorious, Barry Patton, The Kati
Penn Band, Prickly Pair & The Cactus Chorale, Sawmill Road, Trevor
Stewart, Still on the Hill, Linda Tilton, The Wilders, The Wiyos.

At least half of Winfield campers bring a musical instrument. For
many, of the about 16,000 people attending, the Winfield experience
does not revolve around headline performers or the music contests, but
around the impromptu stages in the campground, (particularly Stage 5)
that feature the rich talents of Winfield regulars, and the all-night
jamming.

A child of Winfield, (she's been musically engaging Winfield from the
time she was ten-years-old) Ms. Bonnie May Paine is a star always and
everywhere and yet she is especially in her element at the Winfield
campground stages and jam sessions.

She is a Nederland resident, angelic singer, player of washboard,
guitar and musical saw, too, and is a huge part of the enormous groove
of Elephant Revival.

"I love Winfield," says Paine. "Winfield is the place musicians go to
grow as musicians. When I am leaving Winfield I feel I have
progressed in music, I have received a higher education in music.
Every year I will do everything I can to be here, to see everyone, to
hear where the music
is going, to be part of this musical community. Pretty much everyone I
know comes to Winfield to play at the campground," she said.

Paine's musical vehicle at this year's festival that played the
campgrounds' Stage Five and also Stage 4.75 was an all-lovely,
all-lady band 'Cottonwood Snow', that also included her sister Ms.
Annie Rose Paine, stand-up base, and
Allyson Olassa, accordion.

"And yet," says Paine. "It's just plain wrong that musicians like
Randy Crouch, Split Lip Rayfield, Mike West, who have been for so long
a big part of the Winfield experience, have been important teachers,
and entertainers, have to pay to get in and can't even sell their
cds," she said.".

"It's a testament to the power of the Winfield that so many of these
in all ways amazing artists, are going year
after year, paying to come in, paying to lead the pickin' in the
campgrounds, to just be part of this amazing, friggin', music
festival, even though they haven't been hired for the main stage, even
though their cd's are not even being promoted by the festival," said
Joey Cantoni, of Denver.

"These guy are the bomb! These guys are the music! These guys are
Winfield! These guys are the campgrounds, and the campground stages.

"You can friggin' quote me on that. However you want to," said Cantoni.

Last year tropical storm Ike flooded the Cowley County Fairgrounds.
Most all camped for free on the shores of Winfield Lake. It was the
first time in the history of Winfield that the festival was free for
those whose Winfield experience is centered around the impromptu
campground stages and the all-night jam sessions.

"Last year was the best Winfield, ever," Paine said.