As we are just a couple weeks out from 2019’s Green Mountain Bluegrass & Roots Festival we thought it would be a good idea to catch up with some of the artists returning for the fest’s second year for a quick fire round of questions about what they loved about the inaugural event and their hopes for this years weekend of bluegrass, roots and celebration of music.
First we caught up with mandolinist, songwriter and one of the nicest guys in the business, Joe K. Walsh. Joe returns with his trio including himself, Grant Gordy and Danny Barnes, but I wouldn’t be the least bit surprised to see him pop up on stage (and off) elsewhere over the course of the weekend as he did last year.
RLR: You performed at the festival last year for its very first event. What were the highlights for you as an artist performing at the first GMBR and also as a lover of music, what were the highlights that you saw on stage (or off) from your friends and contemporaries?
JKW: I think the great highlight was seeing in person how much John and Jill and the Green Mountain team really love our wide music community, and want to lift it up, celebrate it and share it with the world. They prioritized the music in such a beautiful way, and to me it made the festival the highlight of the summer.
RLR:What are your hopes for this year as a returning artist? Any thing you would like to see play out? Collaborations you hope to see?
JKW: I don’t have any specific hopes in mind, but I’m heading there looking forward to the impromptu moments and reunions that I’m sure will transpire. And, of course, hearing so many of my favorite fellow musicians play.
RLR: Similarly…what set are you most pumped for?
JKW: Martha Scanlan! And Phillips Grier Flinner! I never get to see Martha play anymore, as she never seems to be out east. And I’ve loved the Phillips Grier Flinner trio for years and years, but have never gotten to see them. Can’t wait!!
RLR: The biggest piece of GMBR is this collaborative community mindset. Bluegrass and folk music in and of itself really lends itself to that and last year it was kind of a family reunion of sorts back stage with artists that hadn’t seen each other in a while. What does that sensibility mean to you as an artist in this scene?
JKW: We had a moment backstage, all these mandolin players gathered around geeking out about mandolins. Maddie Witler, David Benedict, Andrew Marlin, Ben Pearce, me, Eli West, Ethan Setiawan, and more, some of whom were meeting each other for the first time, falling immediately into sync on tunes and eight string nerdery. It felt like family, like “these are my people” and we’re in a place where we belong. What a beautiful thing.
As artists, sometimes we find ourselves just doing our job and hopping back in the van, and it can feel pretty isolating at times. Green Mountain pushed back against that feeling in a big way.
RLR: What else do you have going on? Anything you want to push?
JKW: I’m due to make a record in the coming year. I’ve been writing all these mellow tunes, beautiful understated things, and I’m working my mind around how to get in and bring them fully to life. Wish me luck on that front!
You can check in on all that Joe is up to on his website or following him on his socials (Facebook and Instagram). In the meanwhile here’s a video session of Joe and Danny we shot last year together off in a cabin on the grounds at GMBR.