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.
William Seeders Mosheim bleeds everything that GMBR stands for and as a resident of Dorset, VT this event holds an even more special place in his heart as it is unfolding right in his backyard. Last year Will could be seen all around, in campsite jams, sitting in with friends and on the main stage for he and Carling Berkhout’s set. This year he hosts what will be sure to be an amazing late night Lamplighter Old Time jam as well as playing in a handful of other acts…all that and he also donated one of his beautiful Seeder’s Instruments Banjos to the raffle this year. Read on…
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 very 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?
WSM: Playing the inaugural GMBR festival last year was an amazing experience. As a local Southern Vermonter having a festival like this come to my home town is a dream come true. We played the first set of music on the main stage Friday morning and I couldn’t have been happier to kick off the weekend of incredible music on that stage. Some of the highlights for me as a music lover were both on and off stage and it’s honestly incredibly hard to choose just a few. Here’s a few of my favorite on stage moments. Seeing some of my friends and favorite musicians play an entire set of John Hartford songs was a big highlight as John is one of my all time favorite musicians. Seeing Mandolin Orange captivate the largest audience of the weekend as just a duo was really magical. Bobby Britt’s closing set on Sunday was a really moving experience as well. Hearing him play his music with the band he had behind him was absolutely incredible and a lot of my fellow performers were lined up right in front of the stage just taking it all in. It’s a memory I’ll always treasure but I know there will be many more similar memories in the years of GMBR to come!
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?
WSM: As a returning artist I hope to see the same kind of love and excitement we had last year, both from fellow musicians and fans. I have no doubts this will be the case and while the first year will always be in it’s own special place in my heart I know the coming fest will only be more of the same! Carling & Will has a couple of special collaborations we hope to make happen through the weekend and I have some fun things planned for the Seeders Old Time Jam set Thursday night. I’ve been able to pull in some friends who are some heavy hitters in the old time scene that weren’t on the lineup so it’s exciting to be able to highlight them during the set and get them to collaborate with some other friends who are also performing throughout the weekend.
RLR: Similarly…what set are you most pumped for?
WSM: Again, it’s extremely hard to pick one favorite or one I’m most excited for as it all excites me so much. Each and every performer is someone I’ve admired musically and I can’t wait for each and every one. I am particularly excited to see a set from Josh Oliver though as I’ve only seen him perform with Mandolin Orange and I love his solo work as well as his work with them.
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?
WSM: That’s one of the parts of GMBR that makes it so special. Not only is it a festival run with love and passion for the music but the focus on the community aspect and the respect and friendships within it is something very unique and special. There’s no competative feeling, there’s no jealously over set times or what stage you’re on or who’s playing with who. Everyone is all in it together and just so happy to be a part of a festival that has this kind of vibe and energy. It feels less like work and the divide between performer and audience member is much less evident when a festival has this kind of feel to it. It’s all one big happy family making music and memories together!
RLR: What else do you have going on? Anything you want to push?
WSM: I mentioned the Seeders Old Time Jam Set above that will be late Thursday night. I have some really fun collaborations planned for it and while it will be spontanious and somewhat loose there will be some really amazing things happening that you won’t get the chance to see or hear anywhere else. This isn’t the kind of set that if you hear something you like you can go buy the album, it’s a one time performance that you won’t hear anywhere else. I’m going to try to capture the vibe of the old-time music scene where emphasis is more about collaborating and playing music with everyone and anyone and less so on the performance aspect. While it will be a performance of sorts it will really just be a bunch of friends gathering and collaborating to play some really entertaining and fun music to witness and hear.