We had to wrestle ourselves out of bed on Sunday. Unfortunately, we missed the early-morning shaped-note singing, but we had a good excuse. We were backstage at Saturday’s midnight jam—a festival tradition—listening to the likes of David Rawlings, Byron House, Nickel Creek’s Chris Thile and Led Zeppelin’s John Paul Jones (yep, back again), as they picked through acoustic renditions of Grateful Dead songs like “Casey Jones” and “China Cat Sunflower,” kicking out the jams ’til almost 4 a.m.
So it was only appropriate that our day begin with frequent Jerry Garcia collaborator and “Dawg” music pioneer, mandolin virtuoso David Grisman. After playing together so many times before Garcia’s death in 1995, it seemed that the two musicians even began to take on each others physical characteristics, as if through some kind of bizarre acoustic osmosis. But the grey hair, bushy beard, dark shades and extra padding ’round the gut was insignificant compared to how they played together. But Grisman’s quintet—together in various forms since the mid-’70s—has always been his bread-and butter, and today they did not disappoint. The five musicians played sweet, earth-tone jazzgrass, with the occasional South American or Middle Eastern flourish.
There are people who can play mandolin as well as David Grisman—and some of them are here this weekend— but you’d be hard-pressed to find anyone who plays as pretty. The quintet floats soft and mournful with percussion, flute, upright bass, guitar and fiddle (in different combinations) providing a rich canvas for Grisman to paint on. Later in the set he’s joined by old friend Sam Bush and budding 14-year-old prodigy Josh Pinkham for some serious mandolin dueling.
While Merlefest bustled for the past three days, the surrounding landscape has been quiet and peaceful. But today the wind picked up, carrying with it clouds, drizzle and humidity. By mid-afternoon, not even the positive festival vibes could hold back the downpour.
In the midst of the moisture, The Gospel Jubilators began their set at the cabin stage. The North Carolina quartet lifted the crowd’s spirits with a soulful, a capella rendition of “I’ll Fly Away.” Huddling under raincoats, ponchos and umbrellas, the small-but-enthusiastic audience raised its hands in praise.