This past Sunday I attended the 20th annual Billtown Blues Festival, held at the Lycoming County fairgrounds in Hughesville, PA. I paid $18 in advance for my ticket ($23 at the door). I am terrible at estimating these sorts of things, but I would say somewhere between 500 and 1000 people were in attendance. spread out in lawn chairs on a field in front of a medium-sized stage. There was a canopy in the back for people who wanted some shade. I started out there, but found that the music was only slightly louder than the conversations of people around me. Moving towards the front I found this to be less true, but they still could have used a boost in volume. Out in the sun, I got a predictable sunburn on my ears and forearms.
I did not make it in time to see Irving Street Blues, and only caught part of Sean Carney. The first act that I really saw was harpist / vocalist Gary Allegretto and mandolin player / vocalist Rich DelGrosso backed by a power trio. They were good, but I was a bit disappointed that the mandolin was not more exotic. It sounded so much like a guitar that I often could not tell which parts he was playing without watching either him or the guitarist.
Next up was gospel band The Campbell Brothers, a fairly large group driven by two steel guitarists. The only other time I’ve heard similar music is when The Blind Boys of Alabama and Ben Harper worked together. They were probably my favorite part of the festival because of their uniqueness. I love electric blues, but after a while you need something different.
I also enjoyed the next act, Greg Piccolo & Heavy Juice Expansion Pac, which was a nine-piece band led by a famous tenor saxophonist. I also enjoyed their quasi-big band style quite a bit. The last group I was was guitarist Bob Margolin and his band with vocalist Diunna Greenleaf. Margolin was good, and Ms. Greenleaf was exceptional. She sang a few songs as a tribute to the late Koko Taylor, and you could tell it was heartfelt.
The last act, to celebrate the 20th anniversary of the festival, was to be a showcase of students from a local group of music instructors. I would have stayed to hear them, but it was becoming quite cool with the sun down and I was still soaked with perspiration from when it was burning down upon us. In addition to an afternoon and evening of good music, I had an opportunity to read 200 pages or so of my current novel, making an excellent day.