I grew up in an area where bluegrass was not exactly ubiquitous, but at the same time, easily found. My friend’s grandparents were very much into bluegrass and I used to sit in while they were picking. It was a good way to learn basic guitar — there aren’t many chords, and the changes are predictable. Still, bluegrass as music was not something I really appreciated.

Twenty years later, I do. Enough to have a few bluegrass CDs in my collection and to drive festivals and such, anyway.

This weekend: the Bluff Mountain Festival, a fundraising festival for the Madison County Arts Comission.

After the festival, we drove to nearby Max Patch — a grassy mountain with views all around. (It’s also on the Appalachian Trail.)

More images at Flickr.