Bluegrass is a genre of music that’s traditionally been celebrated in the southern United States. But that began to change 47 years ago this week, when Ancramdale became the site of the original Berkshire Mountain Bluegrass Festival, bringing large-scale musical gatherings to northern audiences for the first time.
In 1976, Nancy Talbott — a music promoter based in Cambridge, Massachusetts and the co-founder of the Boston Area Friends of Bluegrass and Old-Time Country Music – was looking for a festival location that was easily reached from both New York City and Boston.
It was harder than it looked. Although seven years had passed since Woodstock, many rural communities remained worried that hosting a music festival of any kind would attract unruly crowds of young people and rampant drug use.
After being turned down by a number of locations on both sides of the Hudson River, Talbott was about to give up. Sitting at a barstool and shaking her head over the situation, she got the attention of Arnold “Sonny” Rothvoss, who together with his parents, Arnold and Minnie, owned a farm in Ancramdale.
The farm, he said, had a large hillside field that would fit the bill nicely. Talbott visited the site and agreed it would be perfect. She applied for and received
permission from the Town of Ancram to hold the festival – with the proviso that a police presence would be mandatory.
With the festival location resolved, Talbott went all out, signing up at least five of the nation’s top bluegrass bands. Bill Monroe, the “father of bluegrass,” was the star attraction. Other key groups included the Osborne Brothers, J.D. Crowe, Jim & Jesse, Red Allen, and up-and-comer Ricky Scaggs. Thirteen bands were hired in all.
And with that, the first-ever Berkshire Mountain Bluegrass Festival kicked off on July 30, 1976. For $17 in advance or $20 at the gate, ticket-holders could enjoy three full days of music, from noon to midnight. Over 2,000 visitors showed up the first year. By 1981, when Nancy Talbott hosted her last festival at the Rothvoss farm, that number had grown to 6,000. (No incidents of rowdy behavior were ever reported; the police presence disappeared after the second year.)
A financial dispute with the Rothvoss family prompted Talbott to seek out other locations. In 1982, the festival was held in Cobleskill; after skipping a year, it moved on to Duanesburg in 1984 and 1985, after which Talbott stepped down from festival management.
Even without the Berkshire festival, however, Rothvoss Farm remained an important site for bluegrass music, hosting first the Winterhawk and then the Grey Fox festival. Bluegrass performer Ron Thomason co-sponsored the festivals from 1985 until the farm was sold in 2007.
Since then, the Grey Fox has moved to the Walsh Farm on the west side of the Hudson in Oak Hill, where it attracts more than 8,000 fans every July. From its humble beginnings at just $17 for a three-day weekend, New York’s main bluegrass festival now costs about $200.
Bluegrass events are now plentiful in the northern U.S., with large festivals staged in Maine, Massachusetts, Connecticut, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Vermont and New Hampshire. Smaller festivals have also cropped up throughout the area. Nancy Talbott and Ancramdale both played a pioneering role in bringing bluegrass north.
“The Hill” as we all called it was a spectacular site for a bluegrass festival. A natural amphitheater; the sunset would take place directly over the bandstand, creating a beautiful show all its own. Walking the incline from where your chairs were set up, back up to the hill where your tent was, could be a challenge… especially in the dark after a day’s worth of music and alcoholic beverages ! Great memories of the Rothvoss Farm.
Is Nancy Talbot still living?