Tag Archives: suwannee springfest

Legendary Guitarist Doc Watson

Doc Watson & grandson
Doc Watson & grandson performing at the Suwannee Springfest in Florida (photo by Donna Green-Townsend)

Doc Watson, the Grammy award-winning guitarist who has influenced and been revered by virtually every great bluegrass flatpicker in the country died on May 29, 2012. The 89-year-old musician, who was blind from age 1, had undergone abdominal surgery at a hospital in Winston Salem, N.C., but died a few days later. Donna Green-Townsend had the opportunity to interview Watson on a couple of occasions at various festivals across the country and prepared this feature.

Walnut Valley Festival 19820002
(from left to right) David Sylvester, T. Michael Coleman and Doc Watson at the 1982 Walnut Valley Festival in Winfield, KS (photo by Donna Green-Townsend)

The interview segments in the feature above came from Donna Green-Townsend’s first meeting with Doc Watson in September, 1982 at the Walnut Valley Festival in Winfield, KS.  The station she was working for at the time, KHCC-FM at Hutchinson Community College in Kansas, was in its second year of recording the stages and performers at the festival.  The material eventually became, “The Walnut Valley Festival Series,” broadcast on public radio stations all across the country.  There were 26 one-hour programs in all.  Below is the 35:50 segment that included the set performed by Doc Watson, T. Michael Coleman and David Sylvester and the full interviews from that series.  (Merle Watson had taken a few days off from touring).

Production assistance on the above recording in 1982 was provided by Dan Skinner and Steve Brown of KHCC-FM and KANZ-FM.

CD cover of Riding The Midnight Train
CD cover of Riding The Midnight Train
Doc Watson's autograph
Doc Watson’s autograph on the CD he dedicated to his son, the late Merle Watson

On March 25th of 2008, Clawgrass banjo player Mark Johnson and Donna Green-Townsend had the opportunity to sit backstage with Doc Watson and folk icon Norman Blake at the Suwannee Springfest near Live Oak. It was one of those rare opportunities to swap stories and share some tunes. When the special hour began you can hear Peter Rowan and company in the distance performing on the main stage. Meanwhile backstage Green-Townsend began chatting with Johnson as he played Ashokan Farewell and demonstrated his style of picking called clawgrass, a combination of bluegrass and clawhammer styles. (Editor’s note: In 2012 Johnson was named the recipient of the third annual Steve Martin Prize for Excellence in Banjo and Bluegrass.)

Ashokan Farewell was used throughout the popular PBS Series, “The Civil War.”  Before long folk icon Norman Blake jumped into the Civil War discussion and shared an acapella version of an old song, “Faded Coat of Blue.” When Doc Watson heard Johnson’s banjo, he asked if he could play it. In the three recorded segments below you’ll hear the spontaneous conversation and music from that afternoon that can only be described as “magical.”

 

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Mark Johnson talking “banjos” with the legendary Doc Watson backstage at the Suwannee Springfest

In Part 1 (running time 4:35) Green-Townsend talks backstage with Clawgrass player Mark Johnson:

 

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                  Clawgrass Banjo player Mark Johnson and Doc Watson

In Part 2 (running time 5:16) Green-Townsend and Johnson begin an interesting music dialogue with folk icon Norman Blake and share an acapella version of “Faded Coat of Blue.”

 

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Mark Johnson sharing some banjo tunes with Doc Watson backstage at the Suwannee Springfest

In Part 3 (running time 32:24) Doc Watson hears Mark Johnson’s banjo and asks if he could hold it and then begins sharing his inside knowledge of some of his favorite banjo tunes, banjo styles and personal stories):

(Gallery Photos are used with permission from T. Michael Coleman)

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The Punch Brothers Band makes debut at Suwannee Springfest

DSC_0032On March 21, 2013 the Punch Brothers wowed the crowd when they made their debut at the Suwannee Springfest in Live Oak, FL.  Band members include lead vocalist and MacArthur Fellow Chris Thile on mandolin, Paul Kowert on bass, Chris Eldridge on guitar, Noam Pikelny on banjo and Gabe Witcher on fiddle.

 

The Punch Brothers, an acoustic quintet, performs everything from punked out bluegrass to classical.  Below you’ll find some of the tunes they performed at the March, 2013 Suwannee Springfest.

“Rye Whiskey”

 

Jammin’ out….

 

Their encore “The Auld Triangle”

 

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Chris Thile and the Punch Brothers in the WUFT Studios
Chris Thile and the Punch Brothers in the WUFT Studios

On March 25th, 2009 Chris Thile and the entire Punch Brothers band were in Gainesville for a performance at the Phillips Center for the Performing Arts.  While in town the band stopped by the WUFT Studios and gave a short performance:

 

 

Clawgrass Banjo Player Mark Johnson

MarkJohnson
Clawgrass Banjo player Mark Johnson

When Mark Johnson isn’t working as the Levy County Director of Emergency Management he’s plucking his banjo.  He has had a love of the instrument since he was a teenager.  In recent months he has found himself in the spotlight as a guest on “The Late Show” with David Letterman.  2012 was a good year for Johnson as he also won $50,000 as recipient of the Steve Martin Prize for Excellence in Banjo and Bluegrass, which is named after the famed actor and comedian. One of his latest CDs was also nominated as one of the top 5 instrumental albums of the year by IBMA.  Donna Green-Townsend has this profile of Johnson who developed the blend of bluegrass and clawhammer banjo playing into a new sound–“clawgrass.”

In March of 2000, Mark Johnson and Donna Green-Townsend had the opportunity to sit backstage with Doc Watson and folk icon Norman Blake at the Suwannee Springfest near Live Oak. It was one of those rare opportunities to swap stories and share some tunes. When the special hour began you can hear Peter Rowan and company in the distance performing on the main stage. Meanwhile backstage Green-Townsend began chatting with Johnson as he played Ashokan Farewell and demonstrated his style of picking called clawgrass, a combination of bluegrass and clawhammer styles.

Ashokan Farewell was used throughout the popular PBS Series, “The Civil War.”  Before long folk icon Norman Blake jumped into the Civil War discussion and shared an acapella version of an old song, “Faded Coat of Blue.” When Doc heard Mark’s banjo, he asked if he could play it. In the three recorded segments below you’ll hear the spontaneous conversation and music from that afternoon that can only be described as “magical.”

 

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 Johnson and Doc Watson swapping banjo stories at the Suwannee Springfest

 

In Part 1 (running time 4:35) Green-Townsend talks backstage with Clawgrass player Mark Johnson:

In Part 2 (running time 5:16) Green-Townsend and Johnson begin an interesting music dialogue with folk icon Norman Blake and share an acapella version of “Faded Coat of Blue.”

In Part 3 (running time 32:24) Doc Watson hears Mark Johnson’s banjo and asks if he could hold it and then begins sharing his inside knowledge of some of his favorite banjo tunes, banjo styles and personal stories):

.

Mark Johnson and Doc Watson backstage at the Suwannee Springfest