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Clay City, KY 40312 - 303 Bluegrass Lane - Email Link
The Kentucky Friends of Bluegrass Music Club, a non-profit organization, was established in 1979 for the promotion and preservation of bluegrass music. The first members (51) were from the general area of Powell County, Kentucky and grew to two hundred as they became known. As the years past, they grew slowly due to being confined to that general area until they opened Meadowgreen Park Music Hall in 1986. From this point, we have continued to grow at a steady pace to over 600 with members joining from several states outside the boundaries of Kentucky. Some of the members include: The Osborne Brothers (11 year members); Larry Sparks and the Lonesome Ramblers (four years); Ralph Stanley and the Clinch Mountain Boys (two years); Homer Ledford and Cabin Creek (several years off and on members) along with many other bands who have been with us for many years. However most of our members just enjoy Bluegrass music. This music is part of the cultural heritage of the Southern Appalachian area of the country. Our organization has four officers and seven board of directors. How We Support Bluegrass Music We are a proud member of The International Bluegrass Music Association well as a supporter of the International Bluegrass Music Museum having made a donation of $5000.00 to the museum. We also collected items from the professional entertainers for display in the museum. Our sales table can be found at most of the bluegrass festivals in the state of Kentucky. At these table set ups, one will find literature on all of the bluegrass festivals in Kentucky and surrounding states as well as applications for membership in The Kentucky Friends of Bluegrass Music Club along with the many items that we have to sell with the club logo, also the bluegrass music related items. Our monthly newsletter "Bluegrass Notes" features news of our members such as birthdays, anniversaries, sick list and other personal announcements. Bluegrass Notes mailings usually contain flyers of the various festivals and bluegrass shows that are going on at that time. We also list any up to date news from the bluegrass community that we feel is important to our members. Our newsletter is sent to other bluegrass music associations in the surrounding states on a trade basis to let them know what we are doing in bluegrass music as we also receive their newsletters informing us of their activities. About Our Park The first bluegrass festival was held at Meadowgreen Park in 1977 with The Russell Brothers as host for a couple of years. When their band disbanded, The Goins Brothers took over as host along with Forest Meadows who is owner of the park. This festival has grown over the years into one of the best traditional bluegrass festivals in this region. The Kentucky Friends of Bluegrass Music Club are going into their sixth year with their annual spring festival which is the first week-end in May. We have been featuring some of the top names in local entertainment in this area. The 100 acre park backs up to the Red River with the outdoor stage being less that 10 feet away. This makes for a beautiful backdrop scene as viewed from the amphitheater setting. This area is what we refer to as under the hill which has camping for those who cannot walk the distance and climb the small incline. We have the area on top of the hill for the approach leading to Meadowgreen Park. As you enter onto a paved road, the sign at the entrance was designed and built by club members. The "silo" building is where our outdoor meetings take place in the summer months. The music hall building was built in 1986 due to interest at Saturday night bluegrass shows. At that time, there was no other live bluegrass shows in this area. We started with the local bands performing only to find that there were nationally known bands who would also like to be on our schedule. From there, it has grown into one of the most popular and well known places for bluegrass music in this region. We are into our sixteenth season with performances by groups such as Ralph Stanley and the Clinch Mountain Boys, J.D. Crowe and the New South, III Tyme Out, Larry Sparks and the Lonesome Ramblers, Doyle Lawson and Quicksilver, Charlie Waller and the Country Gentlemen, The Goins Brothers, and many others. We are also proud to have worked with Bill Monroe and his Bluegrass Boys, The Osborne Brothers, The Lewis Family, Jim and Jesse and the Virginia Boys, Del McCoury Band, as well as others. OUR LOCATION We are located in the central Kentucky 45 minutes southeast of Lexington where the beautiful horse farms of central Kentucky transform into majestic cliffs and beauty of the foothills of the mountains. Some of the most beautiful scenery in the world is less than 15 minutes away in the Red River Gorge area of The Daniel Boone National forest. Natural Bridge State Park is in the same area with a skylift that will take you high above the tree tops to the natural bridge that nature created many years ago. This is one of many arches or bridges within this region. To get to our music hall, we always think that most travelers would be coming from the major interstate which is I-64. From here, exit at 97 to the Mountain Parkway. Go to the next exit (16) and take left at stop sign. Go approximately 500 feet to traffic light. Take right at this point, go approximately 1 mile where there is a sign on right saying "Meadowgreen Park Bluegrass Music 1/4 mile". At this point, take a left and go until you see our welcome sign on right, follow road to building back in field. LOCAL ATTRACTIONS: The Red River Gorge Geological Area LOCAL ACCOMMODATIONS: Lil Abner's Motel Abners Motel Tecumseh Resort Natural Bridge Natural Bridge Red River Gorgeous Area Attractions and Web Sites: CLUB ACTIVITIES Most activities held at Beautiful Meadowgreen Park About Our Meetings We have our general club meetings usually on the third Sunday of the month unless listed in our newsletter otherwise. The meeting always starts off at 2:00 p.m. with our pre-determined meal that again will be listed in newsletter (usually potluck). Some try to get there early for the jamming that takes place before the food serving. When our meal is completed, we get into the business part of our meeting consisting of old and new business. As our business session winds down, we try to have more jamming. We follow up on the next Tuesday with our board meeting to discuss and act on the previous club meeting business. Other Activities Taking Place One of our most popular events taking place is our annual pig roast. Actually, we buy smoked hams and chunks of beef (100 pounds of each) for this event which is always the second week-end of May. This is all week-end event which requires much preparing and planning. This is free to our club members who have their membership card. We cook the meat from early in the morning as we prepare the other items on the menu which includes cole slaw, baked beans, baked potatoes, bread and deserts that the ladies carry in. This is also the monthly meeting that our nominating committee brings the names for officers and board members to be placed on the ballot for elections at our next meeting. This is always an important week-end for our club. Other activities include our annual Club Christmas Party which is the second Saturday in December. We feature live bluegrass music, food and club fellowship. We have a Halloween party in the month of October for the children with the usual costume judging along with the games that the young folks enjoy. |
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