I went to Withlacoochee, to a bluegrass jamboree, to see Owen play.
He was
17. He played with Doyle Lawson and Quicksilver. He had done his time
with the
Gillis Brothers House of Charm and BP Station. Also there were David Crow
and
Jason Carter, two hot young fiddlers Owen's age. They competed, as you might say.
Withlacoochee
was a beautiful venue, on a river, with live oak trees and Spanish moss,
but the
old farts in motorhomes monopolized the good seats--they had standing
reservations--and
belched diesel fumes from their generators to run
their air-conditioners into
the quiet air. Noise pollution, too.
I was a tent-camper. I bought a John B.
Stetson hat
with a brightly colored raw-silk band.
Del McCoury had a wood stove inside his band bus and a dog box on the back.