Corn hole. BBQ. Beer. Good music. My favorite LA music venue. This is what the 5th annual The Bluegrass Situation festival, hosted by the Greek Theater this year, encompassed. The festivities of Saturday, October 3rd were a great way to say farewell to summer. I went to the second day of the two-day event that was last year’s LA Bluegrass Situation. Although it was a lot of fun, it was held at an indoor theater, which wasn’t quite as conducive to the fun things that this years’ festival offered.
I went to the festival with a friend of mine, and we decided to picnic under the trees outside the entrance of the venue, bringing our own cheese, crackers, sparkling water, pasta salad and fresh-baked cookies. [I’d share pictures, but someone forgot to take pictures…guilty! woops!] This, in my opinion, is the way to go at the Greek. If you have the time, getting to sit and relax before the show, taking in the surroundings and observing the eclectic array of fellow concert-goers (I do love me some people-watching!) is a great way to start the night. However, we did miss out on the food that they had to offer, and if I were to go again next year, I’d probably try and take advantage of the fun options that were offered for this special occasion. But typically, picnicking is the best!
Here was the “line-up” for the pre-show BBQ:
Pig-on-a-Spit by Cassell’s
(Koreatown)
S’mores via Mallow Mallow
(San Diego, CA)
BBQ Pizza by Urban Pie
Taiwanese BBQ via Status Kuo
(Venice, CA)
Ribs, BBQ chicken and tacos via Lobos Taco Truck
Craft Beers by Lagunitas Brewing Company
…specialty cocktails and wines were also served.
As I mentioned before, the Greek Theater is by far my favorite LA venue. It’s nestled into the side of a hill in Griffith Park, just below the observatory. The theater reminds me of a more intimate, hipper, (yet, still classy) and more woodsy Hollywood Bowl, which I also am a huge fan of (doesn’t get much classier than the Bowl…). Sparkly lights hang over the North side of the audience, pine trees border the edge of the amphitheater, and the stage resembles a very modernized theater you might see if you were in Greece. You feel like you’re no longer in LA, and almost like you’ve been transported to the mountains, where you and a bunch of like-minded friends have gathered together to sing around the campfire – only this campfire is a stage, and slightly larger…
The “campfire” singers on this particular night included the following:
The Wild Reeds (2:00PM)
Dustbowl Revival (2:45PM)
Spirit Family Reunion (3:30PM)
Sam Outlaw (4:15PM)
Main Stage:
Jonny Fritz (4:45PM)
Della Mae (5:20PM)
Gregory Alan Isakov (5:40PM)
The Lone Bellow (6:40PM)
Punch Brothers (8:00PM)
Dawes (9:30PM)
My friend and I got to the theater around 5:00 – just enough time to enjoy some of the openers and eat our picnic dinner before heading in to grab a beer and peruse the festivities as we made our way to our seats to enjoy my current favorite musician – Gregory Alan Isakov. I can’t get enough of him. If you haven’t given him a listen, stop what you’re doing, and put on one/all of these songs: “Light Year,” “Idaho,” “The Stable Song,” or “Big Black Car,” just to name a handful of my favorites. I’ve seen him play live once before – earlier this year at the El Rey Theater – and he was fantastic then, and just as good, if not better, at the Greek. His songs are the musical equivalent to what the Greek theater is to me – cozy, comforting, and soothing to the soul, with a hint of enchanting thrown in. I have a Spotify playlist, which, I am thankful is not an actual vinyl record, because if it was, it gets played so often that at this stage, it would be quite worn down.
Taking the stage after Gregory Alan Isakov was The Lone Bellow – a group that I’ve been a big fan of for several years now, ever since a friend of mine introduced them to me. Talk about talent and good music – this trio knows what they’re doing! Each of their three voices compliment each other beautifully, and their music, to me, is a mixture of fun and heart-felt emotion. So good to see and hear them again.
Next was a band that, quite honestly, I’d never heard of called The Punch Brothers – a true bluegrass group that bordered being a little too bluegrassy for my own personal taste. But I did appreciate their incredible music-playing talent – everything from the fiddle, to the banjo, to the bass – they had their string instrument capabilities down like I’d never heard before. I was blown away, which, in my opinion, says a lot – if you can get someone to enjoy your music who may not be the biggest fan of your style in general – I think that is a big indicator of true talent.
Last on stage was Dawes, who I wasn’t familiar with either – and again, if I’m being completely honest, I wasn’t a huge fan. But it was live music, and was just fun seeing others around me enjoying him so much.
The night was a success, especially when we decided to head out a few songs early to beat the crowd, and then just so happened to walk right by Gregory Alan Isakov on our way to the car – this was the icing on the cake…the cherry on top…the sprinkles on the cookie…the whipped cream on my hot cocoa…He may not have paid any attention to me at the time, but I will remind him of the moment one day after we’re married…
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