Up On Poppy Mountain

POPPY MOUNTAIN PICK-UP

Confronted with something like this it's sort of like stand there, scratch your head and say like, "what the hey?" I found this beauty up on Poppy Mountain, one of the red-neckest places I've ever been (lots of great folks there, too, by the way - and you can't beat it for the great lineup of bluegrass bands.

I came across this photo earlier and it made me laugh - as the truck itself did when I saw it backstage at Poppy Mountain. There were little kids climbing all over it pretending they were driving. Ack.

Poppy Mountain (near Morehead, Kentucky) last September was a great time. Good folks (and a few bad ones, too). We heard a lot of great music there, got the chillblains listening to Patty Loveless do "You'll Never Leave Harlan Alive," right there in the midst of more than a few folk who know their way around a coal mine - or their daddies or granddaddies did. As she sang I looked around me and there were some pretty swimmy eyeballs up and down the rows.

The people of east Kentucky are good folk. I saw old friends at Poppy, made a few new ones, rode and walked around the hill a few times (but mostly stayed down in safety near the stage), heard a couple of killer jams (especially those late-nighters when Marty Raybon got up on Jammin' Ridge I and stayed up darn near all night - he was still going strong when I turned in around 4:30 or so - Marty is a down-to-earth kind of guy and he was happy to pick with anyone and everyone who wanted to pick with him. Impressed the heck out of me.)

Poppy Mountain isn't for everyone and I darned sure wouldn't want my kids or teenagers there (plenty of opportunities to get in some serious trouble/accidents there) but all in all most folks have a darned good time. The festival lasts 4 days but some folks stay there for about a month!

Wally and Marsha who manage the festival are darned nice folks and Marty Stephens has some of the coolest vintage cars - and various other collections of vintage stuff - you've ever laid your eyes on. Much of it is on display on Poppy Mtn. And you can even catch a ride in a vintage car - up or down the hill. Pretty cool deal. I stayed a couple of extra days at the end of the festival and enjoyed some very laid-back, quiet, blazingly beautiful sunsets.

As they say on the mountain, "Happy Poppy!"