If Sun Valley has swing, Ketchum has rock and Hailey is all about folk, then Bellevue is where you can find bluegrass.
The Bellevue Memorial Park will be the site of the second annual, two-day Bellevue Bluegrass Festival on Sunday, Sept 2, beginning after the Labor Day Parade and on Monday, Sept. 3. Both shows begin at approximately 1 p.m.
School of Rock, a group of young valley-based musicians, will open the show on Sunday. The legendary Idaho country musician Muzzie Braun will follow, bringing his array of musical tricks. Braun will be followed by the Boise-based band Jeremiah James Gang. The headliner will be Ketchum's own rockin' band, the Cosmic Beans.
On Monday, the festival will kick off with brother-and-sister team Mark and Kimberly Holt, who describe their music as "1970s retro acoustic classic country and bluegrass sound with an edgy 2005 kick."
Valley-based bluegrass band Public Radio will take the stage next. This band is always showing up for the big events from the valley's arts-and-crafts festivals to the Northern Rockies Folk Festival.
The headliner on Monday is Steam Powered Airplane from Jackson, Wyo. The band graced the festival's stage last year and gained many fans with their musical virtuosity. Uriah Price, Cody Walters, Tucker Smith and champion fiddle player Kester Erickson make up this talented quartet.
Smith is a former Wyoming state champion of banjo, guitar, and mandolin, while Erickson is a former Arizona state fiddle champion.
Steam Powered Airplane has played the Grand Teton Music Festival's Music in the Hole and opened for musical acts such as Bruce Hornsby & The Range and the Del McCoury band. They have also played gigs with John Densmore of the Doors and Mike Gordon from Phish. Steam Powered Airplane was recently awarded third place at the internationally renowned Telluride Bluegrass Festival.
The family-friendly festival is free. There will be a variety of food booths as well as arts and crafts, games and activities.
Muzzie Braun will take the stage Sunday at the Bellevue Bluegrass Festival. Photo by Willy Cook
