From These Hills: The Spatial Diffusion Of Bluegrass Music Festivals, 1965-1995

Bluegrass, a specific sub-style of country music, evolved in the upland South from traditional folksongs and ballads brought to the continent by the first European settlers. Bill Monroe and his famous band The Blue Grass Boys in the 1940s pioneered the sound that is widely regarded as an original American music form. The first multi-day festival devoted entirely to bluegrass music was held in 1965 in west-central Virginia. Since then, bluegrass festivals have become popular entertainment destinations for people who come to camp, listen, and play music with others. This study examines the spatial diffusion of bluegrass festivals from 1965 until 1995. Maps of festival distributions for five-year intervals beginning in 1965 are used to illustrate the dynamic nature of festival expansion. Information gathered from relevant bluegrass publications, personal interviews, and academic journals is used to explain the distributions evident on the maps. Bluegrass festival diffusion is viewed as a complex mosaic of factors that supplements and reinforces itself over time and across space.