First published in  Lonely Goat Print Magazine Volume II - #10

Confessions of a Music Slut - MagnoliaFest & HarvestFest
by Wildman Steve Bronson (November, 1999)

Call me what you will, but I'm proud to be a music slut. Ever since my association ended with a previous band, I've been sitting in with anyone who will allow me to grace their stage. To my endless gratitude, I've been lucky so far...quite a few bands have extended invitations for sit-ins, thus allowing me to keep my sanity in check and avoiding infamy as a psychotic mass-murderer. With this in mind, you can imagine my excitement at the prospect of two weekends in a row of festivals in which I could really get a lot of sitting-in accomplished.

Harvest Festival at Atlanta's Back Porch in Fairburn, Georgia started off with a bang. Arriving in the mid-afternoon on Friday, my friend Jimmy Boone and I hooked up with many other friends immediately and I confirmed my sit-in with the excellent Atlanta-based Ancient Harmony and hung out on side-stage while they set up. While I waited, Johnny Markowski of Stir Fried walked up and introduced himself. Although a fan of the band, this was the first time I was to see them live and I was impressed by Johnny's friendliness and easygoing manner. We talked for quite a while before long struck up a friendship. As Ancient Harmony cooked through their set, the time came for me to sit in with Cletus, my trusty washboard. Johnny watched intently with great amusement as we boogied through one of AH's originals, and as I came off stage he invited me to sit in with them during their set later! I was absolutely thrilled with the prospect, as Stir Fried is one heck of a band which includes Buddy Cage of NRPS fame. In addition, Vassar Clements, truly one of the heroic figures in bluegrass music and a personal inspiration to me, was to be playing with them that day!! So when the time came, I was seriously adrenalized and ready to boogie. They brought me up for an original tune called "West of the Mississippi" and we rocked! Vassar had the biggest grin on his face, and when the song was over and I was leaving the stage, he stopped me and shaked my hand, commenting favorably on my playing! Later, after I'd cleaned the shit out of my pants, and after the evening's incredible closing set by the inimitable Col. Bruce Hampton, I got together first with a fellow named John who I'd met that evening and we played until my neighbors threw us out, then hooked up with a group of pickers playing by an RV and jammed until 4 a.m. The next day, I entered the artists' tent backstage while Vassar was warming up for his show that night with Peter Rowan. The legendary fiddler stopped playing and declared "Hey, It's the King of the Washboard!" My knees went instantly weak and I nearly fell over, but steadied myself well enough to introduce myself to his son and daughter, who travel with him. As the evening progressed, my good friend Rev. Jeff Mosier and Blueground Undergrass arrived at the festival, which was now muddier than Woodstock as a steady rain had been inundating us consistantly throughout the day. BGUG rocked everyone's world and invited me up twice during their set to have more fun than humans should be allowed.

Only one week later, it was off to Live Oak Florida and the Magnolia Fest. The crowd was already there in force when I arrived Friday afternoon, and got my campsite set up before the music started with the Low Country Boil Bluegrass Band's excellent set. The first night was fantastic with incredible sets from It's A Beautiful Day and Big Brother & the Holding Company among others. Saturday's fun started for me when my friends Ancient Harmony invited me up for my first jam of the day following a hot set by Refried Confusion. AH put on an excellent set of intense jams, after which Stir Fried was back in action and this time, to my delight, invited me to play the ENTIRE SET with them. Vassar's fiddle was on fire and we ripped through a great show. The energy was flowing steadily throughout Laura Love's funk-filled extravaganza, and then my pals Blueground Undergrass hit the stage for an unbelievable set, which included a sit-in by myself on an absolutely rabid "Red-Haired Orange Blossom Spatial," and another sit-in with David Gans, myself, and Randy Judy, the festival's esteemed promoter and pretty darn good rubboard player on a fun-filled "Friend Of The Devil". Afterwards, I was invited to sit in with Refried Confusion on their Dance Stage set, which was a gob of fun, and then it was off to see The String Cheese Incident and Peter Rowan, who put on a resoundingly superb show. Saturday ended on a weird note when Stir Fried's Dance Stage set was cut short by a squabble between the sound personnel, who had just finished off a half gallon of Crown Royal. Sunday began with a rollicking sit-in with my old friends Rollin' In The Hay, a great little bluegrass band, and continued with yet another highly enjoyable sit-in with the incredible Blueground Undergrass.

Later, as I reclined on my hotel bed watching the Braves & Mets go into extra innings, I reflected on my weekends of playing music. I thought about how much fun it was to be a music slut and play music with great musicians, just for the sake of the music. I thought about the wonderful people in the audience, and how much fun it was to bring a non-traditional instrument to their attention and have them embrace it with enthusiasm. I thought about the great vibe that pervaded both weekends and how much I soaked in over the two fabulous weekends. And then, somewhere around the fourteenth inning, I fell asleep with a big smile on my face.