Bluegrass Festival Returns To Ronceverte, WV – Pt. 1
In a press release, New Skyline Productions, Inc. is excited to announce it will be presenting “Skyline on the River,” a tribute to the original Skyline Bluegrass Festival on Saturday, July 16, 2022, 5 PM – 10 PM in the Amphitheatre located in Island Park, in Ronceverte, West Virginia.
The original festival took place on the Blake Family mountaintop farm overlooking the Greenbrier River above the town of Ronceverte from 1976 – 1985. Bill Blake and Bill Simms, both of Ronceverte, were the promotors. Records show that between 10,000 -15,000 individuals (many camping out) from across the United States gathered on this mountaintop farm to enjoy this three-day event.
It featured some of the greatest names in bluegrass, along with up-and-coming artists and an array of guitar, banjo and fiddle pickers gathered around campfires playing to the wee hours of the morning. A wide variety of cultures (young and old alike) were united over what they all had in common – music! And good music it was. The festival’s line-up over the years included the likes of the legendary Bill Monroe and The Bluegrass Boys, John Hartford, Doc and
Merle Watson, Ralph Stanley and The Clinch Mountain Boys, Seldom Scene, J.D. Crowe and The New South, Norman and Nancy Blake, The Doug Dillard Band, The Osborne Brothers, John Prine, Elmer Bird, Billy Bowden and The Bluegrass Connection, The Buffalo Gals (all females and unique in bluegrass music history), along with a host of other stellar local and national artists.
The original Skyline Bluegrass Festival was formed to preserve and advance the tradition of Bluegrass and Newgrass music in WV. It was the first and largest in the state. Admission was only $12.00!
Stay tuned for part 2 of this story for details of this year’s festival.
Story By
