Celebrating an Iconic Innovator – Earl Scruggs Music Festival
A musical legend in his own right, Grammy Award-winning dobro player Jerry Douglas can sum up the late banjo great Earl Scruggs in one word.
“Originator,” Douglas said. “I don’t think there would be bluegrass music as we know it if it hadn’t been for Earl Scruggs. If he hadn’t been there in the beginning, bluegrass would have never gotten off the ground — Earl was the catalyst, he was the one that made it all work, made people want to see and hear it.”
With the inaugural Earl Scruggs Music Festival coming to the massive Tryon International Equestrian Center on Sept. 2-4, Douglas will be the master of ceremonies in honoring the banjo giant in Scruggs’ native Western North Carolina.
“Earl is to bluegrass musicians the same way Django Reinhardt is to jazz,” Douglas said. “There’s just so much foundational information about this music in what Earl played, whether it was when he was with Bill Monroe or with Flatt & Scruggs.”
Scruggs was born in 1924 in Cleveland County, and after spending his youth there his professional career took flight when, at age 21, he was hired by the “Father of Bluegrass” Bill Monroe to join his band, the Blue Grass Boys. In December 1945, the group made its debut on the Grand Ole Opry — a groundbreaking moment that forever changed American music.
“He was in total command of his instrument — Earl knew it, and so did the audience,” Douglas noted. “And he found out how to get the best tone out of his instrument, by not slamming on the banjo, where it’s not too hard and not too soft — this place where you’re sailing along smoothly in the midst of performance.”
The festival will also feature performances by Douglas and his storied group The Earl of Leicester, Balsam Range, Acoustic Syndicate, Molly Tuttle & Golden Highway, Nitty Gritty Dirt Band, Sam Bush, Dom Flemons, Rob Ickes & Trey Hensley, and many more.
“We couldn’t think of a better way to honor Earl, his legacy and continued influence, than to launch a music festival in his memory,” said Mary Beth Martin, executive director of the Earl Scruggs Center in Shelby.
The idea for the event was hatched as a partnership between the center, Isothermal Community College, WNCW radio and the equestrian center. The initial plans were put on hold for the last two years due to the pandemic and shutdown of the live music industry. But, for 2022, the show will finally hit the stage in Tryon.
“And this festival will ideally complement our museum in Shelby. The Earl Scruggs Center has attracted visitors from all 50 states and 20 countries, with thousands of people coming in each year wanting to learn more about this musical legend,” Martin said. “Earl was a wonderful person, a very humble person who was this incredible artist and innovator. He was always willing to embrace change and embrace creativity — something that still resonates deeply with today’s musicians.”
That attitude of inclusivity and breaking down musical barriers harbored by Scruggs is something of a kindred spirit to Douglas, another iconic musician always down to try something new or jump into another genre of music — all for the pure and simple sake of making a melodic connection with another human being.
“I mean, there Earl was [in the early 1970s] playing Bob Dylan songs with The Byrds,” Douglas marveled. “He was always trying new things, always opening his mind to different types of music — he wanted to meet all of these people, and they all wanted to meet him.”
By Garret Woodward, Down the Road Bluegrass & Old-Time Music Guide 2022
