Dunegrass delivers

Aug. 10, 2008

With a daily attendance reaching up to 5,000 people, this year’s Dunegrass & Blues in Empire offered the best music ever in its 16-year history.
Some of the best performances were on three new small stages this year, where festival-goers found respite from the heat, but plenty of hot sounds by bands such as the Texas blues outfit, Papa Mali, the blues of Larry McCray, and the rock sounds of moe, to name a few. Then too, some of the absolute “best” players in the bluegrass world were on hand, including the likes of banjo player Chris Thile, Bela Fleck, Peter Rowan and Tony Rice, and many other players.
Although there was some disappointment that headliner Richie Havens didn’t make the gig, there were so many other performers playing that festival-goers were hard-pressed to take them all in. Here’s a look at the action in Empire.