PREVIEW: Touch Some (Blue) Grass at the Grey Fox Bluegrass Festival
07/15-07/19 @ Walsh Farm, Oak Hill
Photo provided by organization
“People come through the door and you’re kind of throwing away your watch for a weekend, and having fun together, listening to some of the amazing music that we produce and present.”
With the popularity of sharing every aesthetic photo-op online, it can seem as though, every summer, every person you know is heading on a weekend festival getaway. This alongside the equal rise in cost of concert tickets and gas can make the idea of getting to such a festival daunting. And yet, the remedy to your FOMO might be closer than you think. A legendary, historic, and captivating five-day music festival is taking place just under an hour outside of Albany. For its nearly 40th year, the Grey Fox Bluegrass Festival will be jam-packed with 40 bands and musicians, daily workshops and musical activities, as well as a large array of food and art vendors, kicking off on Wednesday, July 15.
One cannot speak of the icon status that is the Grey Fox Bluegrass Festival without first acknowledging its long history, dating all the way back to 1976. Originally founded as the Berkshire Mountain Bluegrass Festival, this multi-day event lasted annually until the mid 1980s, giving way to the Winterhawk Bluegrass Festival. This new edition was located on the grounds of the Berkshire festival in Ancramdale up until 2008, when founder Mary Doub moved the festival to the Walsh Farm in Oak Hill.
“There's been a major bluegrass festival in the area for 50 years,” says Mary Burdette, executive director of Grey Fox. “One day the founder called and said, ‘I think it's time to say tag, you're it.’ She asked us to take over the festival, and we talked about it for about two minutes, said yes, and we have been running it since 2023.”
Watch any video from past years at Grey Fox and you will find a number of hula hoopers, overalls and tie-dye, families dancing together in circles, and an unending array of mind-boggling musical performances. While many modern concertgoers claim that the days of the ‘hippie fest freedom’ are over, these celebrations of music have simply reinvented themselves in beautiful, community-centered ways. For anyone itching to experience what Grey Fox can offer them, this year's lineup will be uniquely special. Since 1985, Ron Thomason’s band, Dry Branch Fire Squad, has served as the host band for the Grey Fox Festival; however, after recording a total of 25 albums, and collaborating with a number of legendary bluegrass musicians, this year's festival will serve as the home for Thomason’s farewell performances. From the Dry Branch Fire Squad’s opening set on Thursday, to their gospel set and farewell on Sunday, attendees will have ample opportunities to celebrate the career and music of Thomason.
“This festival creates a wonderful sense of community,” details Burdette. “People come through the door and you’re kind of throwing away your watch for a weekend, and having fun together, listening to some of the amazing music that we produce and present. I think that's another thing that has really kept Grey Fox going for so many years, is the diversity. We have bluegrass, roots music, Americana, Celtic, or dance bands.”
It’s evident that the Grey Fox Bluegrass Festival prides itself on its ability to showcase emerging and diverse talents. Not only do musical acts travel from across the world to perform at the festival, but everyday attendees crowd around the Creekside stage to see performances from up-and-coming artists, excited to hear what new voices and generations offer to such a historical genre. This year, audiences have the chance to catch five emerging artists ranging across the festival.
“Our fans are very open, and they're very knowledgeable about bluegrass,” says Burdette. “They love going to the emerging artists and finding a new favorite. One of the early emerging artists came from Albany, Jim Gaudet and the Railroad Boys, and have been with the festival every year since, they're real crowd pleasers.”
The Grey Fox Bluegrass Festival is the perfect atmosphere for a camping excursion, a weekend getaway surrounded by good music, and a chance to collaborate with professional musicians. Grey Fox offers a number of programs and events open to attendees of all ages to gain hands-on experience with the creation of music. They feature Bluegrass Music Classes, free for kids 12 and under, leading classes on how to sing and perform bluegrass music with an exciting finale “Big Gig” on Saturday to showcase what attendees have learned. They also offer Jam Central Station as well as Hands-on Workshops, teaching the technical knowledge of Bluegrass jams to musicians of all skill levels.
When speaking with Burdette, I found one exciting feature of this year's festival to be particularly intriguing: their collaboration with popular online creator Guitaro 5000. With 1.74 million subscribers on YouTube, Reggie “Guitaro 5000” Guillaume, is known for encouraging strangers in public to sing along with him. This summer, Guitaro 5000 will be kicking off “Sing with Me Live: The World Tour” at Grey Fox, as he wanders the festival grounds and collaborates with audience members.
“A month before the festival, Deering Banjo Company gave Guitaro 5000 a banjo in Times Square to learn on. And so, he's been practicing a little, and at the festival, he's going to practice more. AJ Lee has also invited him to be part of the Super Jam on Friday night,” details Burdette. “He's just one of those people that brings others together, and he chose Grey Fox as his launching pad for his 30-country tour.”
The amount of detail, dedication, and passion that has been put into the creation of this year's Grey Fox Bluegrass Festival is more than can be described in words. With five days of constant music, workshops, and activities, it would simply be impossible to include every offering that Grey Fox has carefully planned for their attendees. To truly feel the weight of the art that has been created and shared by Grey Fox for decades, one must attend even a single day of the festival. For a friends’ trip, a kid-friendly outing, a music driven journey, or a camping getaway located in the beautiful Oak Hill outdoors, the Grey Fox Bluegrass Festival is designed to meet all your needs.
For more information of the Grey Fox lineup and ticket information visit:https://greyfoxbluegrass.com/2026-lineup/?day=all
