Local Artists celebrate 'father of bluegrass' Saturday

Jim Richter wants to bring support back to bluegrass music in Bloomington.\nRichter is organizing a workshop and concert in honor of former Bloomington-area patron Bill Monroe, widely known as "the father of bluegrass."\nMonroe is revered for having the biggest influence in the creation and popularization of bluegrass. Monroe's popularization of bluegrass began in 1939 with the first edition of the "Blue Grass Boys." The band coined the term "bluegrass," which was a reference to Kentucky where Monroe was born.\n"There's a part of me that wants it to be an enormous event," Richter said. "There doesn't seem to be a strong market for bluegrass in Bloomington anymore."\nThe concert, called A Celebration of Bill Monroe's Music, will include three acclaimed bluegrass artists and is being held June 10 at Rose Firebay in the Waldron Arts Center in honor of the virtuosic mandolin player who helped create and popularize the music.\nThe music of Bill Monroe will be discussed, practiced and performed in a workshop prior to the concert. Mandolinist Mike Compton, guitarist David Grier and banjoist Butch Robins will lead the workshop along with the concert. Compton and Grier have both won Grammies for their work, and Robins has been nominated for the prestigious award.\nCompton is currently touring with David Long for his new album "Stomp." He has played mandolin since he was 15 years old and has used Monroe's style to help shape his own.\n"It's a flavoring. It's a dialogue," said Compton. "Sometimes if I don't know what to play, I'll ask Bill what to play."\nThe concert falls on the opening day of the well-known Bill Monroe Memorial Bean Blossom Bluegrass Festival, which Monroe began 40 years ago. The festival is not related to this concert, although they are both tributes to Monroe.\nThe Bean Blossom Festival began when Monroe visited the town of Bean Blossom, Ind. in 1951 for the Brown County Jamboree and was so inspired by the festival that he purchased the festival grounds and soon began to hold yearly festivals, traditionally called the Bean Blossom Festival.\nRichter wanted a tribute to Monroe right here in Bloomington, so he organized it himself.\n"I had the concept in the back of my head for a couple years of putting together a show that was a spotlight on Bill Monroe," said Richter, the event director.\nThe workshop will be an informal seminar to teach Monroe's style to anyone from beginners to trained musicians. This bluegrass workshop includes the three acclaimed artists performing the concert, each of whom will cover differing interpretations of Monroe's music.\nThe intimate venue holds less than 100 people, but Richter said he hopes that will make a better atmosphere for the workshop and grassroots music of Monroe.\n"It's something where I wanted the audience to feel that the artists are accessible," said Richter.\nRichter's attempt to create growth in what he calls a "static scene" might take a couple years to achieve, but he hopes to create a bluegrass community that will help support the music and the artists.