Annual bluegrass festival was a uniting of friends for Bud
Well folks, the 2025 Winding Creek Bluegrass Festival is in the books, and it was indeed a huge success. Golly, it seems like I and several hundreds of other bluegrass fans wait all year for the festival to get here, and suddenly, it is history. It seems mighty unfair.
I want to publicly state that I appreciate Bob Auth and Duane Davis, all the volunteers, sponsors, and anyone associated with the festival for their hard work and dedication. The Winding Creek Bluegrass Festival has become one of the best bluegrass festivals in the state of Indiana, and I’ll bet you right now Bob and Duane are working and planning for the 2026 event.
My wife and I attend every year, and there is always so much to offer. We have made friends with hundreds of other bluegrass fans, and not only do we get to reunite with those fine folks, we also enjoy the lineup of performers and even listen to the people attending as they are jamming around their RVs, campers, and tents. There is always plenty of handshaking, pats on the back, and hugging.
Like I always said, you might attend as a stranger, but you will leave as family. I can't begin to estimate how many people have offered me coffee and offered my wife and I a free meal at their campsite. A great example was Saturday evening. The temperature was 90 degrees, and one of the people sitting behind my wife and I walked up the hill and brought us bottles of cold water to make sure we were well hydrated.
Like every event in the past, this year's festival featured some extremely talented bands and some professional performers, and I don’t think anyone attending was disappointed. For instance, Larry Efaw and the Bluegrass Mountaineers had everyone tapping their feet, and Medicinal Bluegrass, the Booze Hounds, local favorites Branded Bluegrass, the Wayfarers, and The Bahler Golden Age Band furnished entertainment. The headliners were Joe Mullins and the Radio Ramblers and the Grascals. Both set the stage on fire!
There were several workshops conducted for adults and youth musicians and open jam sessions with some folks staying up until 3 or 4 in the morning, having a blast. And Gospel Sunday is always entertaining with several events scheduled, including a church service, a 5K trail run/walk, a musical walkabout, and an Enchanted Tree Maze. This entire festival is great for the family!
This year's event was rather special for me because my cameraman Curtis Bowman and his family were there. Our wives finally had a chance to meet each other. Last year, my wife was ill and could not be there, and Curtis's wife is expecting twins and has been ill.
Finally, everyone had recovered, and we got spend some time with our two families. And Curtis and I got the shoot a segment of Outdoors with Bud, touring Winding Creek Bluegrass Festival. We walked down vendor row just to show the people what was available at the festival.
We interviewed a few vendors and even got to talk to a couple band members at their merchandise booth. That always makes me feel like a little kid, having the opportunity talking to people I admire and idolize. I had planned on interviewing more vendors, but Mother Nature intervened with some unexpected rain and storms that forced us to abandon our efforts. But you can’t control the weather.
Bob, Duane, and all the volunteers and sponsors who make the Winding Creek Bluegrass Festival possible, thank you so much! I am already counting down the days until the 2026 festival!