FORT FAIRFIELD, Maine — Whether they’re from the United States or Canada, those at The County Bluegrass Festival were glad to be coming home to Fort Fairfield.
Although not the only bluegrass festival in Maine, County Bluegrass has become a staple for local fans and those from other states and Canadian provinces. More than just a place to hear great music, the festival has fostered a family-like atmosphere for those who love bluegrass and Aroostook County.
While attendance did not equal the hundreds who came in the pre-COVID years, festival co-founder Stev Rogeski was already seeing hundreds of people stop in during Labor Day weekend.
“Ninety percent of our audience is Canadian, and we’re already seeing a big increase in Canadian fans since before COVID,” Rogeski said on Saturday. “We have 150 campers staying on site and we counted 65 cars [from day visitors] yesterday.”
For Stev Rogeski and his wife Nancy, County Bluegrass has been a family affair from the beginning. The couple started volunteering for the shows when County Bluegrass was part of the Maine Potato Blossom Festival. In 2006, the Potato Blossom Festival stopped including bluegrass shows, but fans were so eager for more that Stev and Nancy began the festival on property they own on West Limestone Road.
The festival has been twice nominated for Special Event of the Year at the International Bluegrass Music Association Awards. The award’s nominees are determined by bluegrass bands themselves.
The Waterville-based Blistered Fingers knows a thing or two about great festivals. They started the annual Blistered Fingers Family Bluegrass Festival in Litchfield in 1991 but have also been playing at County Bluegrass since its inception.
The band formed in 1982 and is made up of husband and wife Greg and Sandy Cormier on banjo and lead vocals and guitar, respectively, their son Chad Cormier on lead harmonies and mandolin and Gene Towle on bass. Over the years, Sandy has become County Bluegrass’s sound and tech guru and master of ceremonies.
“When you’re here, you’re not just a patron. It’s like a family reunion,” Sandy Cormier said. “The hospitality is above and beyond. Stev and Nancy will bend over backward to make sure you have a great time.”
That feeling of warm camaraderie is one that Gordon Steves of Moncton, New Brunswick, and Winston McIntyre of St. Martins, New Brunswick, also sensed throughout the weekend.
The friends have traveled to dozens of bluegrass festivals across the United States and Canada, as far south as Florida. But nothing beats County Bluegrass, they said.
“We haven’t missed a year except during COVID,” Steves said. “Where else can you hear musicians like this and have such a fun, family atmosphere?”
On Saturday, plenty of local bluegrass fans came to the shows, including Andy and Lorraine Drost of Castle Hill.
“The people here are so friendly. It’s like a second family,” Lorraine Drost said, while enjoying music from Boston-based band The Ruta Beggars and Blistered Fingers.
This year, eight musicians and bands traveled to Fort Fairfield from Kansas, Virginia, Maine, Wyoming, North Carolina, Massachusetts, Ohio and Alabama.
The Wyoming-based Prairie Wildfire made their Maine debut at County Bluegrass.
Members Sage Palser, Morgan Blaner, Tessa Taylor and Brady Holzemer have been touring across the U.S., including in Mississippi, Tennessee and North Carolina, but already felt part of The County’s family.
The band met Stev and Nancy Rogeskin at the International Bluegrass Music Association Awards in Raleigh, North Carolina, last year.
“We built our whole tour around going to this festival,” Palser said.
