Third and last day of Hardly Strictly Bluegrass. I had an afternoon baby shoot, so I showed up for the evening shows, including Emmylou Harris, the evening grand finale of the Banjo Stage. Even my super duper lens wavered, challenged by very low light and great distance from the stage.Emmylou received a honorary doctorate from Berkeley for a lifetime of musical achievement. This doctorate has been given to musicians such as Gillespie, Armstrong, Estefan, Fitzgerald, to name a few. To be honest, I'd heard of Emmylou, but had never heard her music, at least not knowingly, before. But I must say she seems like a wonderful person. She runs her own animal shelter after all, rescuing dogs from euthanasia from over populated shelters for another chance. Anyways, a heartwarming, feel-good way to end the three day fest.
Actually the whole festival was very feel-good. Lots of messages of love and peace and being good to your neighbor and earth etc. Given that at points the festival was so crowded, it was amazing that I did not see or detect even the tiniest bit of impatience or negativeness. Alcohol was consumed responsibly. I'm sure it was much to do with the music genre and it's appeal to more mature generations, happy to settle back in portable lawn chairs or sway gently to the music. Maybe it was the wafts of pot smoke emanating from unseen sources. No crowds of frat boys here (not that frat boys are impatient or negative or non-pot-smoking).