Musicians find haven at annual bluegrass festival

Walking into the lobby at the Holiday Inn Select in Naperville this weekend, you wouldn't expect to encounter quite such vibrant sights and sounds.

Crowds huddle in the hallways amid a variety of acoustic tones.

Children and adults stroll through the lobby with banjos, fiddles and mandolins. They nod, smile and exchange knowing glances.

More often than not, they also stop in their tracks and begin to play their instruments together. They don't even need to speak the same language. The music does the talking.

Such was the case Saturday at the 14th annual Naperville Bluegrass Music Festival. The three-day indoor party continues from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. today.

"I'm impressed," bluegrass fan John Morgan said. "This is great and the people are really friendly."

Morgan and his family drove two hours to spend the weekend in Naperville.

His daughter, 6-year-old Abbigail, wowed a small crowd gathered in the vendors area. The young girl approached a musician from one of the weekend's featured bluegrass bands, Dailey and Vincent. Before anyone knew it, they were jamming.

"If I just figure out the chords, I can play anything," said Abbigail, who performs on mandolin.

Thousands of bluegrass fans from Illinois, Wisconsin, Minnesota, Iowa, Indiana and Kentucky annually flock to the festival. The hotel becomes a maze of 24-hour jam rooms where people simply stroll in and join other musicians in song.

There's also a guitar show, educational workshops and a concert hall featuring big-name bluegrass musicians.

A few people were disappointed when bluegrass star Rhonda Vincent, who was scheduled to perform Saturday, canceled.

Jan Lease, who has been producing the event since its beginning with her husband, Terry, said Vincent was ill.

Grasstowne, a band that presently has a No. 1 album and song, played Friday and stayed Saturday to cover for Vincent.

The bluegrass star is scheduled to perform again next year. Tickets go on sale today for next year's show.

Lease said that the event started at the Naperville Holiday Inn because its former general manager was a big fan of bluegrass. It has grown considerably over the years, she said.

Though popular, probably the biggest hurdle that bluegrass musicians have struggled to overcome is mainstream thinking.

"Most people think that bluegrass is just hillbilly music, but it's a much more sophisticated music than people realize," she said. "It's not easy to play. It's all acoustic. It's not enhanced."

Naperville seems to welcome the bluegrass subculture, and Holiday Inn managers say most fans are far from rowdy. Many, they say, even make their own beds.