Winding Creek Music Festival returns to Russiaville on Thursday

Aug. 17—Twangy Appalachian tunes will float through the trees of Russiaville farmland this weekend. Some folks have already begun camping on the property.

The 13th annual Winding Creek Music Festival begins Thursday afternoon and will carry on through Sunday afternoon.

With the help of some volunteers, festival organizers Bob Auth and Duane Davis said preparations were going well on Tuesday.

The organizers noted there are a few changes for this year's festival. The most notable change is the introduction of gospel music to the primarily bluegrass-focused festival. The gospel performances will be featured Sunday, coinciding with the festival's outdoor church service.

Other changes include new vendors, musicians and a wooden dance floor.

Music around the campgrounds

The festival's founders encourage visitors to bring their own instruments. Jam sessions pop up across the campground during the length of the festival and are capable of carrying on into the wee hours of the morning.

There are two scheduled slow jam sessions for musicians who aren't as comfortable keeping up with the breakneck speed experienced bluegrass players occasionally reach. A beginner's slow jam session will be held at 6 p.m. Friday and an intermediate slow jam will be held at 2:30 p.m. Saturday.

Banjo, mandolin, guitar and fiddle workshops will also be held Saturday morning. During the workshops, visitors will sit down with members of the Kevin Prater Band and work toward a better understanding of their instruments.

There isn't a lesson plan for the instrument workshops, allowing participants to focus on things they're interested in.

For example, the 2022 banjo workshop taught by Jake Burrows touched on subjects like banjo modification, tips for learning songs by ear and popular kick-offs.

A children's workshop will also be held Saturday.

During the workshop, kids will learn how to play "There Ain't No Bugs on Me" and "She'll Be Coming Around the Mountain" on guitars, mandolins, banjos and fiddles. Children who don't have instruments are invited to sing along during the lessons and the group's cumulative performance.

Growing attraction

There will be six food vendors and 10 craft vendors at the festival, marking an increase from last year's vendors. The Coterie will also have a beer and wine garden near the main stage.

The food vendors will serve a variety of dishes like biscuits and gravy, pork chops, nachos and kettle corn.

Visitors are able to bring coolers into the festival, but Davis noted the food vendors are likely less expensive than a standard restaurant visit.

Craft vendors tend to sell things like art, instruments and clothing.

Looking back to the festival's inception, Auth said he and Davis are happy with the festival's growth.

"We're pretty excited about how it's grown. I see a lot of happy people," Auth said. "We're always trying to make things better."

Davis added bluegrass fans tend to be a wholesome crowd.

"Bluegrass people, I mean, when we're done, we don't have to clean up anything. Just what we put out," Davis said.

Ticket information

The festival's organizers were glad to say ticket prices have remained the same.

"We're proud of ourselves for holding those prices," Auth said. "We want it to be a good time for people. We want it to be a safe time, fun time and reasonable."

Tickets prices change each day of the festival.

Thursday tickets cost $15, Friday tickets cost $20, Saturday tickets cost $25 and Sunday tickets cost $10.

Visitors can send $2 of their Sunday ticket payment to We Care or Kokomo Community Cats upon request.

If you're planning on staying for more than one day, you can save some money by purchasing 3- and 4-day passes at the gates.

In an attempt to preserve bluegrass music, the organizers have kept admission free for children 12 or younger.

"We just want them to take the heritage of bluegrass music and keep it alive," Auth said. He later added, "Those roots, they go way back and we just want to keep that."

"I mean, it's so deep into history," Davis added. "You want to bring that to the children. Otherwise, it dies."

The festival's tent and RV primitive campsites are free. Quiet generators are preferred for RV campers.

The workshops are also free.

The festival grounds are at 9912 W. 100 South in Russiaville.

For more information, visit windingcreekbluegrass.com.

James Bennett III can be reached at 765-454-8580 or james.bennett@kokomotribune.com.