Bluegrass Generation: A Memoir

by Neil V Rosenberg

Neil V. Rosenberg met the legendary Bill Monroe at the Brown County Jamboree. Rosenberg's subsequent experiences in Bean Blossom put his feet on the intertwined musical and scholarly paths that made him a preeminent scholar of bluegrass music. Rosenberg's memoir shines a light on the changing bluegrass scene of the early 1960s. Already a fan and aspiring musician, his appetite for banjo music quickly put him on the Jamboree stage. Rosenberg eventually played with Monroe and spent four months managing the Jamboree. Those heights gave him an eyewitness view of nothing less than bluegrass's emergence from the shadow of country music into its own distinct art form. As the likes of Bill Keith and Del McCoury played, Rosenberg watched Monroe begin to share a personal link to the music that tied audiences to its history and his life--and helped turn him into bluegrass's foundational figure. An intimate look at a transformative time, Bluegrass Generation tells the inside story of how an American musical tradition came to be.

Genres: Music, Nonfiction

304 pages, Paperback

Published May 10, 2018

Reviews

[Jim · Rating 5 out of 5]

Rosenberg has written a fascinating memoir of his experiences as a folklore graduate student, musician, and manager of the Brown County Jamboree ca. 1961-1963, a very important and influential time in the history and development of bluegrass music, both artistically and business-wise. He writes with great clarity and enthusiasm, bringing to life events and experiences that occurred nearly sixty years ago, but which have become part of the aura that colors the narrative surrounding the music and the Jamboree, which in later years became the the location of the most famous and longest running bluegrass festival. We get the behind-the-scenes look at the many personalities who managed (or in some cases, mismanaged) the park, the many great bluegrass and country musicians who played there over that three period, and the multifaceted life of a grad student, musician, husband and new parent who played an essential role in making it all happen.

[Joshua Rosenberg · Rating 3 out of 5]

It's at once too personal and not personal enough