Welcome back, Neighbors!
Check out this week's Music Festival Podcast Episode in the video below. This is Part 2 of my recap of the 3rd annual CaveFest at The Caverns in Grundy County, TN. You'll get to see the actual cave tour, talk learn about Tie Dye techniques from of of Cave Fest's craft vendors and see a performance from the Grateful Ball on Sunday night.
But before all that, I cover the week's music festival news. You can also check out the complete and growing playlist on YouTube for The Caverns where you'll find more than 20 videos from this year's fest. I hope to keep adding to this list when I am back in April for Daniel Donato's Camp Cosmic Music Festival.
So if you haven't already, make sure to subscribe while you're here.
The 2024 edition of CaveFest took place from Thursday October 10th, 2024 - Sunday, October October 13th, 2024.
Nestled in the mountains of Grundy County, TN near the small town of Pelham, The Caverns is a truly enchanting festival venue that gives home to not one, but two natural and large caves.
CaveFest 2024 is the event's 3rd year of production. This unforgettable weekend of community, music and interesting twists that combined made for an all around killer festival experience.
This year's lineup was absolutely stacked. While I only had the opportunity to attend on Sunday, the full lineup included well-known acts such as Railroad Earth, Jim Lauderdale & The Game Changers, Lindsay Lou, The Larry Keel Experience, and Yonder Mountain String Band setting the stage alight on Friday and Saturday.
While I can't include every video I produce on the weekly podcast show, I wanted to share a few of the highlights with you here:
Written by Robert Hunter and Jerry and released in 1972, this poetic song was played by The Grateful Dead more than 350 times according to some online sources. The McCourys definitely do the tune justice with their bluegrass adaptation for the Grateful Ball. If you go to their website, you can even scroll down to see photos of the young McCoury brothers and their dad posed with a then white bearded Jerry.
The Caverns offers cave yoga sessions and other events that combine yoga and music. During CaveFest 2024, participants can brought their yoga mats and joined Sarah Norris for cave yoga sessions in Big Mouth Cave on Saturday and Sunday mornings. CaveFest 2024 also included a sound bath experience, camping, craft vendors, food trucks, and a variety of cave tours.
"This World is Not My Home" is a traditional gospel song often associated with Jim Reeves, who popularized it in the late 1950s and early 1960s. The song speaks to the Christian belief in a heavenly home after death, reflecting themes of solace and longing for the afterlife. Though its exact origins are unclear, it has been covered by a wide range of artists across genres, including bluegrass, country, and southern gospel. Over the years, notable versions have been performed by artists such as Bill Monroe, The Carter Family, and Merle Haggard, each bringing their unique interpretations to this enduring spiritual hymn. Slay & Stinson performed this song during their Sunday morning Gospel Set in the Cave at CaveFest 2024.
The Caverns in Grundy County, Tennessee, is a famed live music venue set in a vast cave system, both above and underground. Known for its superb natural acoustics featured in the PBS series The Caverns Sessions, this venue offers a unique "bucket list" experience with concerts held in the Big Mouth Cave, recognizable for its large archway entrance.
It accommodates up to 1,200 spectators with options for seated or standing-room events, complete with modern sound, lighting, and amenities including accessible facilities. The Caverns also offers guided tours of its extensive caves, adventure tours for the daring, and has been a gathering spot for up to 25,000 years.
Photo Credit: Festival Venue Map from the The Caverns
Above ground, the venue boasts a world-class stage and sound system with natural, multi-level amphitheater seating that can easily can bring together thousands of music lovers comfortably and with stunning views.
Photo Credit: @NeighborN8Fests
During Sunday afternoon and just as Jim Lauderdale's set was beginning, Grundy County experienced a system-wide power outage that completely knocked out the juice to the entire festival venue. Given the circumstances, Jim Lauderdale grabbed his band, acoustic instruments and proceeded off the stage and down into the crowed for what became known as "CaveFest Unplugged", complete with Jim's own (and hilarious)n brand of comedy. What could have been a disaster was turned into a magical experience for all the Cave Dwellers in attendance.
Photo Credit: @NeighborN8Fests
Once the power kicked back on ab out an hour later, the game was on and back on stage. Jim finished his set plugged in, complete with a special dedication to Todd Mayo, founder and visionary behind this incredibly venue.
Following Bele Fleck and Abigail Washburn, and Bele's solo performance of his arrangement for Banjo of George Gershwin's classic "Rhapsody in Blue" (watch the above episode for a peak at that tune...), the Travelin' McCourys took the amphitheater stage to pick a set. These guys absolutely do the McCoury name justice.
Photo Credit: @NeighborN8Fests
There's more to come in Part 2 of my recap of this year's CaveFest next Friday so make sure to tune into that episode. I do want to send special thanks to Todd Mayo, Jeff Meltesen and Emma Morcroft of The Caverns for granting me media credentials for this music festival. Music Festivals Podcast is only in season one and like Todd when he started the Caverns, I really have no experience in the music business. I so appreciated the vote of confidence from their staff and team and for allowing me to have the access I needed to really do my thing. 🙂
Photo Credit: @NeighborN8Fests
Wrapping things up for this week, I do want to make sure to mention that Todd is also now a published author. During my drive down and back to Tennessee, I was able to get through the audio book version of his auto-biography, appropriately titled The Caveman Chronicles.
Todd is an excellent story-teller himself and I found the book both entertaining and inspiring. If you want to learn more about how the vision of The Caverns came to be a reality and what make's the founder tick, add it to your reading list.
Photo Credit: @TheCavernsTN
Don’t forget to subscribe to to the YouTube channel to get on-site footage of more music festivals and festival venues. I'm heading to CaveFest in Grundy County TN next, and I hope to be your neighbor there!
NeighborN8
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