Nine bluegrass bands featured at Cooper Lake Center event

Cooper Lake Center, just west of Texas Highway 19 between Paris andSulphur Springs, Tex., will put nine bands on its outdoor stage Friday and Saturday, August 7 and 8, during the Second Annual Bluegrass Festival and Jam.

Four bands will perform Friday at 1 p.m. and 7 p.m. and five on Saturday at noon and 6 p.m. In addition, a space for do-it-yourself music-making will be set aside for bluegrass fans who bring their own instruments and want to hook up with other jammers.

Cooper Lake Center is sponsored by the nonprofit South Sulphur Regional Development Association, in partnership with the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department and U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. Since the event will be on state parkland, alcoholic beverages will be prohibited.

SSRDA board member Bud Swayne, of Cumby, who is chairman of the event, said cooling shade was in short supply at the inaugural last August when temperatures topped 100 degrees, but that a large canopy will be in place this year.

"Those two days were real scorchers," he said, "but bluegrass fans are pretty tough and they hung in. We've had those folks in mind through the winter and spring as we erected poles and fitted fabric, so this time we can offer considerably more comfort."

All-day admission to the Friday concerts will be $15; to the Saturday concerts, $20. A $30 ticket will cover both days. Children under 12 will get in free.

Bands in the Friday lineup will be Hickory Hill, Salt Grass, High Strung and the Mack Smith Band. On Saturday, the Wildwood Valley Boys, Bonham Review, Bowles Creek, Welch Mountain and Blue River will have the stage.

Bill Grant, of Hugo, Oklahoma, who was in at the birth of the bluegrass phenomenon six decades ago, is returning as master of ceremonies for this year's concerts and will be picking and singing with Welch Mountain. Bill's daughter, Amy Asbill Patrick, of Cooper, Texas, a featured singer at the 2008 event, will also be back and will be heard with Blue River.