Le Mars, Iowa, August 16, 2016 – For 41 years, Smithsonian Institution recording artist Bob Everhart, a BMI songwriter and publisher, has passionately been hosting an event in Iowa, the major thrust being the preservation and performance of America’s forgotten rural music.
The 41st Old Time Music Festival will be held August 29-September 4, 2016 in Le Mars, Iowa at the Plymouth City Fairgrounds, 500 4th Ave NE.
“I love America’s old-time music” Everhart said. “It’s the very soul of who we are as a people. Gospel music is one of my favorite genres, and when it’s old-time we really get to hear the ‘soul’ of what Gospel music is all about. I also like all the other forms of music that gather at the festival, and it’s pretty incredible, traditional and classic country music; ragtime; bluegrass; folk; mountain; blues; cowboy; even western swing and honky-tonk (especially at our evening dances). It’s still all going strong at our annual event which runs Aug. 29-Sept 4, this year.”
Even though Everhart is 80 years old, he still tackles the everyday problems of putting on an event that hosts over 450 performers from around the world on ten stages running from 9am to midnight every day.
“We have to rent an entire fairgrounds to make this work,” Everhart said. “And the Plymouth County Fairgrounds in Le Mars, Iowa, works well for us because they have over 300 electrical hook-ups for RV’s. Plus they have six buildings we can use for indoor stages and we have four more stages outdoors. One of the outdoor stages I really like is in the tipi-village rendezvous area, which is actually set up in an old pioneer ghost town. That stage hosts the quiet music of our past, autoharps, dulcimers, zithers, harmonicas, old-time sounding acoustic guitars, and such. It’s quiet, it has a lot of character, and it’s peaceful and serene, just like it must have been for our pioneers who settled this part of America.”
There’s a tremendous amount of other activities going on besides the performance of America’s old time rural music. According to Everhart, “A group of like-minded folks from the upper Midwest formed what they call the Rural Roots Music Commission. They listen to CD’s all year long and then they pick those that best fits their idea of what ‘real’ music sounds like and presents the artist with their “CD of the Year” awards. That has led to an amazing presence of incredibly gifted artists that write, record, and perform many musical genres no longer available on the media controlled music selection process across America.”
Admission: Admission varies, but generally $15 – $20. facilities to accommodate RV travelers. Electric hook-ups at $15 a day.
Among the well over 450 performers that attend this event, many are well known and famous enough to be inducted into America’s Old Time Country Music Hall of Fame. “We’ve been doing that for 41 years too,” Everhart said. “It was incredible to see Patti Page emerge out of retirement and leave her home in California to spend a couple of days with us at the Le Mars Festival. The last thing she told my wife Sheila and I as she left to go back home, ‘keep it country Bob & Sheila, you’re the only ones doing that in the upper Midwest.”
More information about the festival is available directly from Everhart at 712-762-4363 or e-mailing him atbobeverhart@yahoo.com.