Lebanon (NH) Opera House hosts new festival with big-time bluegrass talent

By Ted Lehmann

On November 16th and 17th the Lebanon Opera House will be hosting the First Annual Upper Valley Bluegrass Festival in the Lebanon Opera House, Lebanon, NH. Looking more like two evenings of very high quality concerts rather than like a festival, this event still promises to offer plenty of musical satisfaction ranging from the traditional bluegrass style and presentation of the Del McCoury Band through Sam Bush, the originator of what became known as Newgrass based on his founding of The Newgrass Revival in the early seventies, through two cutting edge progressive bands who are fairly new to the scene but have created quite a stir in their short histories, The Greencards and Crooked Still. Acoustic music fans open to a variety of musical experiences all falling under the broad rubric of Bluegrass will find much to satisfy them over these two days.

The Lebanon Opera house is an 800 seat facility, which first opened in 1924 and through its history has presented vaudeville, theatricals, and community events. It is the largest proscenium theater in the Upper Connecticut River Valley. After becoming the town movie theater in 1951, the Opera House fell into disrepair. Its resurrection into its current state began in 1975 and has continued under new leadership as a major cultural center for the region. The Opera House presents a broad range of cultural events. Take a look at their schedule.

[Read the full article at Ted Lehmann's Bluegrass, Books , and Brainstorms.]