festival

What could possibly attract five young women to old-time music? "The groove of it!" says Kristin Andreassen, guitarist with Uncle Earl. "It's 19th-century dance trance music."

Square-dance music fans will testify: When it's really rolling — with the caller varying the patter, musicians digging in and dancers in the zone — one dance can go on for many, many minutes, repeating figures on fingers and feet 'til eyes shine and sweat pops. If you were at the Folk Festival last week you saw one of Andreassen's other groups, Footworks, showing off just how deeply those old mountain tunes inspire the body to jumping joy. If you were really smart, you made time to join Footworks at the dance tent to learn those moves yourself. (Andreassen herself couldn't make it to the festival, due to a death in the family.) This Friday at 7:15 p.m., Uncle Earl (pictured) will be featured at the Delaware Valley Bluegrass Festival.

All the members of Uncle Earl have other bands, Andreassen points out. It's a point of pride with Rounder Records that the contract for Uncle Earl's latest CD, She Waits for Night, included a clause stating that all members were encouraged to maintain their multifaceted careers. Rayna Gellert's fiddling has numerous outlets, including the vastly popular Freight Hoppers, while bassist Sharon Gilchrist tours with bluegrass legends Peter Rowan and Tony Rice. KC Groves is a mandolin staple in Colorado. And Abigail Washburn is a solo artist specializing in old-time banjo, to which she sometimes sets her original Chinese lyrics — reflecting perhaps the most diverse outside gig in Uncle Earl: training in Sino-American relations.

The new CD has no Chinese songs on it, but it does have slight variations on traditional lyrics. No genuine southern-fried show can go on without a couple of sacred numbers, but they're not done by the book. "We consider ourselves spiritual people, each with very different beliefs, but we all believe God is inclusive," says Andreassen. ""Warfare' is a traditional song. Nobody knows who wrote it." So, when Uncle Earl, recording down in Catholic Louisiana, choked on the verse where it came to blessing a number of denominations, all of which happened to be different stripes of Protestantism, it wasn't too much of a stretch of the original 19th-century attempt at inclusiveness to write their own substitute verse. Blessings are now extended to Muslims, Jews and all the praying people.

"We talk in the band about how political to be," reflects Andreassen. "In this project we've chosen to express general love, peace and good will. The fact that we are all women is political enough. At each show we get young girls coming up gushing and feeling empowered."

That's liberation for the g'Earls (as they refer to themselves), and if that's not enough, keep your ear to the ground for another of Andreassen's side gigs. The ever-outspoken Jolly Bankers are planning a festival celebrating freedom of speech in the not-too-distant future.

There are few more melting voices in country music than Alan O'Bryant. He shares that spotlight with another fine, strong singer, Pat Enright. Various members of the Nashville Bluegrass Band pumped up the authenticity of the O Brother soundtrack. These multiple Grammy winners do it all: hot picking, chilling a cappella harmonies and funny patter. They'll be joined Friday night for a special summit with guitar picking legend, Doc Watson, right after his solo set.

Saturday is packed with greats like bluegrass pioneer Jesse McReynolds and Chris Hillman (yes, the same one from The Byrds) playing his preferred bluegrass with Herb Pederson. Laurie Lewis, extraordinary singer and fiddler, writer and interpreter of songs that stretch the bluegrass boundaries, will also perform on Saturday. Cajun hotshots Charivari offer a break from the hard-driving stuff and a chance for the dancers to stretch their legs.

While Dan Paisley and The Southern Grass will play on Saturday as well, the Sunday morning rise'n'shine gospel set (10 a.m.!) should not be missed. The Southern Grass, de facto house band for the Delaware Valley for better part of its 34 years, lost its leader, Bob Paisley, since the last festival, and regulars have lost a friend. Son Dan is following Bob's wishes to keep the band thriving. Expect to hear many tributes to Bob's memory throughout the weekend. Another Chester County-based band, the Orpheus Supertones, will break up the bluegrass with old-time breakdowns on Sunday as well.

Delaware Valley Bluegrass Festival, Sept. 2-4, Salem County Fairgrounds, Woodstown, N.J., 302-475-3454, www.brandywinefriends.org/dvbgf/schedule.php.