Brown County turns blue

Jamie Dailey, left, and Darrin Vincent will perform Wednesday, June 17, at the Bill Monroe Memorial Bluegrass Festival. (Credit: Provided by Rounder Records)

Back to his roots

Guitarist Dan Tyminski will feel right at home at Bill...

It's entirely possible that your favorite musician's favorite musician is a bluegrass picker.

Precision and speed define the unplugged style, which races on a banjo's distinctive pluck, a dobro's metallic accents and a fiddle's high, lonesome sound.

For the 43rd consecutive summer, the genre's brightest stars will gather for the Bill Monroe Memorial Bluegrass Festival in a part of Brown County known as Bean Blossom.

The acknowledged inventor of bluegrass, Monroe -- a mandolin player -- made more than 500 recordings before his death in 1996.

The site of the festival -- the Bill Monroe Memorial Music Park & Campground -- features an open-air stage that faces crowds gathered on the side of a hill.

"Bluegrass is competition, with each man trying to play the best he can -- be on his toes," Monroe once said.

The festival opens June 13 and closes with standout players Ralph Stanley, Bobby Osborne and Dan Tyminski sharing a June 20 bill.

Tyminski, a member of Alison Krauss and Union Station, is making his first Bean Blossom appearance as a solo artist. The guitarist supplied George Clooney's singing voice for the 2000 film "O Brother, Where Art Thou?" -- including surprise hit "Man of Constant Sorrow."

This year's roster at Bean Blossom also boasts reigning International Bluegrass Music Association entertainers of the year Dailey & Vincent, plus the well-traveled Country Saloon Bluegrass Band from Russia.

Annual traditions set for revival include June 16's Ham & Bean Supper, and June 19's Sunset Jam that invites attendees to play with the onstage talent.