A Dash of Bluegrass at Kearney Amphitheater

The 2022 Kearney Amphitheater continues with “A Dash of Bluegrass” this Saturday at Jesse James Park. The bluegrass festival is bringing in two local acts to perform this year: The Missouri River Band and the Wood Valley Pickers.

The Missouri River Band

Darrell Turnbull of The Missouri River Band was a young boy when he fell in love with music and singing with his grandpa. At 11 years old he was given a guitar for his birthday and the journey began. After learning a few simple chords he was up in front of the congregation with his grandpa singing his heart out.

As time went on he progressed into the mandolin and the banjo was soon to follow. As the years went on he stayed on the farm working with his dad and grandpa raising cattle and helping put the crops in and learning the construction trade, all the while going to every bluegrass festival his grandparents could get him to.

As time went on found himself in a cattle pasture with his dad and grandpa talking about how to turn a rough, ugly 40 acre patch into a successful bluegrass festival. After the groundwork was laid for the festival Darrell decided he needed a band, and the Missouri River Band was born. The original band consisted of Darrell, Todd Davis, Beverly Spencer, and Allen Ously.

As time passed the band changed members yet the tradition of the band never changed.

Wood Valley Pickers

The Wood Valley Pickers got their start when Patricia Garber Gleue and her junior high-school friend Shirley Lesch Wittebort met at a class reunion and reminisced about their "most awful" first attempt at recording their own folk music when they were 14 years old. The two friends, who had maintained their interest and involvement in music over the years, decided to play together again.

With Patricia singing and playing mandolin and Shirley picking up the banjo, they added guitarist/vocalist Russ Ostermann, vocalist and fiddle player Melanie Dicks-Pritchard, and Dan 'The Bass Man' McNeff.

The results of this collaboration are decidedly fun, and the group delights audiences with its energy and enthusiasm wherever they appear. While staying true to bluegrass style, the Wood Valley Pickers show how folk, country, blues, and even rock and roll can add to the fun of a traditional bluegrass set.

In June 2014, they were honored as "Performer of the Year" at Wheatstock X, an annual Americana festival in the Heartland of the USA.

 Amphitheater gates open at 6 pm on Saturday, June 25th, and the show starts at 7 pm. Tickets are $5.00 in advance and $10.00 at the Gate. Advanced tickets can be purchased through KearneyAmphitheater.com.

KPGZ News - Brian Watts contributed to this story