I just got a heads up about a new annual music festival that will be happening just a few miles down the road from me. If Mudcatters will be attending and you want to have a mini Mudcat type gathering, let me know in a PM or something. Jack the Sailor has already said he'll be coming up for the festival.

COME TO The Mountain Stage NewSong Festival, a new National Singer-Songwriter Music Event, Friday, Aug. 9 to Sunday, Aug. 11, 2002, at Jefferson County, W.Va., about 65 miles west of Washington, D.C.

THE MOUNTAIN STAGE NEWSONG FESTIVAL has a host of new acts booked to appear at the debut of this major, new national music event in Jefferson County, West Virginia, about 65 miles west of Washington, D.C. and Baltimore. For three days in early August, the festival will celebrate the rich tradition of writing and singing folk, Americana, country, pop, roots, blues and alternative songs. The lineup (to include more acts to be announced), now features: The Flatlanders (Jimmie Dale Gilmore, Joe Ely and Butch Hancock); Trout Fishing in America; The Blue House; Robert Lee Castleman; Chris Smither; Paul Reisler; Darrell Scott; Gretchen Peters and Andrew McKnight. More information on each act can be found on the NewSong website at www.newsongfestival.com

SET IN THE HILLS OF WEST VIRGINIA just a short drive from Washington D.C., the Mountain Stage NewSong festival will offer a weekend of concerts, contests, classes and campsite jams. The event includes a performing songwriters' contest with large cash prizes and a grand prize that will earn the winning songwriter an appearance on a festival-ending performance of Mountain Stage with Larry Groce.

THE FESTIVAL CELEBRATES the music and spirit of Mountain Stage, the nation's premiere showcase for singers and songwriters. Mountain Stage is a live music program broadcast weekly on more than 200 radio and television stations worldwide, Mountain Stage has provided the first national exposure for such musicians as Lucinda Williams, Kathy Mattea, Tori Amos, Lyle Lovett, Phish, Keb' Mo', Mary Chapin Carpenter, Sarah McLachlin, Ani DiFranco, David Gray and Ryan Welch.

THE NEWSONG FESTIVAL will establish a lively musical community for three days. The main stage and showcase stages will buzz with performances, as workshops and impromptu musical jams take place across the property and in the campgrounds. The event will be a preeminent destination for people who love to listen to, create and perform folk, roots rock, country, blues, Americana, alternative and other popular music traditions, as well as a launching ground for tomorrow's great new singers and songwriters.