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Band’s Festival At Glen Maury Park This Week
As the Nothin’ Fancy Bluegrass Festival returns to Glen Maury Park this weekend, the band itself is celebrating its 30th anniversary.
The band is winding down its 30th anniversary tour, which has stretched across the United States and beyond. In early May, Nothin’ Fancy headed to Northern Ireland, playing at Bluegrass Omagh 2024, but most of their shows have and will stay closer to home in the United States.
Mike Andes, the unofficial “band leader,” is originally from Timberville and plays the mandolin for the band. He was never professionally trained in music but had plenty of family members with musical talent to learn from.
“I started performing in public at 13 years old,” Andes said. “I was just drawn to the mandolin. Honestly, when I was 10 years old, the mandolin just looked cool.”
He started the band with founding members Gary Farris, Guy Carawan, Tony Shorter and Mitchell Davis. The five originally formed the band to compete in a bluegrass competition. Throughout the band’s history, there have been 15 members, some of whom stayed with the band for only a few years.
The band’s five current members are Andes, Chris Sexton on fiddle, Curt Gausman on guitar, Jacob Flick on banjo, and the bassist, who goes by the name “Jenkins.” Both Andes and Flick are from Rockingham County, with Flick hailing from Singers Glen.
“When we get to do a show locally, for he and I it’s almost like a family reunion,” Andes said.
Over the years, members have come and gone, but only Andes has been a constant — staying in the band from its founding in 1994 until today. In that time, Nothin’ Fancy has released 17 albums. Four of them were independently released, but the band is currently signed with Mountain Fever records. Their latest album, “Here We Go Again,” was released in September of 2023. The name was inspired by the band reuniting inperson after two years of COVID-19 lockdown, Andes said.
The 30th anniversary tour is a mix of old and new music, Andes said, and the band will soon rerecord their oldest songs with their new members.
“We’re giving a little piece of history with each show we do, but we also want to highlight our new stuff and let our fans know what the future holds for us.” Andes said.
The group has won multiple awards from the Society for the Preservation of Bluegrass Music in America and was inducted into the Virginia Country Music Hall of Fame in 2015. The band has performed from coast to coast in the United States and has been to Canada and even as far as Norway.
“I tell people, I love all genres of music — country, rock and roll — but bluegrass is accepted everywhere. It’s nice, family-based festival music.” Andes said.
Andes said that Nothin’ Fancy is “as strong as it’s ever been” and that the secret to the band’s success lies in its live performances.
“Our show is very entertaining,” Andes said. “If we are going to be an entertaining band, we need to entertain ourselves on stage, and then we’ll be entertaining the audience.” Nothin’ Fancy often performs at festivals, and the group has hosted its own festival in Buena Vista every year since 2001.
This years’ festival starts tomorrow, Thursday, and runs through Saturday, featuring many of the top acts in bluegrass today.
While advanced ticket sales have ended, area residents can still purchase tickets at the gate.
Tonight, Wednesday, there is a pot luck dinner at 6, followed with music by Nothin’ Fancy and another bluegrass favorite, Caleb Bailey and Paines’ Run. There is no additional cost and the event is open to the public.
