Day 13 - Bluegrass Special @ IBMA

Today, Saturday 9/20, is the last day of the IBMA World of Bluegrass LIVE events in Chattanooga, Tennessee.

We finally had the time this morning to do the Raccoon Mountain Cave Tour. Our cave guide was Devin. She did an excellent job. 

It is sad that some parents can not control their kid for the 45-minutes tour. I was proud of Charlie, because he only told the kid to turn off the light once. He could have said it a hundred times!

Raccoon Mountain Caverns is a cave located in Chattanooga, Tennessee in a band of Mississippian Period limestone, part of the Cumberland Plateau.

Parts of the cave system was discovered and documented as early as 1853. Prior to Lambert's arrival, the property was owned by the Grand Hotel and used as a farm for their restaurant. On hot afternoons, it was said that the farmers would relax in front of several cracks in the rock at the base of the mountain and enjoy the cool air that was blowing out. In 1929, Leo Lambert, a local caver who had recently discovered and opened Ruby Falls expanded the known cave passages was invited to explore the source of the air. As an experienced cave explorer, Lambert realized that in order for air to blow out of a crack in limestone rock, there must be a large cave beyond the crack to supply such a volume of air. Lambert enlarged the cracks and was rewarded by discovering several hundred feet of well-decorated cave passage in a cave that was close to Highway 41. He developed a series of trails, installed electric lights, and opened the cave to the public as "Tennessee Caverns" on June 28, 1931.

The original tour, now known as the Lambert Tour, circled the Crystal Palace Room which was believed to be the largest room in the cave. Some twenty years after its opening, the Smith Brothers were managing the cave and discovered a small hole just off the Crystal Palace Room. The opening pinched down to 7.5 inches, so tight that the explorers had to exhale so they could squeeze through the gap. Less than twenty feet later, they found that the passage opened into a larger room and continued their discoveries. Eventually, they were able to enlarge the tour to include these newly discovered areas. Today, this ~0.5 mile loop tour is known as The Crystal Palace Tour. Spelunking tours known as Wild Cave Expeditions, were added in the 1970s, allowing visitors to visit the undeveloped areas of the cave beyond the commercial section. To date, over 5.5 miles of passageway has been discovered and mapped, with new discoveries still being made.

The cave is known for its high level of active speleothem growth, fossils, and resident wildlife. In addition to several salamander species, the cave is home to a unique spider species referred to as the Crystal Caverns Cave Spider. This species, discovered initially in 1938, and officially described in 1984, is only known to exist within Raccoon Mountain Caverns.[2]We got to see two different species of bats. 

The tri-colored bats are the smaller ones we saw. The gray bats are the bigger bats. Devin pointed out the differences in the two bats. I could see the ears were different. But, both looked pretty small to me. I am glad they stayed put and did not take off and fly around!

We even got to see some salamanders. We learned that these little guys eat cave crickets. But also, they can eat themselves and as long as they have 80% of their brain, they can regenerate the rest of their bodies.

It was a unique cave, with some unique formations. 

The caves were stunning. 

 

Over the years, the name of the cave was changed from Tennessee Caverns to Crystal City Caves to Crystal Caverns and eventually to its current name, Raccoon Mountain Caverns in the late 1970s.

There was a button, that is only held on by one "thread."

This cave system was found by the same man who founded the Ruby Falls attraction. Devin said this was his "man cave." LOL

After our tour, we headed downtown for some music. We sat in on some mandolin playing at a mandolin workshop.

We moved on to the IBMA International Stage. Where we saw the Zoe & Cloyd Show.  Hailing from opposite ends of the Appalachian mountains, husband-and-wife duo Zoe & Cloyd is renowned fiddler and vocalist Natalya Zoe Weinstein and award-winning songwriter, multi-instrumentalist and vocalist John Cloyd Miller.  

Their show is as diverse as their upbringing, seamlessly combining original and traditional bluegrass, klezmer, old-time and folk with sincerity and zeal, featuring their soaring harmonies and heartfelt songwriting. It was very entertaining, but not my cup of tea.

There was a 45-minute break at this stage, so we got some lunch at Marriott's Bar at Table South. It was American far with a comfy southern flair. Charlie had a Marriott Burger, but Charlie was hungry, so anything might have tasted good! 

I was going to have a salad, but I opted for the Rueben. A lady sitting next to me got the salad... it looked excellent. But, both the burger and the sandwich were very good.

After lunch, we went back to the International Stage. That is where the Kids on Bluegrass bands were performing.

What is Kids on Bluegrass or KOB? IBMA Kids on Bluegrass spotlights the talents of young bluegrass musicians and singers (4-17 years old) at IBMA World of Bluegrass. The program matches kids of similar abilities, offering them the opportunity to create and arrange music both instrumentally and vocally, and to perform in a band with their peers. IBMA Kids on Bluegrass is more than a workshop or “academy” experience. The goal is to provide guidance and foster a fun atmosphere for young musicians to learn about producing, performing, promoting, and even emceeing a professional bluegrass music show. This program expects courtesy toward others and professionalism on stage. 

Every year since 2003, the IBMA Kids on Bluegrass musicians have exceeded all expectations with their talent, professionalism, and enthusiasm. In order for participants to be able to take full advantage of what the program has to offer, they will be expected to know how to play backup rhythm in time with others, know multiple tunes by heart, and have a tune or song in mind that they might be interested in leading. Singers are encouraged to participate, too! Auditions are open to any “kid” under the age of 18. Since KOB is not centered around teaching kids how to play their instruments, beginner level performers are not encouraged to apply. They should explore opportunities provided by other programs such as KidFest or the Youth Academy. If you are accepted into the program, it is a week-long commitment during the International Bluegrass Music Association’s Annual Conference in September. KOB is a concentrated experience, with practices only on a couple days of the event and a single show on the International Stage on Saturday afternoon.

The first "band" was the Orange Band. It was made up of 5 boys. We saw the banjo player the other day with the CAB showcase. The bass player is a member of Bluegrass and Company that we watched on the Youth Stage yesterday, although he played the banjo!

The second "band" was the Blue Band. Some of these kids can play great, but they need to speak up. It was tough to catch their names. Amelia Brown was on dobro. She was a great player. She plays with her sister at various festivals.

The third "band" was the Red Band. This band had a female bass player. 

The 15 year old, mandolin player, Cody Voegeli, is talented. He plays with his mother in the Northeast. 

The fourth "band" up was the Indigo Band. Reagan Brown was playing mandolin. Katie Hill is the 15-year-old fiddle player-extraordinaire. On her song, she demonstrates a few of the riffs and breaks she had mastered to be recently named the winner of one of Florida’s most coveted fiddle awards. 

Sam Lind was on guitar. Madeline Skinner, from Lakeland FL was the second guitarist. Logan Daniels was on the Bango.

The final "band" was the Green Band. On the Bango was 13-year-old Bango prodigy Aidan Muse. He is an award winning banjo player and performer from Wisconsin. Aidan was featured on CBS 58 Milwaukee Sunday Morning, WGN-TV Spotlight Chicago, and ABC World News Now. He has appeared on the Woodsongs Old Time Radio Hour, and Woodsongs Kids broadcasts, filmed in Lexington, KY. 

Josephine Walker was on the fiddle. She is a fantastic fiddler and has won multiple Scottish, Bluegrass, and Old Time Fiddle Competitions across the US. She also loves songwriting and has written multiple original tunes and songwriting. I could not understand the guitar players name. Jacob Thomas who is 15 years old was the mandolin player. Jacob's been playing mandolin since he was 8. He went to see Sam Bush and seeing him play, the way that his hands moved, he was very intrigued. 

The band we have been waiting for was up next, Molly Clair & Company. Molly Clair Corman is 18 year old from the Ozark Mountains of Missouri. Her deep roots in that Ozark music have helped make her a rising star in bluegrass, country, and gospel music.

Molly Clair recently recorded her first album in 2024. Her album includes the following top country and bluegrass artists: Clay Hess; Tim Crouch; Grand Ole Opry member and the “Queen of Bluegrass” Rhonda Vincent; and Maddie Dalton. 

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Molly's "and Company" is made up of three Florida musicians we are familiar with. Ian Lane on fiddle. His friend, Logan Lobdell on Bango and Ian's band mate, Rex Putnam on bass. We have followed Ian for many years and it is so inspiring to see him grow as a person and musician! He has his own band in Florida now, Ian Lane and Southern Flavor! The guitar player is a friend of Ian's, but not from Florida. Tae Childress. He was very good too.

It has been a great week at the IBMA World of Bluegrass events! Stay tuned for more #TwoLaneAdventures.