Avogadro’s Number (Avo’s), located just north of Colorado State University’s campus, is the headquarters of the bluegrass community in Fort Collins, Colo.
Every week old and new faces gather at Avo’s for the bluegrass jam to musically interact with others, whether performing or not.
Avogadro's Number, located on 605 S. Mason Street, is Fort Collins' bluegrass headquarters. The bluegrass jam is every Wednesday.
Avo’s bluegrass jam began in the 1980s, according to John Stewart, a Fort Collins veteran of the bluegrass scene.
Despite the restaurant/bar/music venue’s average size, Avo’s has featured many of the big names in the bluegrass music.
The other day I was contacted by a graduate anthropology student at Colorado State University who is interested in writing her thesis on a musical topic — I can’t think of a better type of music for an anthropology thesis than Bluegrass.
Bluegrass music is forever changing and, in my opinion, has a different meaning to every individual. To Bill Monroe, Bluegrass was his music. To Jimmy Martin, Bluegrass music came after a hard day’s work; I don’t know for a fact, but I’m guessing sometime in the afternoon Jimmy would kick off his boots, have a beer, scarf down a hot dog and begin to strum his Martin guitar after singing tunes all day out in the fields.
What is Bluegrass to me? The answer stems from another question that I have asked myself several times — “Why, oh why, am I so crazy about this music?”
The reason is because Bluegrass music is genuine, from the soul. Its routes are in American slave music, ancient Celtic hymns, old-timey folk ballroom dances where many couldn’t afford not to wear their muddy work boots. It doesn’t care for materialism or anything without essence. It is a true music form.
Today’s Bluegrass has a very different character, a different meaning than it did 50, even 30 years ago. Bluegrass used to be Bill Monroe’s music, and along with his claim to creating the music came strict rules and guidelines for Bluegrass musicians.
If Monroe, for instance, heard a mandolin player taking an instrumental break that wasn’t what he considered top notch, he would say, “that ain’t no part of nothin’.”
Closet pickers: no longer should you be afraid of Bill miraculously appearing and saying to you, “that bacon ain’t part of no bacon.” Mr. Monroe passed away some 10 or 12 years ago.
The reality of the matter is that Bluegrass is no longer limited to that ”high lonesome” sound with a hard-driving banjo and amazing fiddle. In fact, in the last 15 years, Bluegrass has transformed into a much broader genre.
Perhaps the most popular Bluegrass band today, Yonder Mountain String Band is well known for playing such covers as Ozzy Osborne’s “Crazy Train”, Rolling Stones’ “No Expectations” and other famous tunes by bands way outside the range of Bluegrass music.
Last month Yonder Mountain String Band, a band out of the Front Range of Colorado, played inside Denver’s INVESCO Field to open up for the Democratic National Convention. Legendary banjo player Peter Wernick, a.k.a. Dr. Banjo, once told me that Yonder Mountain is the most successful Bluegrass band ever.
Yonder Mountain’s appearance at the DNC was, perhaps, the most historic Bluegrass concert ever. Surely INVESCO Field is the biggest venue in which Bluegrass music has ever been performed, and positively no other Bluegrass band has opened up for a political party’s convention, or anything of the sort.
Yonder Mountain String Band should officially be recognized as the biggest promoters of Bluegrass today.
Bluegrass music is once again on the rise. I predict that it will continue to grow and I plan on helping it grow by promoting what I love.
