Lewis Family's bluegrass festival loses out to finances

Another major musical event will come to an end when the 22nd annual Lewis Family Homecoming & Bluegrass Festival takes place April 29-May 2 at Elijah Clark State Park near Lincolnton, Ga.

Norman Adams, a co-owner of the festival with Tony Anderson, said this will be the last one.

Each spring, the festival has drawn several thousand bluegrass music fans from more than 30 states.

That's not enough to make the event profitable, though.

"It is strictly a business decision, and we just decided to call it quits; plus, there is the health of members of The Lewis Family," said Mr. Adams, an insurance agency owner in Dahlonega, Ga.

He said the festival broke even only two or three times in 21 years.

The elimination of the festival will result in a major loss of revenue for area businesses used by visitors, including gas stations, restaurants and lodging.

"I don't have the slightest knowledge of how much that means, but it would have to be a huge amount," Mr. Adams said.

The Lewis Family, 1992 inductees into the Georgia Music Hall of Fame and 2005 inductees into the Gospel Music Association's Hall of Fame, have served as hosts for the festival from its beginning.

Family members, at past festivals, have complained that the event was attracting national attention but not receiving patronage from local residents.

"We thought, 'Man, this one is going to be great,' " Mr. Adams said, "but it never did grow and kept lingering with the same crowd every year."

Performers at the festival have included Grand Ole Opry stars Bill Monroe, Little Jimmy Dickens, Jim & Jesse McReynolds, Grandpa Jones, Sonny and Bobby Osborne, Earl Scruggs, Bill Carlisle and Jimmy C. Newman in addition to Ralph Stanley, John Hartford, Doyle Lawson and former Louisiana Gov. Jimmie Davis.

For more on the festival, see thelewisfamilymusic.com and click on the top-left link.

Don Rhodes has written about country music for 38 years. Reach him at (706) 823-3214 or at don.rhodes@morris.com.