Prairiegrass Music Festival

Prairiegrass headliners

This time of the year in South Dakota we think about harvest time. We think about the abundance of food that comes off the land and the beauty of the crops, turning to a golden color. In eastern South Dakota, what we call East River, we see the tall corn, soybeans and hay fields. Western South Dakota, or West River displays wheat, small grains, cattle grazing in grass up to their bellies, and farmers harvesting the native prairie grasses.

We also think about the blessing we have for such an abundance of food, abundance of open prairie, beautiful blue sky stretching as far as you can see. The further west you get you run into the Black Hills; jutting up out of the ground, with their pine trees, creeks, rivers and lakes. In thinking about this blessing we have put together a wonderful time of enjoyment for you at the Black Hills Amphitheater in Spearfish, South Dakota. Prairiegrass is a bluegrass festival unlike what you've seen before. It will be on Saturday, the 5th of September. The gates open at noon, performances start at 1 o'clock, and continue on through dark. It will be non-stop music (alternating between the two stages), the side stage will feature progressive music, and the main stage will feature our headliners. This is a large amphitheater, holding over 5,000 people. The second stage area seats about 500 people. Due to the way it is configured, even when you sit in the small stage area you will be able to hear music from the large stage and vice versa.

Tickets in advance are $25, and the day of the show are $30. The young people are invited to bring a school ID card to receive $5 off the ticket price. Kids 12 and under are free. We know you'll enjoy yourself.

See ya @ the Amp!

The Buffalo Gals

Bob with the Buffalo Gals

Recently on a trip from the East coast I was on the Union Pacific train headed west from Des Moines to Omaha. I was sitting in the parlor car relaxing and watching the Iowa countryside roll by; with their tall corn, pretty little farms, white and red buildings; it was a beautiful summer afternoon. I noticed an attractive young lady sitting near me and I decided to strike up a conversation.

Libby, the camp cook

As we visited she told me she was coming from New York City and was a reporter with the New York Globe, Mr. Pulitzer was her boss. Well, this impressed me quite a bit, and we talked further on why she was coming west and where she was headed. She told me she was going to South Dakota, her assignment was to talk with 12 pioneer women who had helped settle the western part of South Dakota. Well, South Dakota hadn't become a state yet so I was wondering why they were excited to visit with these particular women from the frontier land that was probably still ravaged by all the harshness you could imagine in that type of barren country. Well, she had a pretty good idea of what she would be talking to them about and who she wanted to visit with.

First she said she wanted to visit with a ranching woman, and find out all about the rigors of ranching the wild frontier. Then, she would visit with a school teacher, probably one that was rooming with one of the student's parents on a ranch, or in town in a boarding house; to see what it was like teaching in one room school. She also wanted to visit with a missionary, possibly someone that had received a calling to go west and proselytize the native Americans or settle in one of the mining areas, where there was a real need for the Word of God. As she continued on about all the people she was going to be visiting with, I thought, what an interesting assingment. This kind of assignment is a once in a lifetime deal, to go into an area that is barely inhabited and visit with people that have pioneered and settled in this area, who know all about the more difficult side of life. Here there are little to no creature comforts; sod huts with dirt floors, no glass windows, cooking over an open fire and doing everything from one steel pot. It sounded like a real exciting time to me.

I asked her if I might tag along, just to see what it was really like. She was very reluctant at first because she didn't want to be saddled with a man. She was on assignment to find out about women, but I assured her I would be no bother. We got off the train in Omaha and waited for the DM&E that would take us into the Black Hills and we visited more about what it would be like to meet all these women. I had a continued interest in being able to sit in on these interviews and be a part of this settling of the west.

I thought about the possibilities of making this a story to present to people who had never had an experience like this, perhaps as a theatrical production. The more I thought about this, the more I liked the idea.....and that idea has come to fruition. You can watch these 'Buffalo Gals' at the Black Hills Amp every Friday and Saturday until Friday, September 4th. There isn't much time left so you'll have to hurry. Along with the performance you'll receive a hearty meal at the Prairie Hearth, designed to fill you up without overfilling you (so you won't fall asleep during the performance). Take a look, I'm sure you'll find it an enjoyable time.

See ya @ the Amp!

Meeting the Mountain Man

A contemplative Mountain Man


Mountain men were an integral part of settling the western United States, especially the mountainous areas. They were a mysterious breed of man in that they were completely detached from the rest of humanity for many months, and in some cases years. Their primary connection with humanity was at their rendezvous, which often resulted in days of boastful activity, rowdiness and drinking. I do not claim to be an expert on mountain men, however, I did meet one and I want to tell you that story.

I often like to take hikes in the Black Hills, when time permits and my activity level is low enough. On one of these very same hikes as I was ascending Crow Peak, I looked back and from that vista I could see Spearfish Peak, Lookout Mountain, Roosevelt Mountain; the vista was unbelievable. I could even see into Montana, North Dakota and Wyoming. As I looked to the horizon, my eye caught a glimpse of what looked like a man, about three hundred yards off, hiking through the tall timber. He was an older gentleman, with very long hair. He did not use a crutch but he seemed to have something in his hands. At first I thought it might have been a rifle, but on closer look it looked like a banjo. I decided I needed a closer look at this gentleman, to determine where he was from and what he was doing here, because he looked quite out of place. As I approached him, he had a wild look in his eye, as if I were some kind of intruder penetrating his space. As I got closer he stopped fast, and erect and stared me in the eye; as if to stare me down like a wild animal. The closer I got the more I recognized this must be the reincarnation of a mountain man. I had never seen a mountain man; I’ve seen them in pictures, I’ve seen them on TV, I’ve seen them in movies, and Jeremiah Johnson was a great mountain man. But, could it be real that I was actually meeting, face-to-face, in the summer of 2009, a real, honest to goodness, mountain man? As I was about thirty feet away, I spoke and said, “Hello, how are you?” He kind of crouched a little bit and I felt certain that he was going to attack me. But, he had no weapon; all he had was a banjo. Was he going to attack me with his song? Was he going to attack me with his voice, verbally? I couldn’t figure it out. I spoke again, and this time he seemed to calm down, and he said, “Hello, how are you?” But his ‘hello, how are you’ wasn’t really like the way we talk. It was kind of chopped up, and a little foreign to me. There seemed to be gravel in his voice and he seemed to have kind of a distant sound. I looked closer into his eyes and the wildness had gone, and there was peacefulness about his eyes, as if I were looking directly into his soul. I had actually met the authentic mountain man. As I visited with him a little bit, he became more intrigued about me and what I was doing there; as I became more intrigued about him. Well as it turned out, he is more civilized then I thought. He is actually doing a one-man show at the Amphitheater two nights a week. It’s in conjunction with a prairie-style dinner. He seemed to be quite enthused about the possibility of meeting new people and telling his tales about the mountain man days.




After telling tales and singing songs

He wanted to share those tales with me and I was interested in moving along. And I said, “I’d love to hear the tales, but I’ll come down to the Black Hills Amphitheater on either a Tuesday or Thursday night and visit with you, and you can tell all of us about your tales. About the time you spent with Jim Bridger out in the Rocky Mountains of Wyoming, about the cold winters, about the petrified forest, petrified animals.” I though that would be a good place to visit with him, I could enjoy fine food, good friends, new friends that I would meet, and hear his whole story. He said it would take about an hour, and I thought, well that’s a good time frame. Perhaps I’ll bring my nephews and grandchildren along so that they too can see and visit with an authentic mountain man.

See you at the Amp!