4= THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
MUSIC
THURSDAY,SEPTEMBER 19,2002
Music fans flock to Winfield for music fest
By Michelle Burhenn
mburhenn@kansan.com
Kansan staff writer
About 15,000 music lovers, hauling washboards, banjos and other bluegrass instruments will culminate a weeks-long jam session this weekend at the Walnut Valley Festival.
Each year during the third weekend in September, the festival doubles the population of Winfield, a town of about 13,000 people in southeast Kansas. Today through Sunday, 41 performers and bands will take over four stages at the Cowley County Fairgrounds. But many of the bluegrass enthusiasts who attend go to jam with other musicians.
"There's camp jamming all night long every night," said Nina Williams, Winfield resident, who works part-time for the Walnut Valley Association. "Probably the earliest anyone goes to bed is midnight and that is very early. The campground jamming is what people go for."
This tradition of festival-goers staking their claim the week before the festival beings is called "land rush." About 1,000 units were lined up until Sept. 12, when they were allowed on the campgrounds.
Although the festival officially begins today, Williams said the jam sessions had been going on for weeks. She said people began lining up their cars and recreational vehicles Aug. 28 to get their favorite camp sites.
"A lot of people will come and put their campers in line and pay their fines through the city." Williams said. "Some come and stay the whole time and live in their vehicles. They are just visiting, playing music and living."
"My friends and I will have a good time. They play kickass bluegrass."
As of yesterday, more than 1,500 units had already arrived on the campgrounds,
Jacob Kellert Oklahoma City senior
said Larry Junker, publisher of Walnut Valley Voice,a newspaper that is distributed during the festival.
"You're going to see all different kinds of units down here," Junker said. "You're going to see the $250,000 bus and the $50 tent and anything in between. Some of these people have been lined up for weeks and maybe a little bit more."
But for some KU students, classes and tests are delaying their trips to Winfield.
Both Emily Nelson and Jacob Kellert said they had postponed their trips until tomorrow because of school obligations.
Nelson, Minneapolis, Minn., senior, is making her second trip to the festival.
She will meet about 20 friends tomorrow, she said.Most of them will be using tents throughout the weekend.
"All of my friends play instruments so we just go down and walk around and jam," Nelson said.
Kellert, Oklahoma City senior, said although he played the drums, he would bring a new instrument to the festival.
"I'm thinking about picking up a washboard to learn how to play it," he said. "It's a very open and laid back atmosphere. There will probably be some old-timers there that'll be willing to teach me."
Kellert will be making his first trip, after trying many years.
"My friends and I will have a good time," he said. "They play kick-ass bluegrass."
— Edited by Katie Teske
Patsy Cline musical tells story of friendship
By Amy Kelly
akelly@kansan.com
Jayplay writer
The Lawrence Community Theatre wants to ensure Patsy Cline's memory will continue to thrive.
The local performing arts center, 1501 New Hampshire St., will present Ted Swindley's musical Always: Patsy Cline, to kick off the its 26th season. The music will open tomorrow.
Always tells the story of Cline's friendship with housewife Louise Seger between 1961 and 1963. The two-woman show develops the friendship, which ended with Cline's death in a plane crash at age 30 in 1963.
Annette Cook stars in the title role which helped her develop a greater appreciation for the late singer.
"I loved the songs, but I didn't really know anything about her," said Cook, who also teaches acting classes at the theater. "She's just phenomenal. She has a beautiful range and she's real about what she sings."
At one time a vocalist for a New York rockabilly band, Cook was prompted by Peggy Sampson, who plays Louise Seger, to take a look at Always. Not much persuasion was needed though — Cook was already on the case.
Annette Cook, left, plays Patsy Cline opposite Peggy Sampson as Cline's friend, Louise Seger.
Contributed art
"Normally they do auditions, but I brought the script to them and said, 'Listen, I'd really like to do this,'" Cook said. "If there's any way we can swing it, let's do it."
The talent may have been in place,but the theater still had to jump through a few hoops before it could begin the production process. This is because the show is licensed by Cline's estate.
"They are very,very stringent in what they ask to do and what they agree to do. They give guidelines that you need to follow." said Mary Doveton, director of Always.
With the theater willing to back up the project, Cook began the transformation from Lawrence actress and mother to crooning cowgirl. Following in the footsteps of such Cline portrayers as Jessica Lange and Beverly D'Angelo, Cook did research on the singer's life.
She found her exploration a bit limited. "I read stuff, watched some footage, but we don't know these people." Cook said. "We can't be them. We can just bring ourselves to the character."
She found her exploration a bit limited.
As director of Always, Doveton went into the project like any other, but admits
the experience has opened her ears to Cline's true talent.
"I had a sense of her music for a long time, like some the standouts like 'Walkin' After Midnight' and 'I Fall to Pieces,' but I wouldn't have called myself a fan," Doveton said. "The more we have worked with
her music, I have just become a total fan."
In contrast to many of the shows performed at the theater, Always needed the musical skills of more than one accompanist to capture the live feeling of a country-
SEE PATSY CLINE ON PAGE 5
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