In sports, rivalries are everything. Teams play harder against their rivals, fans come out in droves to see rivalry games and it makes each player involved strive to get better in order to beat their rivals. Yankees-Redsox, Bears-Packers, Lakers-Celtics…the list goes on. Those strong leagues become stronger for it.
In music, rivalries are abundant but they can go too far. The Bluegrass community tends to be a very small town style gossip train. Rumors, stories, and information tend to spread like wildfire while their validity is rarely questioned.
I can’t count the times I have heard “That band ___________ doesn’t play real Bluegrass”, “I heard _______band gets gigs because ________ member is a woman” or “We should be playing that show, we are so much better than _______ band.” (And those are the more tame statements I assure you). Each time I just shake my head and think “Good for _____band for booking that show” (along with the realization of the character of the musician who made the statement) While that person might see their rivalry as the nature of the business….that level of negativity really just ends up hurting Bluegrass as a whole.
We forget that every door another Bluegrass band (or musician) opens is a door that your band can walk through. Each new venue hosting Bluegrass, each new jam that pops up, each new audience that is introduced to Bluegrass just gives us all more opportunities to spread Bluegrass to more people. (which means more opportunities for you) That is why I always say “Good for them”
Even if your rival band gets a show, puts out an album or achieves any kind of success, you should support them. You should want successful Bluegrass bands to be around you, it helps shine lights all around you, Bluegrass and Bluegrass in Florida. Every time you see them get a new gig, it should make you smile. You know that Venue ______ might be a possibility in the future. Every time they get a good slot on a big festival you should know that it might be you next time.
In the end, let your rivalry (if you must have one) fuel you in a healthy way. Get better, try harder and find figure out what they are doing, that you may not be. Support your rival in any way you can, because their success will be your success and in turn breed Good Bluegrass music that can spread to all reaches of the Sunshine State.
Justin Mason
Florida Bluegrass Network
Florida Bluegrass Network 