On the bill for the evening, Norman and Nancy Blake also make an appearance as the warm-up act, though only two of their numbers appear in Video 1.
Although the exact date of the performance was never recorded on the original 3/4" videocassette tapes, we believe the date to be June 18 or 19, 1986.
"I remember Norman Blake telling me he and Nancy were on their way to Telluride," Scott Wright said. And indeed, Norman and Nancy were on the bill at the 13th Annual Telluride Bluegrass Festival held June 20-22, 1986.
Helping confirm that date, Monroe introduces Tom Ewing as a new Bluegrass Boy early in the performance. Ewing's first appearance with Monroe according to sources is said to be approximately one month earlier, May 18, 1986. On bass is Johnny Montgomery. Tater Tate who was on bass in the Wright Collection tapes of the Denver concert in February has moved to fiddle.
Even though this was several months after Monroe had received his iconic Lloyd Loar from Gibson post-repair, he's still playing the newer Gibson F-5L.
"I asked Bill where his Lloyd Loar mandolin was," Wright told us. "He said it was back in Nashville with Charlie Derrington having some adjustments made."
Bill Monroe's Bluegrass Boys for this concert included:
- Tom Ewing - guitar
- Blake Williams - banjo
- Tater Tate - fiddle
- Johnny Montgomery - bass
NOTE: Video 1 includes images of Monroe's bus, Monroe tuning his mandolin, the band readying for the performance, and a brief appearance by Norman and Nancy Blake. The actual concert starts with Video 2. Because of the nature of these videos and the content, they have been left unedited and presented as filmed in 1986.
Other Bluegrass Videos in The Scott Wright Collection
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