Jerry Garcia Exhibit at the Kentucky Bluegrass Music Hall of Fame & Museum
The weekend of March 28th -31st, Deadheads and wooks gathered from all over to experience the legacy of Jerry Garcia through art and music at the Kentucky Bluegrass Music Hall of Fame & Museum in Owensboro, KY. It was opening weekend of the Jerry Garcia Exhibit and a special time to check out the new exhibition highlighting the bluegrass roots and career of icon Jerry Garcia. The exhibit will be on display for the next two years so there’s plenty of time to get out there and see what a long, strange trip it’s been.
The weekend included panel discussions from family and friends of Garcia, storytelling and documentaries detailing his life and career, and presentations that dug deeper into old recordings and the making of the music. House band, Leftover Salmon performed throughout the weekend, and included performances by bluegrass notables David Nelson, Peter Rowan, Jim Lauderdale and Eric Thompson, who played with Garcia in the ‘60s.
One panel discussion included Jerry’s first wife, Sara Ruppenthal, who mesmerized the crowd with her words expressing the world we live in and the legacy Jerry left behind. She said, “We are all trying to figure out what we’re doing here. The right distance from the sun. We really are made of stars. We are all connected. We are all individual expressions of the big wow, the intelligence that is the universe. I would say that Jerry’s legacy to us is to be the best that you can. The best you that you can be. Don’t worry about everybody else or what they think of you.”
Jerry was of the mindset that you make your music and it’s on the wind, and it’s on its way. He was an artist who focused on making the music and wasn’t real concerned with the business side of things. When a popular ice cream brand named a flavor after him, and it was brought to his attention, he said it “was good ice cream.” And “at least it wasn’t motor oil.” That was a glimpse into Jerry’s attitude on intellectual property. Of course, it could have been motor oil and that’s why it was good that Garcia had the right people around to handle situations like that.
The legacy of influence that Garcia left behind is one of care and compassion towards one another and that is a timeless legacy. Just like the music and the stories that will pass on for generations to come.
Check out the display if you have a chance! More information here:
http://www.bluegrasshall.org/event/jerry-garcia-a-bluegrass-journey-opening-weekend-celebration/