GILPIN COUNTY – Established in 2019, the 4th of July Barn Dance at the Gilpin Fairgrounds Barn is now firmly entrenched as a local holiday tradition.

New Family Dog with special guest Bridget Law on fiddle opened the show at 1:30 p.m. “You’re the Kind of Trouble I Need” came straight from Nashville.

Written by J. J. Cale and later covered by Eric Clapton, the band let it all hang out with “After Midnight.” Another Cale song, “They Call Me the Breeze” was well-received and got toes tapping.

Many groups perform “Jolene,” but Brittney Wagner’s vocals on that classic number were the closest to Dolly Parton’s that I’ve ever heard.

Tweeners entertained attendees outside in between the main stage acts. John McKay and Robert Garland, Adam Pause, and Mountain Sand kept the momentum going with their own unique stylings.

The High Road Home proved once again how much can be achieved with a guitar, mandolin, banjo, upright bass, and fiddle. Their brand of progressive bluegrass played well into the afternoon.

When dinnertime arrived, the Kaleidoscope Kitchen food truck was there to fuel concertgoers into the evening. Crab cake sliders, lobster rolls, elk bratwurst, gyros, Jamaican jerk chicken skewers, and “Florida style” coconut shrimp served with sweet chili sauce satisfied.

High Lonesome’s version of Simon and Garfunkel’s “The Boxer” was artfully executed and rang a familiar bell. “The Hobo Song” from the 1975 release Old and in the Way was a highlight: “Too late to feel sorrow / Too late to feel pain / He’s just an old hobo / Lost out in the rain / He used to be a gambling man just like you / Until he sank so low that there was / Nothing that no one could do.”

As if they’d been waiting all day for the moment to arrive, dancers packed the floor when headliner Magoo took the stage at 7:30 p.m. Keeping mainly true to the roots of traditional bluegrass, the cover songs along with their newgrass jam band arrangements were deftly performed.

Last year’s RockyGrass Dobro Competition winner Dylan Flynn brought a certain flair and the band’s spot-on three-part harmonies accented the music seamlessly.

Proceeds from the event were donated to the Gilpin School Music Program.