MBOTMA Duet and Flatpicking Contest

It's Labor Day and I'm tired. This weekend we competed in the Minnesota Bluegrass and Old Time Music Association (MBOTMA) Duet and Guitar Flat-picking Contests. In the duet contest on Friday, Lynn and I were happy to make the finals for the 2nd year in a row: every duo who entered were high level performers. A bunch of our friends were in the audience which always helps. This year we again placed third and feel good about our showing.

On Saturday there were only 10 entrants for the guitar contest, but as I looked around as the guitar players gathered, I knew that there was no chance of making the final 5 unless 3 or 4 of them crashed and burned. For the first time in a long time there were actually 3 of us in the 'senior' division (56 and over), and my 3 year reign as Geezer Champ is over. I thought I played as well as I good, but I had a number of mess-ups in the 2nd number. Bob Dodds who turned 56 this year came in as top geezer, I was 2nd. (However, I can certainly keep my blog's name as GeezerGuitar since I was once again the oldest picker in the contest. )

This was the 5th annual MBOTMA duet/flatpick contests at the state fair and I am pretty sure that Lynn and I are the only ones to play in all 10 events. And we'll probably continue since as Lynn put it "we're still getting things out of these".

Here are some of the reasons I play and will continue to come back:

• It's an event put on for the general public - many similar contests are held at Bluegrass or oldtime festivals. At the state fair you're getting the music out to a broader audience. By participating, Lynn and I feel like we're helping out MBOTMA as well as doing a bit of promotion for the bob-i-lynn band.
• It's a performance opportunity. There was a full crowd both days - rather than a dozen or two people at a coffee shop, you're playing for hundreds of people in a concert setting. This year, Lynn and I also had a chance to play a couple of our songs (both days) as 'filler' entertainment while the judges were taking a break or scores were calculated.
• It's a chance to connect with the MBOTMA community. Before we started 'competing', we knew a few people who were in the MBOTMA bands, but now we are really starting to feel like members of the 'performing' community. And they are all really nice people. This year we met Chuck Millar and Sandi Scott (long time bluegrass performers) for the first time and reconnected with Jerry and Shirley from Blue Wolf as well as Lincoln and Bill & Kathy Liners from Ivory Bridge as well as many others.
  
• If provides focus. Even though we get a bit 'tired' of the duets that we prepare for the contest, it forces us to have complete arrangements for the songs and to really listen to what we're doing. A couple of nice comments this year: Lincoln from Ivory Bridge said our stage presence as really improved; Sherry Minnick (a judge), said it sounded like we've been recording and listening to ourselves compared to last year. (Actually, we've just been playing out more and have started to have official bob-i-lynn rehearsals once a week).
• Improves my guitar technique. I will never go to Winfield and compete in the National Guitar Flat-pickers guitar contest. (At least one of the top five finishers this year is going). However, just the extra practice and focus of preparing for the contest has really helped my overall musician-ship and tightened my arrangements for the bob-i-lynn band. (And I can now jam with Bill Cagley at his Roots Music Showcases ( Bill is one of the judges).

I'm glad it's over and I'm really ready to work on some different material (I went over new song and tune possibilities today); but I'm guessing we'll be back next year.