Wide Open Bluegrass looks to the future

They’ve come for this year’s Wide Open Bluegrass Festival, where the spotlight is on the future of bluegrass.

“This really gives you hope for the future of music,” bluegrass fan Chris Simes said as a young man fingered a guitar. “A great future ahead.”

A youth stage sits in front of the convention center.

Elizabeth Anderson is part of a sibling group — six sisters, one brother — who lives on a Pennsylvania farm.

It’s the first year at the festival, for the musical family called Echo Valley. They’ve been playing for about nine years.

This weekend, they're playing among bluegrass stars they've admired for years.

“It's been really exciting,” Anderson said. “All of my musical heroes here and all of our bands that we love. They’re just walking around playing music just like we are. We can go, say ‘hi’ and be like, ‘How did you do that one part?’”

As the young talent admire their heroes, they're inspiring a whole new generation of bluegrass fans.

“There's a lot of kids here from all over the country, from all over the world,” Anderson said. “I think the future of bluegrass, yeah, it's pretty bright.”