Today marks the kick-off of the 28th annual Minnesota Bluegrass & Old-Time Music Festival.

Featuring five stages and 35 hours of concerts, if you’re a fan of the banjo, this is the place to be this weekend. And I’m told the campgrounds are where to hang out after the formal shows wrap up, as hundreds of amateur pickers jam it out.

I was listening to Laurie Lewis & the Right Hands perform “Oh My Melissa, Before the Sun Goes Down” on the Current this morning and was instantly transported back to the land of O’Brother Where Art Thou et al.

Check out her free download of the month, “Blow Big Wind” (mp3)

This year’s festival list includes: The Del McCoury Band (Sat), Laurie Lewis & The Right Hands (Thu & Fri), The Alan Munde Gazette (Fri &Sat), Dan Gellert, Druha Trava (Thu – Sat), Orpheus Supertones (Thu – Sat), Eric & Suzy Thompson (Thu – Sat), Druha Trava (Sat & Sun), Kenny & Amanda Smith (Fri), The Wild Goose Chase Cloggers (Sat & Sun), Poor BennyTangled Roots (Fri & Sat), The High 48s (Sat & Sun), The Fish Heads (Thu), Chris Silver Band (Thu & Fri), The Middle Spunk Creek Boys (Sun), The Moss Piglets (Fri & Sat), Blue Hazard (Sat), The EddiesTickwood Stringband (Thu & Fri), Due North (Sun), plus Sloughgrass, Sawtooth, The Haining Family, and The Alzen Family.

The festival is at El Rancho Mañana in Richmond, MN, which I reckon is about 90 minutes northwest of the hustle and bustle of the cities. Tickets are $10-70 bucks, depending on age and how long you stay.