It turns out bluegrass musician Rhonda Vincent is worth more than five cents, according to Robert Smith of Ocean Isle Beach, who first heard her sing in Myrtle Beach, S.C.
“The first time I ever saw her,” he said about Vincent, “was in Myrtle Beach and she was wearing a little cowgirl outfit. I told my wife, ‘She won’t be worth five cents,’ and she got a standing ovation.”
Smith has been enjoying bluegrass music in Myrtle Beach with his wife for 42 years, and they always get the same seat. They were two of many people who traveled to the Neuse River Music Fest, held at Lenoir Community College Friday and Saturday.
Headlining Saturday’s event were Rhonda Vincent & the Rage, and Gene Watson. It’s Vincent’s fourth year of performing in Kinston.
“We’ve been here enough times that people have become friends,” she said Saturday in the VIP room before her first set.
Vincent said she has met people at the event and through the Internet and looks forward to seeing them each year.
“I think that’s what bluegrass and music is — a family atmosphere,” she said.
One of them is Bill Wells, a festival committee member.
“When I heard her on ‘Song of the Mountain’ five years ago, I ordered a CD,” Wells said.
When he got the CD, some of “the girls in the office” asked who was on it. He told them they wouldn’t know her. When they saw it was Vincent’s CD, they told him she was going to be in Kinston. He’s been going to her concerts ever since.
“I’ve been a Rhonda fan ever since,” Wells said. The next year he had cancer, but was asked to escort her. And he did, without any reservations.
Vincent, who resides in Missouri and grew up singing with her family, has performed with Watson, another headliner at the festival.
“I think he is one of THE greatest voices in country music,” Vincent said. “So I feel a great honor each time I get to share the stage with him. He is incredible.”
Brian and Susan Brown from Ontario, Canada, drive down to Myrtle Beach to reside during the winters, and took a weekend trip from there to Kinstonto hear the bluegrass music.
The Browns of Perry Sound, a town of 6,500 people, did an online search last year for their favorite band and found out they were playing in Kinston, so they purchased front-row seats at the festival.
“And we’re enjoying every minute,” Susan Brown said Friday evening. They’re great groups.”
Brian Brown said, “We got into (bluegrass) in Myrtle Beach about 20 years ago.”
They said they love the barbecue — which they don’t have in Canada — and the “down-to-earth people.”
“The seats are really comfy compared to some festivals we’ve been to, and the food is top-notch,” Susan Brown said about the VIP dinner.
Doris Clary of South Hill, Va., has attended the festival with her husband for a number of years.
“Well, we just love it here,” she said, “especially for the assigned seats. You don’t have to fight for it, and anything to help the college.”
LCC uses the proceeds for student scholarships. About 400 students generally qualify academically and financially, Jeanne Kennedy, executive director of the LCC Foundation, said.
“Right now, we’re able to serve 186 students that qualify,” she said. “… We’re trying to help as many students as we can.”
Linda Hewett of Ash has come to the festival for the last four years. She and her husband take the three-hour drive and look for things to do, starting at the Kinston-Lenoir County Visitor and Information Center.
“We bring our camper and we stay a few days,” she said.
Jimmy Peele of Grantsboro came with his wife, Nita, and four others. It was the Peeles’ third year at the Kinston festival, but it was the first bluegrass event for one person in their group, he said.
“The people are friendly and very accommodating,” Nita Peele said about the LCC folks, who all volunteer during the event.
Marjorie Blizzard of Goldsboro expressed the sentiments of many of the attendees.
“We love bluegrass music,” she said.
Margaret Fisher can be reached at 252-559-1082 or Margaret.Fisher@Kinston.com. Follow her on Twitter @MargaretFishr.