My wife and I were at the show yesterday, when they came up onstage together. They gave no reason, and simply expressed gratitude to all the fans that have supported them over the years. We always considered this to be our hometown festival because it was the only one in northern Illinois.
We so much enjoyed going that I almost died one year trying to attend. In 2008 we had tickets for the end of March, but in the beginning of March, I had to go in for emergency spinal cord surgery. Against the wishes of the doctors, I checked myself out of the hospital the day before the weekend show. I slept soundly through the entire Friday night performance, and woke up Saturday morning in so much pain that we could not stay for the rest of the festival.
Except for that one year, bluegrass has been very good to me. One time we went to a show in Ottawa by Starved Rock. We stayed at the local Hampton Inn and combined the festival with amazing dining and hiking adventures. Hampton Inn published a nationwide hotel magazine that was provided for every room in the chain. In the back of the magazine was a feature article about a guests' experiences while staying at the hotels. I wrote up a story about our trip and submitted it.
A few months later I got a call saying that my piece was selected for inclusion and that we had won a free weekend package. At that time, my folks were going to some of the shows with us, and we again stayed at a Hampton Inn for the outdoor festival being held at Rockome Gardens in central Illinois Amish country.
We hadn't said anything to my parents about my wife and I appearing in the magazine, but as soon as we checked in, I opened our copy and there it was, my article and a very nice color picture of me and the Mrs.
A few minutes later, my mom called from her room to ours and said that my dad was shouting in the hotel bathroom because he saw our faces. We had a hard time making him understand that the feature was in every Hampton Inn room in the country, and not just that specific location.
I couldn't have been more pleased, my wife was very proud, my dad was beside himself, and Jan and Terry thanked us for the publicity.
When they made their announcement yesterday, my heart dropped into my stomach. The music took on an added poignancy. I knew it couldn't last forever (Jan and Terry, like all of us, are getting older), and we had a great run. The Greater Northern Illinois Bluegrass Festival will be greatly missed.
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