Mark Gaynier & Blake Williams

It takes more than musicians to put on a bluegrass festival. Here are two of the key people at the MIlan Festival.

Mark Gaynier's our host at Milan. He organizes the festival, and he owns KC Campground, where the festival's held.

Blake Williams is Master of Ceremonies at the Milan festival. That means he introduces the bands, reads announcements, and tells funny stories. Now and then he plays banjo, too. Blake spent about a decade as one of Bill Monroe's Blue Grass Boys; many of his tales are about traveling with Bill.

Long ago I bought a cassette of banjo tunes from Blake, purchased at Bill's merchandise table. I've still got it.

Photo taken 8/6/2016 at the Milan Bluegrass Festival/KC Campground.