05/11/2026
Hey y'all. Thanks to John Beck in N VA for being the latest to buy a Stompin 76 combo! He lives so close to me, I took a nice drive Sunday morning to deliver his order to his front door. Mother's Day was a great day, as I was here with Betty Love, my 96 yr. old mom, whose doing great! I'm so grateful for such a g-d blessed day!
I posted on the 'I was there' FB page run by Wendy, that I am sorry to announce I will not be attending the Stompin 76 Discussion and Gathering in Carroll Co. in early August, 2026. If you read the last Roanoke Times article from a few years ago by Tad Dickens, and if it was you the article was written about, instead of me, you'd understand the negative environment he created for me to to attend.
Instead of writing about all of the fond memories we have, he wrote we paid the Pagans $10k, a lie, we paid them nothing. He told the 'I was there' FB group he was writing an article about Stompin 76, got everybody excited. He lied, writing an article slamming my career, making me look like a loser. He said nothing positive about me at all over a lifetime or producing festivals. His conversation with me was negative yet I did not hangup on him, just answered his questions. Then after it being published as a feature weekend article, I received negative posts from people with opinions based on his article. Roanoke Times previously referred to me as a persona non grata.
Additionally, it's obvious to me the Galax Fiddler's Convention prefers I stay away, so I am and always have. I don't want to be the subject of even one person's ridicule, so I'm not giving them the chance. I find many in Virginia are kind and friendly, but it only takes a few, and based on other experiences there over the decades its clear to me "Virginia is for Haters". They should change the bumper sticker. You know what I'm talking about.
But Virginia does not have the exclusive on imploded people, I now feel the same way about mid-Tennessee culminating in a defamation lawsuit I have against a Chamber of Commerce and a musician there. I was an outsider, they read bad articles about me and decided to read them to others, poisoning the atmosphere once again. The defendants even defaulted on the legal action. Their reckless words killed a 50th Anniversary Stompin I had been planning for many years. It would have been an incredible event with a star-studded lineup on a green festival paradise.
G-d did not want me to continue there, so I leave their ignorance in the dust of time. Now, there will never be any Stompin, so I rebuilt the website to celebrate the good memories we had of the original event. I don't expect anyone to fully understand my feelings, you can't since you are not in my shoes.
So, I am proceeding to do the same thing for the Latino people I did for bluegrass and party fans in 1976. In 2016 I produced the first campout Latino rock festival in history, www.rockfiesta.com
I'm intent on bringing it back to the southwest U.S. desert where it belongs. It's wide-open out there and the Spanish people loved it the first one! 20,000 fans on the RF FB page want it, so I will return, leaving bluegrass music behind. Though, I'm gratified to see the bluegrass music festival industry grow and flourish.
The re-do of the orig., Stompin shirts are my way of commemorating that great event we all experienced those hot, humid days in the bicentennial year. The poster and repros of the bumper sticker are available at the official Stompin 76 website.
I thank you- everyone of you perpetuating the comradery we all shared and have since then as many of you have contacted me with kindness and thanks. I do hope the spirit embodied in the event continue till the end of your days, that's why I say KEEP ON STOMPIN! Bless the good. I am sorry I can't attend the gathering.
10 YEARS LATER, A NEW-IMPROVED ROCK FIESTA IS IN THE WORKS!! IF YOU WERE THERE, YOU KNOW HOW MUCH FUN IT WAS! FIESTAAAAA! LAND OF 13 MILLION LATINOS AND GROWING!! WE’LL ALL BE TOGETHER AGAIN SOON WITH NEW FRIENDS, NEW MUSIC! Keep an eye on the ROCK FIESTA FB PAGE
