Google help me, I was online that very moment to research. What was this magical place I wondered, and how could I procure tickets to see it? Would it be far away?
Bluegrass Underground is a special concert series hosted in McMinnville TN's Cumberland Caverns. In these massive caverns, which were once mined for minerals used in gunpowder, a giant room titled "The Volcano Room" can seat up to 500 people over 300 feet underground. Acts play on selected Saturdays and tickets can be purchased online. They first started the Bluegrass Underground series in 2008, and since then PBS radio and now PBS television will broadcast selected shows from the illustrious cavern. You can read more about it here:
http://www.bluegrassunderground.com/
And here's a good pic:
It was a rainy Saturday this morning when we packed up and drove 90 minutes to McMinnville from Nashville, passing through Manchester en route. When we arrived, we entered an old souvenir shop filled with various crystals and shiny stones, t shirts and magnets. Here you can purchase a 10 dollar bag of dirt, then step outside to their customized washing station and drop your dirt into a small mesh tray. Here is how that went...(sorry, for whatever reason can't get these videos to imbed here today!)
As show time approached, we were told to walk through the woods to the cave entrance. There, a guide is required by their insurance company to walk each group through the cavern and into The Volcano Room. Along the way there are underground waterfalls and pools, stalactites and stalagmites, all lit in a ghostly pale yellow or blue or red. Then, at the end of a long tunnel, you begin descending into The Volcano Room. Somehow, someway, they have managed to electrically wire the entire place for sound and lighting, AND install plumbing so you have access to restrooms. A full concession stand serves the typical concert fare, and picknick tables line the back of the room where patrons can bring in their own food and beverage spread. The only thing not permitted is alcohol and smoking. Not sure how they monitor the alcohol thing, because if you brought your own in a Nalgene bottle no one would ever check or know. Suffice it to say, the show's at 1pm on a Saturday so at that point you're probably still in recovery from the previous night anyhow.
When Mountain Heart took the stage I wasn't sure what to expect having never seen them before. I was completely blown away by their talent. How many bands can boast a two fingered banjo player, one of the best vocalists I've EVER heard (no exaggeration) and a guitar, fiddle, bass and piano that blast through your body with such lightening fast speed it will make your head spin. Here's a snippet:
It was a fantastic way to spend a Saturday afternoon. We will definitely head back to the cave at some point.
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