Mrs. Haynes: Hardworking Counselor or a Down Home Bluegrass Player?
Rocking out before the big concert, Mrs. Haynes practices the upright base with her family getting prepared before going on in front of a huge crowd.
Mrs. Haynes is a counselor at North Forsyth High School. On her free time she hosts Pampered Chef parties and plays the upright bass in a Bluegrass band with her family. She first started playing at the age of 39, but trying to juggle work, home, and music can be pretty hectic. Somehow she balances it all quite well. Ms. Haynes reveals to us that with time and dedication, anything is possible.
What is a Bluegrass artist? A Bluegrass artist is someone who sings American music. Bluegrass is a genre of country and folk music that is influenced by early African American Gospel and Blues as well as early American folk ballads. Bluegrass first started in the 1920’s, but today there are not a lot of mainstream Bluegrass artists left because of the popularity of newer genres. Mrs. Haynes and her family are dedicated to the Bluegrass world and hope that more folks become aware of the inspirational message found within its tunes.
Mrs. Haynes started playing Bluegrass because her father was a Bluegrass player.
“My father always had people over at the house listening to the music and having a good time. He took me all over to shows and festivals through the Southeast. I also married a man who played in a Bluegrass band so that gave me even more reason to play the upright base in a Bluegrass band,” stated Haynes.
As a child, she also loved to listen to the music when she was younger. That’s all she wanted to listen to. Her father was all Bluegrass in her home, and her mother was all country; so music was played everywhere.
“My family could not have been more excited when I told them that I wanted to play the upright bass and become a Bluegrass player,” stated Haynes.
With being a counselor it is hard to find time to play, but when she does, she plays with her family at home, at church gatherings, and at Sawnee Mountain Music. She does wish that she would have learned how to play the upright bass before her father died so that he could seen her play.
“My main thing is I wish that more people would give [Bluegrass] a chance. All I want is to let them listen to it once, and if they don’t like it, then they don’t have to listen to it again,” stated Haynes.
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