WDCV Legend: Davis Tracy

Community Post: Interview with community DJ Davis Tracy   

When he was young, Davis Tracy yearned for a family TV, but he got a radio instead. This gift sparked a passion for radio that has lived on throughout his entire lifetime thus far. He would listen to a multitude of stations, from popular music to radio theater. This passion stuck with him throughout his schooling, time in the army, professional career, and to this day Davis spends two hours every Monday morning playing bluegrass CDs for his loyal listeners.

Davis started his show, Bluegrass @ Dickinson, in the 80s, when vinyl was still popular. Over time, Davis has switched to CDs, though he questions what he’ll do when those go out of style as well. Because of the popularity and age of his show, Davis has connected with many bluegrass artists and labels who send him bluegrass music. This way, Davis finds new voices, sounds, and twists on his favorite genre each week. This relationship also allows Davis to curate larger bluegrass events, such as Bluegrass on the Grass, a Carlisle community event that occurs every summer on the Dickinson campus. Inspired by the fun he found in playing with his own band, Country Bob and the BBQ Boys, and help from other bluegrass lovers, Davis introduced Carlisle to a bluegrass festival that is now one of the town’s most popular community events. Davis of course wanted to show people how lovable bluegrass is, but also had the intention of depicting Dickinson as an approachable and desirable place to visit. The town had other popular music festivals in the past, but they mostly focused on orchestral music, a genre that Davis believes to be less accessible. Bluegrass, on the other hand, is easy to dance along to, and brings joy to many listeners, and Davis himself.

Before Davis’s WDCV career started, he served as a United States Army Officer in the early 70s, and participated in many Outward Bound wilderness classes, in which he learned survival skills and the ability to get along and work with others who were different than him. Davis then went back to school and earned a Master’s and Ph.D. in Counseling Psychology. He worked at Dickinson College as a counselor in the Wellness Center for 29 years, and as a faculty advisor for WDCV for over 10 years, where he made many improvements for the station and the students involved. In 2010, Davis retired, and has since worked part time at Franco Psychological Associates in Carlisle in addition to continuing his WDCV radio show. He starts his day around 5 am every day, occasionally accompanied by his beautiful labradoodle, Freddie, who loves to snuggle up next to anyone he takes a liking to, which is most everyone.

Davis has always loved music and been invested in it.He played tenor guitar in high school just because no one else was playing it, but discovered his love for guitar at Lehigh University. Davis never did participate in college radio when he was attending Lehigh, but he met his “radio mentor,” Paul Campbell, while attending the University of Tennessee. From this experience, Davis learned to appreciate bluegrass more, as well as the importance of college radio. He finds that college students have a refreshing on-air presence that commercial radio voices don’t possess. Davis loves to hear the progression and growth of student DJs, whether that be their professionality on air or their music tastes that first developed in high school. This student connection is what Davis misses the most about advising WDCV, though he is grateful he still has the opportunity to share his music with his listeners, and enjoys listening to student and community DJ shows alike. Davis is loved here at WDCV because of how much he has done for the station, and how committed he still is!

 

 

Listen to Davis’s show, Bluegrass @ Dickinson, on Monday, Wednesday, Friday, and Saturday, from 8 am to 10 am!

 

 

 

 

 

If you have any questions, email Julia Ormond at ormondj@dickinson.edu. Thanks for reading!

Bluegrass on the Grass Review

Bluegrass on the Grass, a Carlisle summer tradition, took the Dickinson College Academic Quad by storm on Saturday, July 8th. Lasting 8 hours, the festival hosted five different bluegrass bands, hailing from Tennessee to West Virginia. Families, students, and devoted bluegrass fans from Carlisle and beyond alike showed up and gave their support for a festival that has been around for more than 20 years now. Festival-goers arrived as early as 8 am to claim the best spots on the Academic Quad, in the shade of course, and camped out there throughout the whole festival, proving just how loved this festival is! Children danced along to the quick fiddles, families enjoyed the crooning of their favorite bluegrass singers, hungry listeners appreciated the local food vendors, and Bluegrass on the Grass volunteers savored the support they felt from the festival lovers.

This tradition started many years ago by the infamous Davis Tracy. A retired Dickinson Counselor and faculty advisor for WDCV FM, Davis Tracy and other local bluegrass lovers hosted bluegrass concerts on Tracy’s farm back in the 90s. They wished to expand their barnyard concerts, invite other bluegrass musicians and listeners, and create a festival out of their love for bluegrass, and in 1996 Tracy and others created a reality out of this dream. Tracy and his band took the stage on the Dickinson campus for the first time in front of about 200 people, and since then the festival has grown to nearly 4,000 attendees and a multitude of bluegrass bands who have received high regard in the bluegrass world. There is no doubt that every summer, the town of Carlisle gleefully awaits this music festival.

                                            

The bands featured this year included some familiar faces, such as the Dismembered Tennesseans, but also comprised of new sounds, most notably from Mile Twelve, a relatively new band with a young, fiery sound. An astounding fiddler, Michael Cleveland, along with his band Flamekeeper, joined the line-up this year as well, and left the crowd in pure amazement of his incredible skill and musical ear. The music lasted from noon until 8 pm, interspersed with raffle contests, in which Bluegrass on the Grass merchandise and other impressive prizes were given to upwards of one hundred winners. Dennis Gotthard, a local vinyl collector, sold a multitude of vinyl to festival-goers, and impressed the crowd with his boxes and boxes of bluegrass vinyl for the true bluegrass fans. Bluegrass on the Grass was an immense success this year, attracting new faces both on stage and in the crowd. It was a lovely day filled with great music, and no doubt the town of Carlisle excitedly looks forward to next year’s event!

                        

For more information about this event, check out http://blogs.dickinson.edu/bluegrass/

 

If you have any questions, email Julia Ormond at ormondj@dickinson.edu. Thanks for reading!

Bluegrass on the Grass 2015 Review

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On the first clear day in weeks, Dickinson College was the site of the 20th Anniversary of Davis Tracy’s Bluegrass on the Grass festival. I had heard the school hosts this little secret from some friends of mine, so when the opportunity arose for me to work the festival, I jumped at the chance. As someone who has never particularly cared for bluegrass, I wasn’t really sure what I was getting into…but after sitting through eight hours of non-stop bluegrass I will say this: Why have I never been there before?

 

First of all, the atmosphere throughout the day can be summed up in one word: happy. Everywhere I went, smiles were on everyone faces. Whether they had been there every year since the first festival in 1995, or were attending the festival for their first time, everyone in the over 3,000 strong crowd was excited and genuinely happy to be there. People had come from all over the country to this small town in PA; I met folks from Tennessee, Texas, Georgia, Florida, and so on. One woman from Florida told me, “I made my sister come with me this year. She tried telling me that she didn’t like bluegrass music, but I told her that this was better than Christmas!”

 

Five bands took the stage this year, each of them playing two sets by the end of the day. The Dismembered Tennesseans were up first, and as they have played every Bluegrass on the Grass festival except for the first one, the audience was fully prepared for their unflinching yet refined take on bluegrass music. After them came a newcomer to the festival, Tellico, from Ashevillle, NC. What struck me about this band was their commitment to the art of the song; they did not riff or improvise a lot, but instead stuck to their songs of passion and heartache. After Tellico was Michael Cleveland & Flamekeeper. Fronted by award winning fiddler Michael Cleveland, these guys delivered the most virtuosic performance of the day. They ran through their songs while weaving back and forth through melodies and improvisations with impressive ease. While they were a tough act to follow, Jake Krack & the Bing Brothers did not show up to disappoint anybody. I am a fan of punk rock myself, so fiddler Jack Krack and his band were my favorite act of the day because they never let up on the intensity of their driving, in-your-face brand of bluegrass. Closing out the festival this year was another newcomer to Bluegrass on the Grass, Russell Moore & IIIrd Tyme Out. Led by award winning vocalist Russell Moore, this band brought the audience to a standing ovation with their gospel-influenced bluegrass. I have no doubt that they will be asked to come back in the near future.

 

If you want to check out next year’s festival, stop by Dickinson College’s campus on July 9th, 2016. And if you want to hear some more bluegrass before that, check out WDCV on Monday, Wednesday, Friday, or Saturday from 8-10 AM, either on 88.3 FM or at http://blogs.dickinson.edu/wdcvfm/

 

* Thank you to everyone who helped make the festival possible. Through your hard work and generous donations, Bluegrass on the Grass has been able remain free to the public, and will be back again next year.*

Bluegrass on the Grass-Saturday July 12th 2014 12-9pm

Bluegrass on the Grass

Saturday, July 12th 12:00 PM – 9:00 PM

Lineup and Full Schedule

Bosler Hall on the Academic Quad, Dickinson College
201 W. High St.. Carlisle, PA 17013
Walking directions: Enter on West High Street between North College and North West Streets.

Seating is open. The lawn can be accessed starting at 8:00am on the day of the festival. Bring lawn chairs and blankets. A wide array of vendors will sell food ranging from french fries to Thai food, plus non-alcoholic drinks. Restrooms will be available. Festival is held rain or shine. Bring umbrellas and get ready for great music!

12:00 p.m. Big Country Bluegrass
12:45 p.m. Vickie Vaughn Band
1:30 p.m. Jake Krack & Bing Brothers
2:15 p.m. Nora Jane Struthers and The Party Line
3:00 p.m. The Dismembered Tennesseans
3:45 p.m. Frank Solivan & Dirty Kitchen
4:30 p.m. Big Country Bluegrass
5:15 p.m. Vickie Vaughn Band
6:00 p.m. Jake Krack & Bing Brothers
6:45 p.m. Nora Jane Struthers and The Party Line
7:30 p.m. The Dismembered Tennesseans
8:15 p.m. Frank Solivan & Dirty Kitchen

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Bluegrass EXPLOSION on WDCV! July 11th-13th 2013

It’s a Bluegrass Explosion! We have added more Bluegrass@Dickinson w/ Davis Tracy to our schedule July 11-13, to celebrate the 18th Annual Bluegrass on the Grass festival. And, hold on to your banjo because Saturday July 13th, WDCV will go bluegrass for 24 hours! Listen at home or while you are out and about. Then make sure you get to Dickinson College at 1pm this Saturday for the festival. Spend the day on the grass in Carlisle PA. Visit http://blogs.dickinson.edu/bluegrass/ for the complete schedule.

 

Bluegrass on the Grass
Saturday, July 13th, 2013
1:00-9:00pm
Dickinson College
Carlisle, PA

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