Rod’s Bluegrass Band honors spirit of late bandleader

With just a few songs left in its set at Stafholt Good Samaritan Center on July 23, Blaine-based Rod’s Bluegrass Band got most of the audience singing along to the classic coal mining song “16 Tons.”

The nine musicians on stage, seniors themselves who know each other through the Blaine Senior Center, continued through a few more songs with the crowd singing along, ending with the classic hymn, “I’ll Fly Away,” a favorite of the band’s late founder, Rodney DeMent.

DeMent, from a prominent early Blaine family, gathered the musicians together in 2015, when he was 93. The energetic nonagenarian continued with the band until he passed away in 2018 at 96. The band continues playing to honor his spirit and philosophy, playing music for seniors and encouraging others to pick up instruments.

“[After DeMent passed away] we were all kind of wondering what was going to happen,” said Tom Burton, a guitar player and early member of the group. “A couple people bought new instruments and we just kind of rededicated ourselves.”

The band’s members are committed to providing entertainment for seniors. They play several times a month at senior centers and nursing homes throughout the county. On Wednesday, August 14, the group of Blaine senior pickers will play its biggest show yet, at Hovander Homestead Park in Ferndale, as part of Senior Day in the Park.

Senior Day in the Park is a chance for seniors throughout the county to socialize, learn about local services and resources. It goes from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. and includes a barbecue lunch.

Playing around the county was an aspiration of the band’s late founder and namesake, members say. Though they’ve arrived at that point, it took a while to get there.

It all started when DeMent showed up at Mick and Toni Blakely’s backdoor in Blaine one day in 2015, wanting to know if they were still playing music. The Blakelys had played in a bluegrass band in the past, but weren’t playing much music at the time, they said.

It turned out that DeMent had his upright bass in the back of his car.

“Next thing you know, he brought his bass in the house and the rest is history,” Mick Blakely said.

Concurrently, DeMent was encouraging others he knew through the Blaine Senior Center to pick up their neglected instruments or to learn a new instrument altogether. A few people started learning songs together during Saturday morning jam sessions at the Blaine Senior Center.

DeMent, always an encourager, coaxed more people to join, and now up to 20 people show up to those Saturday jams. The band continues to place importance on what DeMent wanted for the group – they encourage others to join the band, and when they play at other senior centers, they encourage people to start their own bands.

“There are certain principles he brought, like make it for everybody, make it fun and don’t alienate people by being too serious. Just keep it laid back and a lot of fun,” said Matthew Egan, an early member and musical leader of the group.

For many in Rod’s Bluegrass Band, playing with a group is a lifelong dream.

“What’s kind of neat is how all at our age, we have found each other and we’re doing this thing that we all enjoy and that some of us have dreamed of doing but could never quite figure out how to do,” Burton said. “Through the center, is where it all started, we would have never all found each other otherwise.”

Though the band has moved on without its founder, a part of DeMent is on stage for every performance. Toni Blakely and other members play his upright bass, and through it, band members say, his spirit joins them on stage.

“We wonder sometimes, what would he think if he saw us now,” Toni Blakely said. “I think he would be pretty happy because we’re carrying on what he originally wanted to do.”