Ky. Bluegrass Festival Successful Despite Dispute

WKMS | By The Associated Press,

Whitney Jones

Published October 10, 2012 at 8:04 AM CDT

An Ohio County festival honoring bluegrass pioneer Bill Monroe was successful despite a legal battle over using the music icon’s name and likeness. Festival Organizer Campbell Mercer says around 15,000 fans attended the Jerusalem Ridge Bluegrass Celebration last weekend. A court had stopped Mercer from using Monroe’s likeness or name in promotions. Campbell is in a dispute with Ohio County and the county industrial foundation. Both groups lay legal claim to Monroe’s name and image since they bought the rights from Monroe’s sons 13 years ago. The question is whether or not they gave Campbell the right to use them. The festival was held on Campbell’s farm, which is next door to Monroe’s boyhood home.

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Whitney Jones

Whitney grew up listening to Car Talk to and from her family’s beach vacation each year, but it wasn’t until a friend introduced her to This American Life that radio really grabbed her attention. She is a recent graduate from Union University in Jackson, Tenn., where she studied journalism. When she’s not at WKMS, you can find her working on her backyard compost pile and garden, getting lost on her bicycle or crocheting one massive blanket.

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