Bluegrass Playground has been around the Omaha area since the 1980’s.  Though it was inert for awhile, the band has re-gathered steam with new personnel in the last few years. 

In 2005, Virginian Earl Witt, walked into banjo player Dan McElroy’s campsite at the Mo. Valley festival and immediately became the guitar player of the reformed group.  Sharing a nomadic bluegrass lifestyle, Earl and Dan wandered to the regional festivals for a couple of years seeking and finding rare and exquisite bluegrass jam sessions in Nebraska, Iowa, Kansas and Missouri.

Along this road, they added local favorites Max Cooley on dobro and Matt Allen on mandolin.    As if things weren’t going good enough, Bluegrass Playground was blessed in 2009 when they acquired Mindy Hively to hold things together  with her doghouse bass.

This group offers a controlled, yet sensual instrumentality, along with the meaty, Nebraska flavored vocals.  Bluegrass Playground hopes that you’ll stop by and take a musical bite of their bluegrass smorgasbord.

About Bluegrass PlaygroundMembers
EARL WITT, GUITAR

Growing up in Altavista, in South Central Virginia, Earl started learning guitar at around age 5. His parents loved camping And bluegrass music so on weekends their family would travel to regional bluegrass festivals such as Camp Springs, N.C., Shady Valley Bluegrass Park, Va., and Nelson County, Va. Picking and singing bluegrass became a large part of his childhood. At the Nelson County Bluegrass Festival, he played on stage for the first time with the Tennessee Cutup Kids Bluegrass Band. Around age 10, he learned Josh Graves-style dobro, and in his mid teens, he played bass with 'The Last Day Singers', a southern gospel quartet. During that time, he began to play the pedal steel guitar. After attending community college for a couple years, he joined the U.S. Air Force And returned to his first love, bluegrass music. Stationed near Omaha, Ne. and now retired from the Military he lives in Bellevue, NE.  Earl is an active and important element of the local bluegrass culture. He also seeks out and travels to regional bluegrass festivals in Kansas, Missouri, Iowa, and Nebraska focusing on singing traditional bluegrass and jamming with his Martin D-18. You’ll often find him jamming with sidemen from traveling, professional bluegrass bands. He also goes back to Virginia. semi-regularly to pick with his dad at such festivals as Cabin Fever and Galax Va.  In 'Bluegrass Playground', He sings lead, tenor, baritone and holds down a solid guitar rhythm.
DAN MCELROY, BANJO

A transplant to Nebraska , Dan was born in Georgia in 1952, and lived in east Tennessee for ten years. His love of bluegrass music was greatly influenced as a child by viewing weekly televised bluegrass on the ‘Cas
Walker Show’ from Knoxville. When his dad’s job transferred to Nebraska, his parents helped him to buy his first banjo and gave him lessons. After high school, the Army, and college, he became more serious about
bluegrass music. He formed a local band in 1978 called ‘Whole Wheat ’ . When that band was over, he did a lot playing and travelling in multiple states with singer and promoter Bob Everhart with his then new band
‘Bluegrass Playground’. During this time, they were often on the same billing with many bluegrass and country music stars, including Bill Monroe, Jimmy Martin, New Grass Revival, George Strait and more. He has also been of member of several bluegrass bands, including “Curly Ennis and the Roadrangers’ and the Kenestan Family band Having been a member of the Omaha musicians union now for more than 25 years, he has been a sideman for various bluegrass bands, has played banjo on local commercials, and has written an instrumental banjo theme song for a popular Iowa Public Television Music series. He has also had several very good reviews in Bluegrass UnlimitedMagazine for various LP and CD recording projects.

Over the years and to the present, he continues to attend bluegrass, festivals, combining camping and picking with his family which consist of two girls Cassie and Princess, his son Kelly, and his wife Tess. He
also owns a company which specializes in playground equipment.
Great Plains Bluegrass and Old Time Music Association   Omaha, Nebraska
For More information and booking contact:

Dan McElroy  dm84039@alltel.net     (402)968-7529
or
Earl Witt         earlwitt@cox.net
Bluegrass Playground
Omaha, Nebraska

MAX COOLEY, DOBRO

Born in Oklahoma and raised in the heart of the Ozark country near Ava, in southern Mo., Max moved to Nebraska and has been an icon in the local bluegrass scene ever since. Heavily influenced by Jimmy Martin and (Flatt and Scruggs) dobro player Josh Graves, Max has recorded in Nashville and has charted on Billboards top forty. He played with Don Rogert and the Desperados for a few years and can be heard on multiple bluegrass recordings. Now, as retired ‘over the road truck driver’, Max continues to sing and play straight forward traditional bluegrass . Recently he was awarded SPGMA Midwest Dobro player of the year award in Jefferson City, Mo. Max and his wife Jeanine have three kids.



MATT ALLEN – MANDOLIN

Born and raised in the Omaha Council Bluffs area , Matt resides with his lovely wife Sheila . He started playing Bluegrass mandolin at age 14 and played in his family band called ‘The Allen Family’.

The Allen Family played at many famous regional SPBGMA bluegrass festivals until the early 1980′s , recorded a bluegrass LP, and even hosted their own bluegrass festival at West Fair for several years. He has continued to play guitar and mandolin in several regional and local bluegrass bands since then. Matt is a excellent songwriter and sings both lead and tenor . Matt also enjoys hunting and fishing.


MINDI HIVELY – UPRIGHT BASS

Sister of Matt Allen, and also a member of the ‘Allen Family’,

Mindi was raised and still resides in the Omaha / Council Bluffs area . She started playing bass at the age of 15 and won an achievement award that year from SPBGMA (the most prestigious national organization for the preservation of bluegrass music). Playing music with her family , she soon established herself to this day as one of the most prolific bluegrass bass players in the Midwest. Musically, besides carrying the bass beat for BGPG, she continues to play organ and piano and sings in local church choirs. Mindi is married to Howard and they have 3 children. Along with music she enjoys going to her childern’s activity events and family camping.