LITCHFIELD — Bluegrass fans will gather Aug. 25-28 to hear banjos, fiddles and high, lonesome harmonies played by national and local bands at the Blistered Fingers Bluegrass Festival.

Hosting the three-day event at the Litchfield Fairgrounds, 30 Plains Road, is Blistered Fingers, a Maine band known for its mix of original material, soulful ballads and hard-driving traditional bluegrass music with a bit of humor thrown in.

New this year is the Blistered Fingers Kids Academy, a free three-day music program for children for ages 8-18 put on by Blistered Fingers and the Bluegrass Music Association of Maine. The focus will be on how to play, sing and perform bluegrass music. Students will bring their own instruments.

Scheduled to perform during the Blistered Fingers Bluegrass Festival are the Grascals of Tennessee, on Friday; Bluegrass Brothers of Virginia, Thursday and Friday; Gibson Brothers of New York, Saturday; James King Band of Virginia, Saturday and Sunday; Moron Brothers of Kentucky, Friday and Saturday; Bluegrass Diamonds of Nebraska, Friday, Saturday and Sunday; Remington Ryde of Pennsylvania, Thursday and Friday; Douthwrights of Nebraska, Saturday and Sunday; Pine Hill Ramblers of Massachusetts, Saturday and Sunday; Rough Edges of Massachusetts, Thursday and Friday; Bluegrass Gospel Sing & Jam of Massachusetts, Sunday; and Blistered Fingers, Friday.

Gates will open at 8 a.m. on Monday, Aug. 22, for early bird camping.

Weekend tickets, $70, cover four days of music and camping from Thursday 8 a.m. to Sunday 1:30 p.m. Other tickets: Thursday only, $10; Friday only, $25 (after 5 p.m., $20); Saturday only, $25 (after 5 p.m, $20); Sunday only, $10; children 12 and younger, free with adult; dogs, $10; power: $20 for entire stay. Tickets available at the gate.

The Litchfield Fairgrounds Committee will serve hot meals in the cafe and there will be several vendors on the grounds. For more information on the bluegrass festival, which has taken place every June and August since 1991, call 873-6539, contact Sandy Cormier at [email protected] or visit BlisteredFingers.com.