Whenever there is a bluegrass festival Dad goes and takes along his banjo is this a independent clause?

No, the sentence "Whenever there is a bluegrass festival Dad goes and takes along his banjo" is not an independent clause; it is a complex sentence. The phrase "Whenever there is a bluegrass festival" is a dependent clause that cannot stand alone, while "Dad goes and takes along his banjo" is the independent clause that can stand alone.