A Main Intersection Leading To Hollister & GOF Location Set For Improvement

The intersection of Highways 101 and 25 in southern Gilroy will be dramatically improved, taking care of a traffic snafu on the way to Hollister from the San Francisco Bay Area. The NCBS Good Old Fashioned Bluegrass Festival is held each August in Tres Pinos, 7 miles south of Hollister on Highway 25.

The project will be done in phases over a decade with Phase One starting in approximately Fall 2024. The initial work will significantly improve the interchange’s traffic flow to and from the festival location. Later work will further expand highway capacity on both 101 and 25 and will extend Highway 25 to the west. Many sections on the route to the festival have already been upgraded.

The current two-lane bridge over 101 was considered a temporary safety measure when in was built in 1988. Its purpose was to prevent southbound left turns from 101 to 25 across northbound traffic but is now overwhelmed by current traffic volume.

IBMA Announces The 2024 Leadership Bluegrass Class — Including Helen Lude & Karen Celia Heil

The International Bluegrass Music Association has announced the 2024 Leadership Bluegrass Class, which includes Helen Lude, a frequent attendee and performer on NCBS stages since she was very young. She grew up in San Francisco and graduated from Tulane University in 2023. She now lives and works in Nashville. Karen Celia Heil of San Francisco is also in the class. She is involved with bluegrass and old time music organizing in the Bay Area.

The Northern California Bluegrass Society is a longtime organizational member of the IBMA. The 2024 class will be held at Belmont University in Nashville, March 4-6. NCBS Members are encouraged to apply this fall for the 2025 class.

The members of the class of 2024 are:

Chelsea Burns
Central Texas Bluegrass Association
Austin, TX

Amanda Cook
Mountain Fever Records
Fancy Gap, VA

Carolyn Eyerly
DC Bluegrass Union
Vienna, VA

Sara Gougeon
Pineworks Creative / Queerfest
Nashville, TN

Karen Celia Heil
California Bluegrass Association / Berkeley Old Time Music Convention
San Francisco, CA

Mike Kaiz
Madison House
Chicago, IL

Kevin Keating
Wind Gap Bluegrass Festival
Nazareth, PA

Anna Kline
International Bluegrass Music Association
Mount Sterling, KY

Jeff Koontz
Planning Stages, Inc.
Brevard, NC

Linda Leavitt
Oregon Bluegrass Association
Sisters, OR

Tashi Litch
Eastsound, WA

Helen Lude
California Bluegrass Association
San Francisco, CA

Rob McCormac
Indiana University / Liam Purcel & Cane Mill Road / Trailhead Touring & Production
Bloomington, IN

Amanda McDowell
WXCY
Quarryville, PA

Mike Mitchell
Floyd Music School / The Mike Mitchell Band
Floyd, VA

Seth Mulder
Seth Mulder & Midnight Run
Sevierville, TN

Kody Norris
The Kody Norris Show / Mountain City Fiddlers’ Convention
Mountain City, TN

Liam Purcell
Trailhead Records
Deep Gap, NC

Ariel Rosemberg
Littleton, CO

Timothy Trudeau
Syntax Creative
Franklin, TN

Amanda Webb
NoraBelle Studio
Sevierville, TN

Lillian Werbin
Elderly Instruments
Lansing, MI

Dan Whitener
Gangstagrass / Man About a Horse
Matawan, NJ

Alissa Wolf
Stillhouse Junkies
Durango, CO

Cassie Wright
Fox Crossing Stringband
Chicago, IL

Plan To Enjoy The Good Old Fashioned Kids Place At The 2024 GOF Festival!

The Good Old Fashioned Kids Place will return to the Historic 30th GOF Festival August 8-11, 2024 at the San Benito County Historical Park in Tres Pinos.
Come one! Come all! All ages are welcome at the Kids Place!
We’ll have frisbee golf, corn hole, horseshoes, bubbles, parachutes and a scavenger hunt or two! Arts and crafts, dolls and Barbies, trucks, blocks and rock painting too! Cuddle up in the reading tent with a good book and a stuffie! You can find us in the back of the Music Meadow.
The orange ‘fenced in area’ is open 24 hours a day as long as you provide a parent or adult (Just clean up when you leave). Guided activities led by Caterpillar, Penguins and Froggie will be Friday 11:00am-3:00pm, Saturday 10:00am-12:00pm and 2:00-4:00pm, and Sunday 10:00am-12:00pm.
Can’t wait to see you!
Thank you!! — Becky Collins

Join The People Who Have Joined The Northern California Bluegrass Society!

Join the people who have joined the bluegrass society!

Your membership in the Northern California Bluegrass Society supports bluegrass music in the San Francisco Bay Area, the Monterey Bay Area, and in all of Northern California. Join or renew your NCBS Membership on this website or by mail.

The Cottage Saloon, San Benito County Historical Park, Tres Pinos.