Category: Events

Songwriters Stage To Be Added To Good Old Fashioned Bluegrass Festival In 2025

The Northern California Bluegrass Society has announced that a new stage will be added to the weekend’s entertainment and performance opportunities at the August 7-10, 2025 Good Old Fashioned Bluegrass Festival.

The maiden presentation of the Songwriters Stage will be held on Friday, August 8 following the conclusion of the Main Stage show.

Bruce Champion and his famed Recording Truck will host the stage, which will be near the main audience area. Songwriters will receive a complimentary recording of their performances. The truck will continue to offer recording services to musicians throughout the festival in addition to hosting the new stage.

The 31-year-old festival will now present music on these stages: Main Stage, ‘Tweener Stage, First Stage, Saturday Night Dance Stage, Lantern Stage, and Songwriters Stage. The festival camp will be filled with Jamming at all hours of the day and night.

Details about the Songwriters Stage will be announced soon.

The Late Cousin Al Knoth To Be Honored On Saturday February 8 At Santa Clara Train Jam

Jam Dedicated To Cousin Al Knoth 

SATURDAY, February 8, 2025, Noon-3:00pm

Edward Peterman Museum of Railroad History

1005 Railroad Ave, Santa Clara

(Across from Santa Clara University)

FREE

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Mary Kennedy is the founding organizer of the monthly Santa Clara Bluegrass Train Jam. She welcomes everyone to the February jam that will honor Cousin Al:

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This 2nd Saturday, February 8, 2025, 12-3pm, the Santa Clara Bluegrass Train Jam, is dedicated to Cousin Al of KPIG Fame. When I started the Train Jam at the Edward Peterman Museum of Railroad History in Santa Clara, back in 2012, Cousin Al was on the board of the South Bay Historical Railroad Society that runs the museum. Cousin Al was instrumental in encouraging the SBHRS to sponsor my jam at the historic old depot that the museum is housed in.
The jam has a loyal following of jammers who range in ability from beginners to intermediate to experienced performers who play in their own bands. We encourage beginner jammers to sit in. We provide the local community of Santa Clara and the train commuters with musical respite and fun. Thanks to Cousin Al, we provide this community service on a regular monthly basis. The jam has been running now consistently at the Train Museum every 2nd Saturday since 2012 except when the jam moved to the Good Old Fashioned Bluegrass Festival run by the Northern California bluegrass Society in Hollister, California in August.
David Wilson, guitar player, and country singer with HootnHoller, has become the Jam leader this past year. David’s wife Colleen helps photograph the Jam and promote it along with David. Thanks to David & Colleen, the jam is now also held in August at the train station.
We all would like to thank the Northern California Bluegrass Society for their sponsorship and helping the jam get started at the Museum.

 

— Mary Kennedy

Cousin Al Knoth Obituary (September 2023)

 

NCBS/SCBS Is A 501(c)(3) Organization Supporting Area Bluegrass Music

The Northern California Bluegrass Society is a California Not-For-Profit Corporation with Internal Revenue Code Section 501(c)(3) status that is also known as the Santa Cruz Bluegrass Society. NCBS/SCBS accepts tax-advantaged donations to support its work. The NCBS/SCBS Tax ID No. is 94-2907716.

Mail-In Donations: NCBS/SCBS, PO Box 390846, Mountain View, CA 94039-0846.

NCBS Online Donations

Grammy Congratulations To Billy Strings & Our Own Melody Walker, Others

The Grammy Awards were announced today in Los Angeles.

Congratulations to Billy Strings on his Best Bluegrass Album award for “Live Volume 1.”

Congratulations to former Bay Area songwriter Melody Walker, now of Nashville, for her co-writer credit on Sierra Ferrell’s “American Dreaming,” the Best American Roots Song. Ferrell also won for Best Americana Performance and for Best Americana Album for her “Trail of Flowers.”

Congratulations to Chris Stapleton for “It Takes A Woman,” Best Solo Country Performance.

Congratulations To Beyonce for her “Cowboy Carter,” Best Country Album, (first African American to win in this category) which was also the Album Of The Year.

Melody Walker

February Festivals Of Interest To Northern California Bluegrass Fans

Here are the February festivals of interest to Northern California bluegrass fans:

FEBRUARY

Every February Friday & Saturday — Hillbilly Robot Festival, Plough & Stars, San Francisco:

1 — John Barleycorn, The Jimmy Touzel Bluegrass Explosion

7 — Joe Rut & The Sunshine Shovelers

8 — Essence & Gold Country, Ruby Lee Hill

14 — Noelle & the Deserters, Aaron Burnham

15 — Geoffrey Miller, Dave Ricketts

21 — The Dogweeds, Clementine Darling

22 — Mae McCoy & Her Neon Stars, Poi Rogers

28 — Geoff Miller and the Rockin’ Rousers.

13-17 – KKUP Bluegrass Marathon, South Bay & Monterey Bay Areas (91.5FM) and online (www.kkup.org).

19-23 – Folk Alliance International Conference, Fairmont The Queen Elizabeth, Montréal, Québec, Canada.

20-23 – Wintergrass, Hyatt Regency, Bellevue. WA.

FEBRUARY-MARCH

February 28-March 2 — WinterWonderGrass, Steamboat Springs, CO. (There will not be a WinterWonderGrass-Tahoe in 2025.)

February 28-March 2 — Bluegrass On The Beach, Lake Havasu City, AZ.