The 2022 Brookdale Bluegrass & American Roots Festival will be held on Saturday, April 30 at its original home, the Brookdale Lodge in Brookdale. NCBS welcomes this FREE event, which is presented by Brookdale Bluegrass.
The IBMA Foundation will raffle off a top-of-the-line Huber Truetone Banjo in the second annual Strings for Dreams Bluegrass Raffle. Tickets are on sale now and the drawing is set for May 20, 2022. Proceeds will benefit the foundation’s grants and other charitable projects that support bluegrass music. Only 5,000 tickets will be sold at $20 each or 6 for $100. The drawing will be live streamed atĀ facebook.com/bluegrassfoundation.
The IBMA Foundation is affiliated with the International Bluegrass Music Association. The Northern California Bluegrass Society is a longtime organizational member of IBMA. The first raffle held in 2021 was won by a Bay Area bluegrass musician!
The prize is a mint condition 2010 VRB-3 Truetone Huber Banjo, valued at $4,100, with two cases and straps. The banjo was donated by longtime IBMA Foundation supporter Richard Spratt.
There is no limit to the number of tickets each person may purchase.Ā Raffle tickets may be purchased atĀ stringsfordreams.comĀ from April 1 (9 a.m. ET)Ā to May 19, 2022 (midnight ET. )
The VRB-3 is Huber Banjoās recreation of the pre-war style-3 banjo, the most common of all the 1930s flatheads. It features a mahogany neck and resonator with a 1930s style Huber HR-30 tone ring and Huber engineered rim.Ā The mahogany neck imparts a sweetness to this model, with a warm blending of notes for a classic bluegrass sound. The rosewood fingerboard and double-cut headstock overlay are inlaid with a vintage style-3 wreath pattern. It is finished with a natural mahogany stain, with antiqued binding and antique metal finish on the nickel parts. Grained ivoroid tuner buttons complete the vintage look.
The Huber banjo comes with its original hard-shell case, a Reunion Blues banjo case, a leather strap designed by Huber, a cloth strap, an electronic tuner, and a Blue Chip thumb pick.
Ā Your ticket purchases support the work of the IBMA Foundation year-round, including project grants for bluegrass camps and afterschool programs for kids, bluegrass academies at festivals, bluegrass academic conferences, mini-grants for band presentations at schools, college scholarships for students focusing on bluegrass-related studies, the Neil Rosenberg Bluegrass Scholar Award, the annual Bluegrass College Band Showcase at World of Bluegrass in Raleigh, Arnold Shultz Fund grants to encourage participation in bluegrass music by people of color, and a variety of educational resources for educators and students of all ages.
The IBMA Foundation is offering sequentially numbered digital raffle tickets. The purchaser will receive an emailed receipt for verification purposes. Purchasers must be living U.S. residents, 18 years of age or older, to participate and win. If fundraising raffles are illegal in your community, you will be unable to participate (states that prohibit raffles altogether are Hawaii and Utah). Tickets may not be purchased by members of the IBMA Foundation board or those involved in conducting the raffleāincluding staff members or immediate family members of these individuals. āImmediate familyā is defined as spouse or partner, children, parents, siblings, grandparents, grandchildren, in-laws, or spouses of children.
Although all proceeds will benefit the IBMA Foundation, purchase of raffle tickets is not a tax-deductible expense (IRS regulation). The drawing will take place in North Carolina and will be livestreamed on the foundation Facebook page. This raffle has been organized in compliance with North Carolina General Statutes 14-309.15āRaffles. The giveaway is conducted by and benefits the IBMA Foundation.Ā For more information on the Strings for Dreams Bluegrass Raffle, go toĀ bluegrassfoundation.org/raffle/Ā orĀ stringsfordreams.com.
Roland White, a mandolinist, guitarist, and vocalist, who pioneered bluegrass music in Southern California, has died. He had a long, creative, and influential performing career with top bands Bill Monroe & The Bluegrass Boys, the Nashville Bluegrass Band, the Kentucky Colonels, Country Gazette, the Dreadful Snakes, and Lester Flatt & The Nashville Grass, and also with his own Roland White Band. The cause of his death was complications following a heart attack. He was 83 years old.
White’s recording career covered traditional bluegrass, but also explored the boundaries of the genre, mixing bluegrass with swing, jazz, country, gospel, and rock. He was the first to bring bluegrass music to network television.
White was a French Canadian who was born in rural northern Maine and came to Burbank, California with his family in 1954. His original surname was LeBlanc, French for White, which was adopted by the family as their new English name in California. In his early career, Roland performed in a family bluegrass band with his brothers Eric and Clarence and his sister Joanne. They came from a large musical family which included their father Eric and several uncles who played acoustic instruments.
Roland’s rise to bluegrass fame was rapid once the family band The Country Boys switched from country to bluegrass in 1955 after Roland heard a recording by the Father of Bluegrass. The brothers added Bill Ray Lathum on banjo and LeRoy Mack on Dobro, and came to the attention of Andy Griffith, which led to the band’s multiple appearances on the CBS Network’s Andy Griffith Show during the 1961 season. The Country Boys later became the Kentucky Colonels and performed at festivals across the country before the end of the folk revival caused work for the band to diminish.
Roland White performed at Santa Cruz Bluegrass Society concerts and at various Northern California festivals with three of his bands. He is best known to Northern California bluegrass fans as a member of the Nashville Bluegrass Band and as a popular instructor at area bluegrass camps.
After Roland left Lester Flatt’s band and his brother Clarence left The Byrds in 1973, the two reunited as the leaders of the New Kentucky Colonels. This collaboration was sadly cut short when Roland was seriously injured and Clarence died when they were hit by a drunk driver while loading out sound equipment following a band performance. Roland then continued his career with the popular and influential LA bluegrass and alt-country band, Country Gazette.
Roland Joseph White was inducted into the Bluegrass Hall of Fame in 2017. In his later years, he was a volunteer sound engineer at the Station Inn in Nashville, where he organized an annual Monroe Appreciation Night. He is survived by his wife Diane.
Here are the upcoming officialĀ Northern California Bluegrass Society events for April-September, 2022:
APRIL
6 — Wildcat Mountain Ramblers, Sam’s BBQ, San Jose. (NCBS welcomed)
7 — Goat Hill Girls, Summit House, Los Gatos. (NCBS welcomed)
14 — Wildcat Mountain Ramblers, Summit House, Los Gatos. (NCBS welcomed)
15 āĀ Wildcat Mountain Ramblers, Sheraton Four Seasons Hotel, Scottās Valley. (NCBS welcomed)
21 — Purple Mountain Majesty, Summit House, Los Gatos. (NCBS welcomed)
23 āĀ Johnson Farm Pickinā Party, New Johnson Farm, Boulder Creek. (NCBS welcomed)
27 — Sidesaddle & Co, Sam’s BBQ, San Jose. (NCBS welcomed)
28 — Bluegrass Jam Onstage Show, Summit House, Los Gatos. (NCBS welcomed)
30 āĀ Brookdale Bluegrass Festival, Brookdale Lodge, Brookdale. (NCBS welcomed)
APRIL-MAY
April 29-May 1 āĀ Berkeley Bluegrass Festival, Freight & Salvage, Berkeley. (NCBS welcomed)
JUNE
4 — Bluegrass TBA, Pub In The Park, Red Morton Park, Redwood City. (NCBS welcomed)
4-5 — Pick & Gather Festival, Riverdance Farms, Livingston. (NCBS welcomed)
JULY
16 — NCBS Presents The 2nd Annual NCBS Gathering, Loch Lomond Park. FREE. Felton.
16 — Bluegrass TBA, Pub In The Park, Red Morton Park, Redwood City. (NCBS welcomed)
AUGUST
11-14 — NCBS Presents The 28th Annual Good Old Fashioned Bluegrass Festival, San Benito County Historical Park, Tres Pinos.
13 — Bluegrass TBA, Pub In The Park, Red Morton Park, Redwood City. (NCBS welcomed)
SEPTEMBER
10 — Bluegrass TBA, Pub In The Park, Red Morton Park, Redwood City. (NCBS welcomed)
SEPTEMBER-OCTOBER
September 27-October 1 — IBMA World Of Bluegrass Convention, Raleigh Convention Center, Raleigh, NC. (NCBS welcomed)
TheĀ Northern California Bluegrass SocietyĀ welcomes allĀ new and returning members. Your support of bluegrass music in our area is much appreciated at this critical time — and our volunteers have big plans!
2022 will be a great year to be a member. It only takes a moment to join or renew on this website or by mail.
The City of Redwood City Parks Recreation & Community Services DepartmentĀ has announced that the monthly summer music, beer, and food series Pub In The Park will exclusively present bluegrass music in 2022.
The FREE event will be held at Red Morton Park. Bands will be announced soon for this Northern California Bluegrass Society-welcomed gathering. Redwood City is the Peninsula’s Home Of Bluegrass Music.
Save The Dates: Saturdays, 11:00am-4:00pm —Ā June 4, July 16, August 13, & September 10.
The Northern California Bluegrass Society will present the return of the Good Old Fashioned Bluegrass FestivalĀ on Thursday-Sunday, August 11-14, 2022, at the San Benito County Historical Park in Tres Pinos. Everyone at this event will be vaccinated.
Discount Advance Tickets are now on sale. Everyone receives an advance purchase discount; NCBS Members receive a deep discount with their advanceĀ purchase.
VOLUNTEERS NEEDED FOR THE GOOD OLD FASHIONED FESTIVAL
The Northern California Bluegrass Society welcomes the return of bluegrass music to Sam’s BBQ in following the pandemic. The San Jose venue has supported bluegrass and related music for decades but has not been able to stage live music for the past two years.
A month-long experiment is being held on Wednesdays in March, including two bluegrass bands.Ā If this experiment succeeds, regular music will continue.
The final opportunity to support bluegrass at this excellent venue is:
Wednesday, March 30 — Jerry Logan & Loganville
Sam’s BBQ, 1110 S. Bascom Avenue, San Jose. (408) 297-9151. 6:00-8:30pm. Reservations recommended. Thanks for your support!
