Join or renew your NCBS Membership on this website or by mail.
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.
Sonia Shell Band & Johnny Campbell Band Mini Tour Coming In October
The Sonia Shell Band (Santa Cruz) and the Johnny Campbell Band (Nashville) will perform at Sam’s BBQ in San Jose on Wednesday October 16 and at the Live Oak Grange near Santa Cruz on Saturday October 19. NCBS will welcome the October 19 show. The bands will also appear on KKUP Monday Night Bluegrass on Monday October 14.
Upcoming Northern California Bluegrass Festivals
Here are the upcoming bluegrass festivals of interest to Northern California bluegrass fans:
SEPTEMBER
18-22 – Berkeley Old Time Music Convention, Various Venues, Berkeley.
24-29 – International Bluegrass Music Association World Of Bluegrass, Raleigh Convention Center, Raleigh, NC. (NCBS welcomed)
OCTOBER
4-6 – Hardly Strictly Bluegrass, Hellman Holler, Golden Gate Park, San Francisco. FREE.
4-6 – Huck Finn Jubilee, Bonelli Bluffs RV Resort & Campground, San Dimas.
5 – Santa Barbara Old Time Fiddlers Festival, Stow House, Goleta.
9-13 – Frankly Bluegrass Music Festival, Amador County Fairgrounds, Plymouth. (NCBS welcomed)
14-20 – CBA Fall Campout, Lodi Grape Festival Grounds, Lodi.
19 – Sonia Shell Band & Johnny Campbell Band, Presented by the bands at the Live Oak Grange Hall, Santa Cruz. (Concert, Jam, Potluck). (NCBS welcomed)
NOVEMBER
8-10 – Wickenburg Bluegrass Festival, Rodeo Grounds, Wickenburg, AZ.
8-11 – CBA South State 48, Carlsbad By The Sea Hotel, Carlsbad.
DECEMBER
12-16 – Strings & Sol, Sapphire Resort, Puerto Morelos, Mexico.
Time For Bluegrass Folks To Register To Vote
Bluegrass Folks deserve to be heard from in the upcoming election! Now is the time to act if you are not registered to vote at your current address. You can easily register online or at your local election office.
This election is very important and very close! Your vote could make the difference!
California — Check Your Registration
National Registration Information
New Frankly Bluegrass Festival Set For Amador County Fairgrounds October 9-13
The Northern California Bluegrass Society welcomes the First Annual Frankly Bluegrass Music Festival which will honor the late Frank Solivan, Sr., founder of Kids On Bluegrass & Kids On Stage.
The Amador County Fairgrounds in Plymouth, site of several bluegrass festivals over the past 40 years, but none in the past decade, will host the new festival October 9-13, 2024. The event is presented by members of the Solivan family.
The line-up: Frank Solivan & Chris Luquette, Kids On Bluegrass, Broken Compass Bluegrass, Special Consensus, Wayne Taylor & Appaloosa, Crying Uncle, Central Valley Boys, David Adkins & Mountain Soul, Kentucky Sky, and The Honey Buckets.
Warning About Fake Tickets Being Sold To Next Week’s Berkeley Old Time Music Convention
The Berkeley Old Time Music Convention is next week starting on Wednesday. Here is a warning about fake tickets being sold online and information about how to get valid tickets, as provided by Suzy Thompson from the festival:
BEWARE of fake ticket sales for BOTMC events! The website ticketsales.com is selling fake BOTMC tickets, and there may be other second-party ticket sites doing it as well. These tickets will not be accepted for admission to shows!
WARNING: If you are trying to buy BOTMC tickets online, and you land on any page supposedly selling BOTMC tickets, that does NOT list all the performers for each night, that page may be a scam!! Any genuine ticket page will be from either secure.thefreight.org (i.e. Freight & Salvage website) or from ashkenaz.com (Ashkenaz’s website) and should list the entire lineup for that show.
Tickets should be available at the door for all shows — but if you want free music workshops, you will need to buy a 2-day pass in advance: https://secure.
Here are links for advance tickets to individual shows:
Wed. Sept. 18 – Ashkenaz – Welcome Party and Cajun/Honky Tonk Dance
Marley’s Ghost, Cedric Watson plus jamming with Bigfoot
Cajun & Honky tonk dance lesson with Sarah Travis
https://www.ashkenaz.com/full-
Thurs. Sept. 19 – Freight & Salvage – Concert
Clean Heat, Cedric Watson, Bigfoot
https://secure.thefreight.org/
Fri. Sept. 20 – Freight & Salvage – Concert
Black Banjo & Fiddle Fellows, Maria Muldaur & Her Old Timey Pals, the Onlies
https://secure.thefreight.org/
Sat. Sept. 21 – Ashkenaz – Square Dance Party
Propagators, Bigfoot, the Onlies with Susan Michaels & Robin Fischer calling
Clogging workshop with Evie Ladin
Song circle with Viv & Riley; old time jam with Cathy Fink & Marcy Marxer
https://www.ashkenaz.com/full-
I sincerely hope that none of you have fallen for this fake ticket scam!! And I hope to see you next week, we’re gonna have some gooooooood music!!
Suzy Thompson
Director, Berkeley Old Time Music Convention
www.BerkeleyOldTimeMusic.org
info@BerkeleyOldTimeMusic.org or suzy@ericandsuzy.com
Cell phone: 510-225-5508
Save the dates! Sept. 18-22, 2024
Jamesburg Schoolhouse Bluegrass Festival Is Saturday September 14
The Second Annual Jamesburg Community Schoolhouse Bluegrass Festival will be held on Saturday, September 14, 2024, Noon-7:00pm. The event will benefit the Jamesburg Community Schoolhouse.
Online Tickets are now available: Jamesburg Bluegrass Festival Tickets 2024 (zeffy.com)
There will also be tickets at the gate. Adult Tickets are $25.00. Children 12 & Under are free. The Noon-7:00pm gathering will take place at the former school, 40379 Tassajara Road in Carmel Valley.
The line-up: Eric Burman & The Brookdale Bluegrass Band, The Courthouse Ramblers, Brianna Colliard, Willow Street, and The Gilroy Drifters.
Bring a bluegrass festival chair or blanket to this charming outdoor mountain event in the highlands above Carmel Valley. Food & drink will be available. See you there!
Click for: Jamesburg Schoolhouse Information
NCBS Board Elects Officers For 2024-2025
The Northern California Bluegrass Society Board Of Directors has elected officers for the 2024-2025 year. They are:
President — Michael Hall
Vice-President — Mike Russell
Secretary & Treasurer — Bruce Edmundson
Second Annual Jamesburg Bluegrass Festival Near Carmel Valley Is This Saturday September 14
The Northern California Bluegrass Society welcomes the Second Annual Jamesburg Community Schoolhouse Bluegrass Festival on Saturday, September 14, 2024, Noon-7:00pm. The event will benefit the Jamesburg Community Schoolhouse.
Online Tickets are now available:
Jamesburg Bluegrass Festival Tickets 2024 (zeffy.com)
Adult Tickets are $25.00. Children 12 & Under are free. The Noon-7:00pm gathering will take place at the former school, 40379 Tassajara Road in Carmel Valley.
The line-up: Eric Burman & The Brookdale Bluegrass Band, The Courthouse Ramblers, Brianna Colliard, Willow Street, and The Gilroy Drifters. Bring a bluegrass festival chair or blanket to this charming outdoor mountain event in the highlands above Carmel Valley. Food & drink will be available.
Jamesburg Schoolhouse Information
WinterWonderGrass Tahoe Festival Cancelled For 2025
The WinterWonderGrass Tahoe Festival, originally set for April 4-6, 2025 at Palisades Tahoe, has been cancelled.
The annual ski and music gathering featuring The Infamous Stringdusters may return in 2026 after a year of “review and reorganization.” The event, which began in 2015, faced rising costs at the Lake Tahoe area location.
The original WinterWonderGrass in Steamboat, CO is not affected by the California cancellation and will continue as planned February 28–March 2, 2025.
