This Week’s Bluegrass Highlights For Northern California

Spencer & Rains

Due to software upgrade work on the NCBS website several weeks ago, there was no monthly highlights article for September. Other coverage of suggested bluegrass events is being published during the month.

Here are some selected shows coming up for the week of September 19-24. Enjoy!

SEPTEMBER 19-24

MONDAY

Windy Hill, Amnesia, San Francisco.

Bean Creek, Phil’s Fish Market, Moss Landing.

TUESDAY

Cabin Fever, Sam’s BBQ, San Jose.

Spencer & Rains, House Concert, Mountain View.

Glad To Be Here, Phil’s Fish Market, Moss Landing.

Billy D With Fiddlin’ Cal Garland & Brian Fisher, Lorin Rowan, Karen Bradley & Carl Green, Fenix, San Rafael.

Loudon Wainwright III, Freight & Salvage, Berkeley.

WEDNESDAY

Hot October Bluegrass Band, Wendy Burch Steel, Freight & Salvage, Berkeley.

Sam's BBQ

Sidesaddle & Co, Sam’s Co, San Jose.

No Holds Barred, Plough & Stars, San Francisco.

Billy & Sara & Friends, Phil’s Fish Market, Moss Landing.

WEDNESDAY-SUNDAY

Berkeley Old Time Music Convention, various venues, Berkeley

THURSDAY

Heathen Hill, Summit House, Los Gatos. (NCBS welcomed)

Old Belle, Atlas Cafe, San Francisco.

Blue & Lonesome, Willowbrook Ale House, Petaluma.

Iris DeMent, Loudon Wainwright III, Golden State Theatre, Monterey

Iris Dement

Mill Creek Ramblers, Mission Pizza, Fremont.

Stoney Mountain Ramblers, Alice’s Restaurant, Sky Londa.

THURSDAY-SUNDAY

Lost Sierra Hoedown, Plumas Eureka State Park, Graeagle.

FRIDAY

SCGC Love Your Local Artist Night, Kuumbwa Jazz Center, Santa Cruz. (Sold out)

Black Eyed Susies, Whale City Bakery, Davenport.

The True West, lille aeske, Boulder Creek.

Jeanie & Chuck Poling, The Wronglers, Tonya Newstetter & Niki Savage, Maurice Tani & Mike Anderson, Free Range Friday, La Promenade Cafe, San Francisco.

The Shook Twins

The Shook Twins, Go By Ocean, Sweetwater Music Hall, Mill Valley.

The Usual Suspects, The Fireside Lounge, Alameda.

Mill Creek Ramblers, Mission Pizza, Fremont.

Iris DeMent, Loudon Wainwright III, Uptown Theatre, Napa.

Sweet Lillies, Crazy Horse Saloon, Nevada City.

Edgewood Mountain Boys, St. James Gate, Belmont.

Columbia Fiddle & Bango Contest

FRIDAY-SUNDAY

Unity Festival, Russian River, Guerneville.

SATURDAY

Santa Cruz Guitar Company 40th Anniversary Concert, Rio Theatre, Santa Cruz.

Sutter Creek Theatre

Columbia Fiddle & Bango Contest, Columbia

Beargrass Creek, Mission Pizza, Fremont.

Joe Craven & The Sometimers, Sutter Creek Theatre, Sutter Creek.

Sugar By The Pound, Junction Park, Boulder Creek.

The Jones Gang, Zion Lutheran Church, Oakland.

Dusty Shoes, Station Grill, Grover Beach.

Dolly Parton, Shoreline Amphitheatre, Mountain View.

Information About The NCBS Volunteer Party Will Be Announced Soon

The NCBS Volunteer Party!
A Volunteer Party Jam

The Northern California Bluegrass Society loves its volunteers!

Each year, the Society hosts the Bluegrass Party Of The Year to honor the folks that step up all year long to Make The Music Happen!

Information about the 2016 party will be announced very soon and all volunteers will receive their coveted invitations.

The party is for all Society volunteers and bands on any NCBS event or project in the past year.

Three Week Reminder: Nominations For The 2017 Northern California Bluegrass Awards Are Due October 8

Three Week Reminder: Nominations for the 2017 Northern California Bluegrass Awards are due on October 8, 2016.

Categories: Band, Male Vocalist, Female Vocalist, Guitar, Mandolin, Banjo, Fiddle, Dobro, & Bass. The awards honor primarily non-touring Northern California bluegrass bands and musicians. Each person may nominate up to three in each category.

Paper nominations are accepted at the NCBS Booth at events or nominations may be made by E-Mail.

Two rounds of ballots will be sent to NCBS Members and the award ceremony will be held as part of the FREE NCBS Bluegrass On Broadway Festival in Redwood City on January 27-29, 2017.

Summit House Thursday Bluegrass Continues In September High In The Santa Cruz Mountains

The FREE Summit House Thursday Bluegrass Series continues in September with great views of the Santa Cruz Mountains. The weekly series runs every Thursday evening from 6:00pm to 8:30pm at the Summit House Beer Garden & Grill at the top of Highway 17 between Los Gatos & Scott’s Valley.

The series is presented by the Summit House and welcomed by the Northern California Bluegrass Society. Good food and drink are served during the performance.

SEPTEMBER

15 — Kitchen Help

22 — Heathen Hill

29 — Hidden Still

Robert Cornelius books this series that launched in January of this year and has made the Summit House a gem of a bluegrass venue. Check it out this month if you haven’t been by to enjoy this free event. Enjoy the endless view while you are there!

Donate To The NCBS Walker Creek Music Camp Scholarship Fund In Time To Assist Fall Students

At the Walker Creek Camp.

You are invited to make a donation to the Northern California Bluegrass Society Walker Creek Music Camp Scholarship Fund for student scholarships at the Fall Camp, set for October 6-9, 2016 near Petaluma.

Donations can be sent to:

Northern California Bluegrass Society/Santa Cruz Bluegrass Society
PO Box 390846
Mountain View, CA 94039-0846
Attn: NCBS Walker Creek Music Camp Scholarship Fund

The Northern California Bluegrass Society, a 501(c)(3) charitable organization aka the Santa Cruz Bluegrass Society, accepts donations and disburses scholarships. Donations to the fund, run by a NCBS committee, are tax-deductible as allowed by law. Donors should consult their tax advisors. The Federal Tax ID No. is 94-2907716.

Donors who do not need a tax deduction may donate money directly to the camp. Information: Walker Creek Music Camp,

Ingrid Noyes runs the camp, which is held each spring and fall. The camp is open to adults and children.

Rhiannon Giddens Named 2016 Steve Martin Banjo Prize Winner

Rhiannon Giddens

Rhiannon Giddens has been named the winner of the 2016 Steve Martin Banjo Prize, the first person who is not a white male to be so honored.

She is best known to bluegrass & old-time music fans as the former lead performer in The Carolina Chocolate Drops, and to folk music fans from her appearance in the film “Inside Llewyn Davis.”

Giddens continues to tour internationally as an individual performer and has just been added (as a singing social worker) to the cast of the television drama “Nashville.”

She performed several years ago as part of the Northern California Bluegrass Society’s San Francisco Bluegrass & Old Time Festival. She reunited with the CCD for several Bay Area shows earlier this year.

The prize, now in its sixth year, comes with a $50,000 cash award.

This Week’s Highlights In Northern California Bluegrass & Beyond

Euphonia

Due to software upgrade work on the NCBS website several weeks ago, there was no monthly highlights article for September. Other coverage of suggested bluegrass events is being published during the month.

Here are some selected shows coming up during Bill Monroe’s birthday week. Enjoy!

SEPTEMBER 12-18

MONDAY

The Bow Ties, Amnesia, San Francisco.

Courthouse Ramblers, Phil’s Fish Market, Moss Landing.

TUESDAY, Bill Monroe’s 105th Birthday

Bill Monroe Birthday Tribute With Laurie Lewis & The Right Hands (Brandon Godman, Tom Rozum, Patrick Sauber & Max Schwartz), Butch Waller, The T Sisters, Yoseff Tucker,  & Luke Forrest, Freight & Salvage, Berkeley.

Edgewood Mountain Boys

Carolina Special, Sam’s BBQ, San Jose.

Edgewood Mountain Boys, Freewheel Brewing Company, Redwood City.

Abbott Family Band, Phil’s Fish Market, Moss Landing.

WEDNESDAY

Sara Watkins, The Chapel, San Francisco.

Mr. Banjo & The Lonesome Wailers, Phil’s Fish Market, Moss Landing.

Dark Hollow, Sam’s BBQ, San Jose.

The East Pointers, Don Quixote’s, Felton.

Sara Rodenburg, Bazaar Cafe, San Francisco.

THURSDAY

Mill Creek Ramblers, Mission Pizza, Fremont.

Blue & Lonesome, Willowbrook Ale House, Petaluma.

Thompsonia, Contemporary Jewish Museum, San Francisco.

Avett Brothers, Weill Hall & Lawn, Sonoma State University, Rohnert Park.

Glenn Houston

FRIDAY

Glenn Houston, Live Facebook Webcast (Noon) from Mighty Fine Guitars, Lafayette.

Edgewood Mountain Boys, Plough & Stars, San Francisco.

Mill Creek Ramblers, Mission Pizza, Fremont.

Dirty Cello, Armando’s, Martinez.

Nitty Gritty Dirt Band, Weill Hall & Lawn, Sonoma State University, Rohnert Park.

Jim & Louise Mintun, Lulu Carpenter’s, Santa Cruz.

Ray Bierl & Steve Baughman, The Back Room, Berkeley.

Thompsonia, House Concert, Palo Alto.

Veterans Memorial Square, Clovis

Two For The Road, Bluegrass In The Park, Veteran’s Memorial Square, Clovis.

FRIDAY-SUNDAY

American River Music Festival

Millpond Music Festival, Millpond County Park, Bishop.

Pickin’ In The Pines, Fort Tuthill County Park, Flagstaff, AZ.

FRIDAY-MONDAY

American River Music Festival, various venues, Coloma.

SATURDAY

Jimbo Trout & The Fishpeople, Cove Cafe, Angel Island State Park.

Bernal Hillbilies & Friends, Bare Bottle Brewing Co., San Francisco.

Montara Mountain Boys, San Gregorio General Store, San Gregorio.

Grateful Bluegrass Boys, Shakedown Festival, UC Theatre, Berkeley.

Euphonia, Castro Valley Performing Arts Center, Castro Valley.

Fiddlers’ Jam, Fiddletown Community Center, Fiddletown.

27strings, Patio Near Cafe La Tartine, Redwood City.

Footprint, Mission Pizza, Fremont.

Riverdale Ramblers, Lulu Carpenter’s, Santa Cruz.

Kevin Russell & Friends, Murphy’s Irish Pub, Sonoma.

SUNDAY

Jimbo Trout The Fishpeople, The Sand Dollar Restaurant, Stinson Beach.

Maverick — A Bluegrass Duo, Winter’s Tavern, Pacifica.

Hillbilly Hootenanny, Armando’s, Martinez.

Matt Flinner Trio With Blaine Sprouse, House Concert, Santa Cruz.

Julian Lions Bluegrass Festival, Frank Lane Park, Julian.

San Francisco’s Golden Gate Park To Host Two Bluegrass Events On Saturday, September 10

Bluegrass Pickin' Picnic

Golden Gate Park in San Francisco will host two bluegrass events on September 10, one hosted by the CBA and the other by The Handsome Ladies. You can attend both over the course of the afternoon.

SATURDAY, September 10

Bluegrass & Baseball

1:00-3:00pm — The Handsome Ladies, Graham Athletic Field, Golden Gate Park, San Francisco. Simple: Play baseball, pick bluegrass, eat.

Bluegrass Pickin’ Picnic

Noon-6:00pm — California Bluegrass Association, Dahlia Picnic Area, Golden Gate Park, San Francisco. Even Simpler: Pick bluegrass, eat.