Public Radio Station With Bluegrass Expanding To New Home

San Francisco Public Radio Station KALW, which has bluegrass and related music programming on Saturdays, is expanding into new studios on Market Street as the anchor tenant in an arts center building.

The station will occupy two floors at 988 Market Street in The Warfield Building, an historic century-old office tower that is part of the Warfield Theater complex. The nine-story building will be devoted to various arts and independent media organizations.

KALW has been broadcasting since 1941. Peter Thompson’s “Bluegrass Signal” bluegrass program runs 6:00-7:00pm every Saturday amidst other folk and Americana music shows. The station is at 91.7FM and online at KALW.org.

The move will take place this fall. The station will be a minority owner of the building as part of the real estate deal that closed on Friday February 7. The Community Arts Stabilization Trust is the majority owner. The most recent use of the structure was hosting tech companies, and the building was considered a candidate for office to housing conversion but will now be a safe haven for the City’s arts and media non-profits in a changing economy.

The building will be renamed The Warfield Commons.

The Warfield Building, now The Warfield Commons.

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

Leigh Hill — Friend, Teacher, Bluegrass Radio Host & NCBS President

Leigh Hill, formerly of Felton, a teacher, bluegrass radio host, and a past Santa Cruz Bluegrass Society Board Member & Past President, died on January 20 from the complications of a stroke. He was 75 years old.

Hill was a longtime NCBS/SCBS member and served for several years on the Santa Cruz Bluegrass Society board. He was president in 1990-1991 during a pivotal era of transition in Society leadership and organization. He attended many festivals and concerts and emceed the Santa Cruz Bluegrass Fair at the Duck Pond Stage in San Lorenzo Park for several decades. He also emceed at the Good Old Fashioned Bluegrass Festival during its early years. He was a beloved friend to many in the area bluegrass community.

He was born in Ithaca, NY, grew up in Palo Alto, and was a UC Santa Cruz graduate who taught for many years in Santa Cruz and Monterey area schools. After retirement, he joined other members of his family in Eugene, Oregon.

He was introduced to bluegrass music when he sought to do a folk music show on KUSP community radio in Santa Cruz but was told that the new station needed someone to do a bluegrass music show instead.

To prepare for the program, he carefully researched the early pioneers of bluegrass and thus launched both his love of bluegrass and his new radio show together in 1972. He continued his “Down On The Pataphysical Farm” program until the station closed down in 2016. He then helped launch the new community station KSQD where he continued to do his bluegrass show for several more years.

Leigh Mattsson Hill is survived by his siblings.

Leigh Hill

 

 

 

 

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.