You can volunteer at the August 7-10, 2025 Good Old Fashioned Bluegrass Festival! Join your Northern California Bluegrass Society friends as we put on the best festival of the year!
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.
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.
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.
Time For Bluegrass Promoters To Send Flyers For The NCBS Information Booth
The Northern California Bluegrass Society Information Booth carries flyers for all festivals and other events of interest to Northern California bluegrass fans. The booth will provide information throughout the upcoming bluegrass event season.
The first booth outing this year will be on March 8, 2025. Now is the time for promoters and bands to send in flyers for the booth volunteers to hand out. Send to: Michael Hall, 610 Island Place, Redwood City, CA 94065. Flyers will be accepted on an ongoing basis.
We look forward to seeing everyone in a few weeks! Stop by the booth and say hello! We will say hello right back!
NCBS/SCBS Accepts Tax-Advantaged Donations To Support Area Bluegrass
The Northern California Bluegrass Society supports area bluegrass and 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. The NCBS/SCBS Tax ID No. is 94-2907716.
Mail-In Donations: NCBS/SCBS, PO Box 390846, Mountain View, CA 94039-0846.
Join The NCBS Today!
Your membership in the Northern California Bluegrass Society supports local bluegrass music in the San Francisco Bay Area, the Monterey Bay Area, and in all of Northern California. Join today!
NCBS Good Old Fashioned Bluegrass Festival Number 31 Set For August 7-10 In Tres Pinos
The Good Old Fashioned Bluegrass Festival will be held Thursday-Sunday August 7-10 at the San Benito County Historical Park in Tres Pinos. The 31st festival is a benefit for the Northern California Bluegrass Society.
You Can Lead A Workshop At The Good Old Fashioned Bluegrass Festival!
You can lead a workshop at the GOF festival this summer!
The Workshop Teacher Application for the August 7-10 Good Old Fashioned Bluegrass Festival is available on this website. The workshops will be held on Friday & Saturday, August 8 & 9. Applications are due on March 30, 2025.
NCBS Stolen & Missing Instrument Page Is On This Website
The NCBS National Bluegrass Stolen & Missing Instrument Page is on this website. It provides a central reporting location for the recovery of stolen or lost bluegrass instruments. This service is for both theft victims and used instrument buyers. The FREE page is searchable, and links can be added to connect additional information about the instrument. Please post again when the instrument is recovered.