The Northern California Bluegrass Society has long been the nation’s most active and effective regional bluegrass organization. This past year has been the most successful in the Society’s 28 years.
Your support — and the hard work of the many NCBS volunteers and partners — have made it possible to bring a year-long festival ”season” to the San Francisco Bay Area and the Monterey Bay Area, plus numerous concerts, workshops, parties, and jams. There is more bluegrass in the Society’s service area than in most places around the country — including the music’s Southern home territory.
This year, the number of NCBS festivals rose to 7 for the first time, and plans are in place to repeat that number in the coming year. The line-up: JANUARY: Bluegrass On Broadway, Redwood City. FEBRUARY: San Francisco Bluegrass & Old Time Festival. MARCH: Boulder Creek Bluegrass & Old Timey Festival. MAY: Santa Cruz Bluegrass Fair. AUGUST: Good Old Fashioned Bluegrass Festival, Tres Pinos. SEPTEMBER: Jake’s Brown Barn Bluegrass Festival, San Martin. DECEMBER: Boulder Creek Bluegrass & Old Timey Festival.
Other Society events include the Johnson Farm Pickin’ Party, the NCBS Volunteer Party, the Aromas Community Grange concert series, the Redwood Bluegrass Associates concert series, and other concerts presented by the San Francisco Jazz Festival, Yoshi’s, The Mountain Winery, Senzala, the Juana Briones PTA, and San Jose’s VooDoo Lounge.
NCBS sponsors and promotes regular jams in Santa Cruz, San Francisco, Palo Alto, and Dublin.
The NCBS Website (the world’s oldest bluegrass website), has complete information about the Society’s activities, with new news every day. In addition, two other newsfeeds update both California and national bluegrass news. The NCBS web calendar lists all area bluegrass music events. The website also hosts the National Stolen & Missing Bluegrass Instrument Information Page. Traffic on the website has doubled in each in each of the past two years.
The NCBS Bluegrass Information Booth visits approximately 25-30 festivals and concerts each year (about every two weeks) to make available a complete set of fliers about all upcoming bluegrass events throughout California to help fans plan future outings. The service assists all other area bluegrass promoters in publicizing their events.
The NCBS print magazine Bluegrass By The Bay was the first bluegrass organization publication to be offered both by mail and by PDF electronic delivery. The monthly publication summarizes the information provided in greater detail on the NCBS website and provides information about the Society’s upcoming activities for those who lack computer access.
The NCBS Facebook Page has updated information about the Society’s activities.
During the past year, the NCBS Consulting Service for bluegrass promoters and bands assisted in the creation of one new festival, the survival of three other festivals, the creation of a new concert series, and suggestions for many other events over the past year. The service assisted many touring bands and area bands in planning performances in our area. The NCBS service also assisted many couples in booking bluegrass music for their weddings, and assisted individuals and businesses in finding bluegrass bands for parties and other events.
The NCBS Film Festival (part of the BOB), founded in 2008, was copied in four other cities during 2010. The NCBS festival is still unique in screening both historic films from the International Bluegrass Music Museum Oral History Project and new independent documentary films. In 2010, all three independent filmmakers with films on the program attended in person and answered questions from the audience.
The Northern California Bluegrass Awards, three years old, honored Northern California bluegrass bands and musicians in a ceremony during Bluegrass On Broadway. Some key early leaders of the Santa Cruz Bluegrass Society were honored for their contributions to the bluegrass community.
NCBS members served on national committees during the past year. One member consulted on the revision of an IBMA documentary film and arranged for onscreen roles for Northern California musicians. NCBS members will be speakers, performers, and organizers at the international bluegrass convention in Nashville again this year.
NCBS members have been interviewed on national and local terrestrial and internet broadcasts about bluegrass in Northern California and on the West Coast, and have been featured in local and national bluegrass print publications.
As we conclude our most successful year, we look forward to next year.
Thanks for your support!
– Michael Hall, NCBS President
