Fans of quality Californian Bluegrass music kicked up their
heels at Bolado Park over the as the Northern California Bluegrass
Society put on its 14th annual Good-Old-Fashioned Bluegrass
Festival.
Fans of quality Californian Bluegrass music kicked up their heels at Bolado Park over the as the Northern California Bluegrass Society put on its 14th annual Good-Old-Fashioned Bluegrass Festival.
Dozens of bands, food and arts and crafts booths – and plenty of opportunities for musicians of any level – made this weekend-long festival something special.
“This event is fun, small and low key without any lines for anything,” said Mike Hall, the group’s president.
The event is also 100 percent Californian with every one of the dozens of bands coming from the Golden State, and it has a heavy emphasis on people feeling comfortable about playing music.
“The best thing about bluegrass is that it is participatory,” said Brenda Hough, secretary of organization’s board of directors.
“You won’t normally find professional musicians jamming until 3 in the morning with amateurs, but it happens all the time here.”
This was certainly true as on both Friday and Saturday nights, when dozens of camp sites came alive with anywhere from one to 30 people playing and enjoying one another’s company.
Hough went on to say if performers don’t know the chords, other musicians tell them. And if that doesn’t work?
“You can just stomp your feet,” he said.
Hall emphasized that everyone was made to feel like they were part of the musical experience and explained: “Bluegrass and jazz are the only really American styles of music. Everything else came from somewhere else.
“But with Jazz it’s hard for amateurs to keep with pros. Bluegrass is beautiful Americana that everyone can play.”
Eric Burman, the director and event founder, said it all began when his mother was ill and told him to take his eventual inheritance and throw a huge party.
“I told her I would throw a party that would never end,” recalled Burman. “Here we are, 14 years later.”
Burman pointed out that between each main act, there’s “tweener stage time” where all groups are welcome to come up and play for 20 minutes.
These tweener acts varied in levels of experience, some sounding like they’d have been comfortable headlining, while others were clearly on stage together for the first time.
Burman also noted that many larger festivals sent scouts and had booths at the event to watch for up-and-coming talent.
And for those looking to perhaps get noticed down the line, the festival also has a children’s program in which youngsters were taught how to play bluegrass and to act as a band. At the end of the weekend, the kids performed on the tweener stage, receiving a standing ovation and exuberant applause.
There were many other workshops for musicians throughout the weekend as well. Ranging from basic banjo, to advanced fiddling, to making a mandolin, these well-attended sessions in the shade of Bolado’s oaks broke up the musical acts.
One exciting band that played the festival was Houston Jones, which has taken the California Bluegrass scene by storm, Burman said.
The fast-paced acoustics of the four members from the Bay Area had the crowd on their feet dancing and appreciating the blend of folk, gospel and bluegrass.
Common Cents, a new band with members from all over Northern California, played a lot of legendary Bill Monroe tunes that brought back the roots of Bluegrass music to the audience’s delight.
About one-third of the bands each year are new, Burman said.
“We appreciate the hospitality Hollister showed us this year,” said Burman, adding that he hopes to see more locals out experiencing the music and perfect weather.
“You just have to be here in the evening when the stage acts are done,” he said. “Everyone takes out their instruments, and we have just a magical musical night.”
Burman went on to note that one of the nicest things about San Benito County is that musicians can jam until 3 in the morning “without their fingers getting too cold to play.”
