Banjos, guitars and twanging melodies rang through the air at
Bolado Park over the weekend, as the Northern California Bluegrass
Society (NCBS) held its 11th Annual Good Old Fashion Festival.
Banjos, guitars and twanging melodies rang through the air at Bolado Park over the weekend, as the Northern California Bluegrass Society (NCBS) held its 11th Annual Good Old Fashion Festival.
The festival kicked off Friday at 3 p.m. with a group called “Farm Fresh,” quite possibly because they were fresh off the farm. The group of seven, who traveled from El Dorado County for the show, were all between the ages of 15 and 17, but played like bluegrass veterans, according to the festival’s stage manager Michael Hall.
“Ladies and gentlemen, you just listened to the future of bluegrass,” he said.
The first-ever bluegrass festival in the world was held in 1965 because artists were getting older and people wanted one more chance to hear them play before they died, Hall said.
“It’s really great to see the younger crowd getting into bluegrass and keeping it alive,” he said.
Now there are more than 900 festivals throughout the nation, but the NCBS festival is unique compared to the rest.
“All of our groups are from California,” Hall said.
Another unique aspect of the NCBS festival is the tweener’s stage. Anyone who wanted to get up on stage and show off their talent was given a chance to perform on the tweener’s stage between acts.
“You know people who come to bluegrass festivals come to watch, but they also come to play themselves,” Hall said. “A lot of these people will camp out and stay up until two or three in the morning playing music for one another.”
Stewart Evans of Santa Cruz brought his 3-year-old twin sons Maxwell and Griffin to the festival, and they spent the weekend camping and enjoying the tunes.
“They like bluegrass,” he said. “They were really excited about the trip.”
Roughly 30 music groups performed on the main stage throughout the weekend, and there was a special guest appearance by Hollister’s own Yodeling Lady Lolita.
Lolita, who performs all over the state, said she’s never missed this festival. Her unique yodeling sound comes from years of practice, and the fun way of how she learned the skill.
“I learned when I was 10-years-old in Colorado,” she said. “We use to shout over the canyon ‘hey there’ and hear a ‘hey there’ back. When I learned about echoes was when it all began.”
Aside from the music, guests also got to browse art booths and enjoy a variety of food including fresh strawberry cheesecake. Off to the left of the stage was a kid’s area with arts and crafts. Sisters Ariana, 10, and 8-year-old Claire Nolan were making sock puppets Friday, and said they enjoy coming to the festival for many reasons.
“I like the music,” Claire said. “Especially the bass because my grandma has one and sometimes she brings it out and plays.”
Ariana said she enjoys camping out.
“You get to meet lots of new people,” she said.
Christine Tognetti can be reached at 637-5566, ext. 330 or at [email protected].
