The summer fun in San Benito County continues as a weekend of music draws near. The 22nd Annual Good Old Fashioned Bluegrass Festival will kick off on Thursday, Aug. 6 at Bolado Park in Tres Pinos, and run through Sunday, Aug. 9.
“About 1,000 people will be there,” said Michael Hall, past president of the Northern California Bluegrass Society. “It’s a very low key, relaxed fun type of event.”
By comparison, the upcoming Hardly Strictly Bluegass Festival in San Francisco is expected to have 750,000 over its three-day run. But the smaller, local event gives a chance for fans to meet artists in a cozier setting.
“The entire festival involves lots of socializing with friends and musicians,” said Hall. “We will have 50 bands on stage in three days. They come for the weekend and play their one set, and rest of the weekend, they wander around and play informal music together.”
The artist jams with each other and musically-inclined fans begins on Thursday, with stage performances set to begin on Friday. Bluegrass fans will have ample opportunity to hear their favorite music, whether it be on stage, or through jams that take place “in the shade and next to RVs” as Hall put it. “It’s very relaxed and people play a lot of music away from the stages.”
The event gates open at noon on Thursday. Early birds will set up camp and then begin jamming and socializing. Every day from then on will include jamming through the day and well into the night.
The stage performances are set to begin Friday at noon, when the first stage will kick off for three hours with three bands. The main stage’s performances will begin at 3 p.m. that afternoon. Hall explained that the main stage will typically have bands play for 45 minutes, and then a second stage will feature bands playing for the following 15 minutes between the next main stage artist.
For those unfamiliar with bluegrass music, Hall noted the open and social nature of the festival reflects the spirit of the bluegrass genre. With roots in rural Southeastern United States where musicians would gather to entertain their families and neighbors, the genre still encourages open participation. “You had a fiddle or guitar and you played your own music. And everybody would dance or sing together,” said Hall of the community history.
Hall said many Bluegrass fans bring their own instruments with the intent of jamming. However, it means non-musicians will be able to take in the jamming just about anywhere they go within the festival. “There’s less of a barrier between the performers and the audience,” he said.
Children are encouraged not only to attend, but to join in the musical performance. Hall said not only will youth be able to jam with performers, but there will be a Kids on Stage portion of the event. Here, anyone under the age of 18 will have a chance to work with staff to learn and rehearse for a Sunday afternoon performance.
“Some children in this program have done well,” said Hall. He noted AJ Lee and Helen Foley as two rising youth stars who will be part of the faculty at the event.
Regarding Bolado Park as a venue, Hall said, “It’s an absolutely beautiful facility in the valley between the jagged mountain rocks and the rolling vineyard hills, a lovely San Benito landscape.” He added, “The size and informality and local character of the music give an emphasis on jamming rather than exclusively stage performances.”
The performers at the festival will be California locals, Hall explained. “Ours is an effort to support California based bluegrass musicians,” he said. “Most of these people have day jobs and they play a lot on weekends in their local area.” The advantage to having local musicians, Hall said, was that fans will be more easily able to follow the careers of performers they meet at the festival.
For more information about the festival, click here.
For a general overview of the festival, check out the main page here.