June is a great month for bluegrass music in San Diego. Here are some tasty, top notch opportunities to enjoy bluegrass this month. Bluegrass Day at the Fair, Sunday, June 4, 11 am–8 pm at the Del Mar Fairgrounds on the Paddock Stage. For years the County Fairgrounds, the San Diego Bluegrass Society, and […]
Every year the International Bluegrass Music Association, the “mother ship” of bluegrass music, holds the equivalent of the bluegrass Grammys. All IBMA members are qualified to vote to pick the best of the best. Awards are given in a number of categories, including on each of the bluegrass instruments (fiddle, guitar, bass, banjo, mandolin, and […]
That’s a great question that raises concern among some that the music is changing in a bad way, losing its traditional roots. Amongst others, it generates excitement. Let’s see if we can break down what is, and is not, happening. Traditional Bluegrass. Traditional bluegrass is generally reflective of the founders: Bill Monroe, Flatt and Scruggs, […]
The Grammy for Best Bluegrass Album this year went to Mark O’Connor and the O’Connor Band for its release Coming Home. The O’Connor band beat out contenders Doyle Lawson and Quicksilver, Claire Lynch, Blue Highway, and Laurie Lewis and the Right Hands. Mark O’Connor has a stellar musical history, ranging from being a multi-time fiddle […]
As we enter February, we can be thankful that we live in San Diego on the West Coast. The weather is generally good, and opportunities for bluegrass events abound. In most of the country there is a bluegrass festival season that extends through the summer and ends in the fall to accommodate the harsh weather […]
We had a great bluegrass year in 2016, and here at the Troubadour we are looking forward to even more in 2017. We hope to see you out and enjoying some of the great opportunities here in San Diego to hear live bluegrass music. Here are just a few: FIRST TUESDAY EVERY MONTH: Jam session […]
The dobro, or resonator guitar, has become an important part of the bluegrass arsenal since its original development in the 1920s. On the occurrence of ResoSummit’s 10 year anniversary, let’s take a look at the Summit and the instrument. The leading educational event in the dobro world is ResoSummit, produced by Rob Ickes and the […]
After a venerable, and memorable, run over the last four decades, the Huck Finn Bluegrass Festival has been laid to rest with its 2016 event being its last. Rest in peace. The Huck Finn Jubilee Bluegrass Music Festival was founded by Don Tucker and his family in 1976, although its early genesis began with events […]
Bluegrass music is often thought of as old, but in actuality it is not. Bluegrass as a musical form was created in the 1940s by Bill Monroe and his seminal band. Being from Kentucky, the bluegrass state, Bill called the band “Bill Monroe and his Bluegrass Boys,” and the popularity of this new music soon […]
