A Great Month of Bluegrass in February with More Good Stuff to Come!

Wow, we’ve had a couple of great months of bluegrass! Here’s a partial run down:

The Great 48 in Bakersfield. Photo by David Cupp.

Stay Tuned at the Poway Library. Photo by Dwight Worden.

Rob Ickes and Trey Hensley in Del Mar. Photo by Bill Morris.

John Reischman and the Jaybirds. Photo by David Cupp.

Gone Tomorrow at the Del Mar Library. Photo by David Cupp.

Great 48 in Bakersfield. From January 15-18, the bluegrass tribe from northern and southern California, including San Diego, and east from Arizona and beyond gathered in Bakersfield to celebrate the Great 48. There were concerts, workshops, and jamming galore.

Stay Tuned at the Poway library. On Saturday January 31, the local group, Stay Tuned, put on an outstanding free show at the Poway Library, sponsored by SDBS and the library.

Rob Ickes and Trey Henley in Del Mar. On February 6 Rob Ickes and Trey Hensley took the bluegrass community by storm at a concert in the Del Mar Town Hall produced by the Del Mar Foundation. Rob Ickes on dobro is the most awarded artist in the history of the International Bluegrass Music Association (IBMA), while Trey Hensley is the two-time Guitar Player of the Year and one of the finest singers in bluegrass.

John Resichman and the Jaybirds. The very next day, February 7, the San Diego Bluegrass Society (SDBS) presented John Reischman and the Jaybirds in concert in La Jolla. This great group hails from Canada. With an opening by local super group, Muddy Mountain, the concert was a huge success…

Gone Tomorrow at the Del Mar Library. On February 10, Gone Tomorrow—in its new configuration—put on a free show at the Del Mar Library, sponsored by SDBS and the library. The house was packed and the music was stellar!

Within the span of a month, you could have attended four great concerts. How is it that San Diego has so much bluegrass? Is it just luck? Nope. Here are some of the reasons:

• Nonprofit Support. We have three nonprofit organizations working hard to book these great events: The San Diego Bluegrass Society (SDBS), the North San Diego County Bluegrass and Folk Club (NCBFC), and San Diego Folk Heritage. We have these great nonprofits to thank, not luck.
• Great Location to Perform. These great performers like to come to San Diego when the rest of the country is cold and frozen. Often, they can book more than one concert in our area to justify a trip.
• Strong Bluegrass Community. San Diego has a strong bluegrass community, including many good folks who will buy tickets or make donations to support these concerts and who will show up and volunteer to help put on these concerts.

We have some great venues to perform in. The Del Mar Town Hall is an outstanding venue, acoustically designed for great music. We can also thank our local churches for featuring bluegrass as well as the various libraries putting on these concerts.

Dwight Worden, who has been writing a bluegrass column for the Troubadour since its beginning, plays guitar, fiddle, mandolin, and bass and is active in several bluegrass bands. He is a board member of the San Diego Bluegrass Society, a prior board member of the International Bluegrass Music Association, a recovering lawyer, a Del Mar council member for 10 years, and mayor of the City of Del Mar for two years.