Bluegrass Day at the Del Mar Fair will be held on Saturday, June 29, from 11am to 8pm on the Paddock Stage. This special day of bluegrass is a great way to enjoy the music and also to visit and enjoy the annual San Diego County Fair. Brought to you by the San Diego Bluegrass Society (SDBS), the North County Bluegrass and Folk Club (NCBFC), and supported by the Del
Mar Fair, this year’s event brings the
following:
11–11:50am: Youth Performance. See talented youngsters and their teachers, onstage performing their stuff featuring violins, cellos and more.
11:55am–12:25pm: California State Old Time Fiddlers Association Fiddling Demonstration. Top-notch demonstrations of all aspects of old time fiddling.
12:30–1:15pm: Philly and the Cheesesteaks in concert. This will be the first of seven great bands to perform.
1:20–2:05pm: The Lightnin’ Bugs in concert.
2:10–3:40pm: BAND SCRAMBLE. Open to all levels of players and all ages, we assemble bands at random, give them 15 minutes to meet each other and work up a couple of tunes to perform on stage for prizes.
3:45–4:30 pm: The Full Deck in concert.
4:30–4:40 pm: Announcement of Band Scramble winners.
4:45–5:30pm: Prairie Sky in concert.
5:35–6:20pm: Shoreline Pickers in concert.
6:25–7:10pm: Sunnyside Strings in concert.
7:15–8pm: Front Porch Music Preservation Society in concert.
Hope to see you there!
Thursday Night Pickers Jam Session Update. One of the most popular regular bluegrass jam sessions in San Diego is held every Thursday night in Encinitas at the Round Table Pizza, located at 1321 Encinitas Blvd. The group notes the following updates:
• The sessions will now start at pm instead of 6:3 pm and will end at 8:30pm instead of 9pm.
• Admission will be $6 instead of $5, still including pizza and salad.
• Long time jam leader Jason Weiss is stepping down as leader, but there are plenty to fill in. Thanks, Jason, for many great years!
Pete Seeger Honored on his 100th Birthday. Pete Seeger, who saw it all, from WW II to being blacklisted and sentenced to jail during the paranoia over communism in the1950s, who penned some of America’s greatest music, who steadfastly stood up through his music and activism for the disadvantaged, who fought for clean water and environmental justice, would have been 100 this year. He died in 2014 at the age of 94 but left a legacy that will stand with time.
Pete was honored in a wonderful musical program about his life, presented both in Poway and at the Whistlestop in South Park. The show featured the talents of organizer Shawn Rohlf on guitar and banjo, Gregory Page on guitar, Steve Denyes on guitar, Rosy Dawn Selwitz on vocals, Doug Walker on bass, Jeff Berkely on guitar, Kent Brisby on vocals, Joey Harris (Poway show only), and Lizzie Wann as narrator. The show was audio-visual with music accompanying a slide show about Pete’s life.
There was also a show at the Encinitas library, honoring Pete and Clean Water. That show featured Peter Bolland, Peggy Watson, Jim Hinton, and many others.
Pete Seeger’s influence will live on in our music. Thanks to the great local performers who reminded us just how influential and important Pete Seeger was to America.