The 16th annual Good Old Fashioned Bluegrass Festival will be held Friday-Sunday, August 7-9, 2009 at Bolado Park, on Highway 25, 7 miles south of Hollister. The festival is a benefit for the Northern California  Bluegrass Society and is the closest 3-day weekend camping festival to most bluegrass fans in the SF Bay Area and the Monterey Bay Area.

This year, a new stage — the “First Stage” — will open the proceedings two hours earlier than in past years, at 1:00pm on Friday. The Main Stage will begin, as usual, at 3:00pm that day.

The GOF is small, fun, relaxed and easy. Jamming rules the evenings and much of each day. The First and Main stage performers  are booked in advance, but the popular ‘Tweener stage alternates with the main stage, offering other musicians at the festival an opportunity to play approximately three songs before the full audience.

The event has some nice amenities: shade over the audience area, a low-power FM broadcast of the stage to the camp, food and craft vendors, information about other festivals and bluegrass organizations, children’s activities, shady camping for tenters, plenty of close-in parking for RVs, plenty of RV hook-ups, lots of flushy restrooms, showers, workshops, a Kids On Stage program, and sweeping views of hillside vineyards, pastures, and craggy peaks.

The band Tenbrooks broke up in May and has been replaced by the popular Harmon’s Peak band on the Main Stage. The rest of the line-up of Main Stage acts: 49 Special, Alhambra Valley Band, Barefoot Nellies, Bean Creek, Belle Monroe & Her Brewglass Boys, Circle R Boys, Common Cents, Dalton Mountain Gang, Dark Hollow, Earthquake Country, Faux Renwah, Houston Jones, Jimmy Chickenpants, Kids On Stage, Kitchen Help, Mountain Drive, Nell Robinson & Red Level, Old Soles, OMGG, Page Brownton & Sidetrack, Smiley Mountain Band, Stoney Mountain Ramblers, Wintons, Wronglers, and Special Guest Yodeling Lady Lolita.

The new First Stage is a theme stage. In 2009, the theme will be “Women Performers” and the preliminary line-up looks great! Our stage hosts, Chickwagon from San Francisco, will open the show. Also on the bill: Regina Bartlett, Pam Brandon, Jessica Evans, Diana Greenberg, Jennifer Kitchen, The Pixie Chicks, Jeanie Poling, Nell Robinson, Manton Elementary School Bluegrass Band members Madison and Mariah Skillman, and The Velotones, with many more to be added on the two-hour bill. Chuck Poling (an honorable man and honorary woman) will emcee the inaugural program. PERFORMER INVITATIONS: There is time for about 15 performing acts altogether, so applications will be accepted until July 9, 2009. E-mail (Barbara Corff ) chickwagon (at) gmail (dot) comof Chickwagon to apply.

Thursday evening camping (after noon) is available for a modest added fee. Otherwise gates will open at 8:00am on Friday. NCBS elections will be held on Saturday and nominations will open for the 2010 Northern California Bluegrass Awards. It will be a fun weekend! Advance tickets offer discounts through July 25. Tickets are available on this website or can be purchased by mail using the form in the GOF ad in Bluegrass By The Bay magazine.

Posted Jul 2nd, 2009 by Michael Hall in GOF |