Please plan to come on out and join your friends in the Northern California Bluegrass Society for plenty of bluegrass fun, with many great shows and festivals all during the month of May! Here are the highlights — there are many more fine shows listed on the NCBS Calendar, top right column on this website.

MAY

2 — Sidesaddle & Co., Sam’s BBQ, San Jose.

2 — Jeanie & Chuck’s Country Bluegrass Jam, Plough & Stars, San Francisco.

2 — Blue & Lonesome, Le Bateau Ivre, Berkeley.

3 — Steep Canyon Rangers, Mystic Theater, Petaluma.

3-6 — LA Bluegrass Situation, various venues, Los Angeles.

4 — Steep Canyon Rangers, Carrie Rodriguez, Slim’s, San Francisco.

5 — NCBS/SCBS Santa Cruz Bluegrass Fair with Harmony Grits, Abbott Brothers, Bean Creek, Earthquake Country. Noon-5:00pm, Duck Pond Stage, San Lorenzo Park, Santa Cruz. FREE.

5 – The Trespassers, Windy Hill, Faux Renwah, Melody Walker, Great American Music Hall, San Francisco.

5 — Lafayette Community Music Festival, Stevie Coyle and a cast of thousands, Town Hall Theater, Lafayette.

5 — Sherry Austin & Henhouse, Fiddling Cricket Concerts, The Ugly Mug, Soquel.

5 — Windy Hill, Jeanie & Chuck, Music Concourse Bandshell, Golden Gate Park, San Francisco.

5-6 — Ramona Bluegrass & Old West Fest, Ramona Rodeo Grounds, Ramona.

6 — Savannah Blue, The No Name Bar, Sausalito.

10 — 11 — 12 – Barbary Coast and Beyond, San Francisco Symphony with Bill Evans, Scott Nygaard, Jody Stecher, and more, Davies Symphony Hall, San Francisco.

10-13 – Parkfield Bluegrass Festival, various venues, Parkfield.

11 — Riders In The Sky, Yoshi’s, Oakland.

11-12 — Berkeley Old Time Music Convention Spring Situation, various venues, Berkeley.

12 — CBA Pickin’ Picnic, Dahlia Picnic Area, Golden Gate Park, San Francisco.

12 — Harmony Grits, San Gregorio General Store, San Gregorio.

12 — Just Picked String Band, No Bull BBQ Cookoff, Morgan Hill.

12 — Evie Laden & Keith Terry, River Ridge Ranch, Springville.

12-13 — Calico Spring Festival, Calico Ghost Town Regional Park, Yermo.

13 — Kathy Kallick Mother’s Day Concert, Freight & Salvage, Berkeley.

16 –- NCBS Film Festival, Home Of Roger & Rosemary Siminoff, Atascadero. Film Subjects: Kenny Hall, Evo Bluestein, Strawberry, Jamming, Bill Monroe, Youth Bluegrass. Moderator: Michael Hall.

16 — Natural Drift, Latitudes Restaurant, Auburn.

16 – Homefire, Phil’s Fish Market, Moss Landing.

18 — Front Country, Melody Walker & Jacob Groopman, Plough & Stars, San Francisco.

18 — Autumn & The Fall Guys, Mission Pizza, Fremont.

18 — Grass Less Traveled, Bluegrass In The Park, Veteran’s Memorial Square, Clovis.

18 — Peter Feldman & The Very Lonesome Boys, Manny’s Terrace Theater, Solvang.

19 — Jamming For Safe Access Festival, Sonoma Valley Moose Lodge, Sonoma.

19 — The Abbott Brothers, Bean Creek, Laura Jean Anderson & Adam Foley, The Busker’s Showcase, Kuumbwa Jazz Center, Santa Cruz.

19 — Matt Dudman & Native Grass, Central Park, Davis.

19-20 — Gilroy Hot Springs Music Festival, Henry Coe State Park, Gilroy.

20 — Circle R Boys, San Gregorio General Store, San Gregorio.

20 — Peter Rowan, Nina Gerber, Steve Earle, Dave Alvin, Jim Lauderdale and more, Seva Native American Health Benefit, Rio Theater, Santa Cruz.

23 — Johnny Campbell & The Bluegrass Drifters, Damdave & The Hot Dam Band, Don Quixote’s International Music Hall, Felton.

23 –  Noam Pikelny & Friends, Freight & Salvage, Berkeley.

24-28 — Strawberry Spring Music Festival, Camp Mather, Yosemite.

25 — Alison Krauss & Union Station, The Mountain Winery, Saratoga.

25 — Melody Walker & Jacob Groopman, Misner & Smith, Armando’s, Martinez.

25 — Noam Pikelny & Friends, Center For The Arts, Grass Valley.

25-28 — Hicks-Dabney Bluegrass Campout, Bolado Park, Tres Pinos.

25-28 — Natural Drift, Sacramento Music Festival, Old Sacramento State Historic Park, Sacramento.

26 — Bluetail Flies, Silver Spurs, The Crepe Place, Santa Cruz.

28 — Robert Earl Keen, Sherry Austin & Henhouse, The Rio Theater, Santa Cruz.

28 — Peter Rowan, Nina Gerber, Mike Witcher, Paul Knight, Lagunitas Brewing Company, Petaluma.

30 — Dead Winter Carpenters, North Pacific String Band, Moe’s Alley, Santa Cruz.

31 — Blue & Lonesome, Willowbrook Ale House, Petaluma.

31 — Kidfest 2012, City Plaza, Chico. Info: (Sid Lewis) sidlewis420 (at) yahoo (dot) com, Butte Folk Music Society.

31 — The Stairwell Sisters, Yerba Buena Gardens, San Francisco.

The Santa Cruz Bluegrass Fair — the coolest event of the outdoor bluegrass season — will be this Saturday, May 5th. It’s FREE! Come hang out with your friends in the Northern California Bluegrass Society/Santa Cruz Bluegrass Society and enjoy some great music!

The Porchlight Sessions, an in-progress Nashville/Los Angeles bluegrass music documentary by Anna Schwaber set for screening at the 2013 NCBS Film Festival in Redwood City, faces an April 30, 2012 deadline for completion funding on Kickstarter. As of Friday, over $57,000 of the $60,000 goal has been met.

UPDATE: On Saturday morning, the $60,000 goal was met.

Thanks for your support!

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Coming May 16 to Atascadero: A 3-hour repeat version of the January 2012 festival that was held in Redwood City. This FREE event is hosted by Roger & Rosemary Siminoff and moderated by film festival director Michael Hall. Click for Detailed Invitation & RSVP Information.

The Santa Cruz Bluegrass Fair has been held each May since 1987 and is the longest-running event staged  by the Northern California Bluegrass Society/Santa Cruz Bluegrass Society. The 2012 fair will be held on Saturday, May 5 at the Duck Pond Stage in Santa Cruz’s San Lorenzo Park, next to the courthouse.

The music will run from Noon-5:00pm with Bean Creek, Earthquake Country, The Abbott Brothers, and host band, the Harmony Grits.

FREE ADMISSION. Food and a raffle will be available onsite.

Filmmaker Chris Simon’s “I Hear What You See — The Old-Time World Of Kenny Hall” will be screened on May 16 in Atascadero as part of a repeat performance of the 5th annual NCBS International Bluegrass Music Museum Film Festival held earlier this year in Redwood City.

The festival will run 7:00-10:00pm at the home of Roger & Rosemary Siminoff. Film Festival Director Michael Hall will moderate the evening.

Fresno’s Kenny Hall, born blind in 1923, is a mainstay of the California old-time music scene. Despite his far-reaching influence in creating and preserving traditional music, he chose to avoid a career on the national stage in favor of playing music with his friends and enjoying an outdoor lifestyle. He still performs regularly with his Long Haul String Band at area events, including the annual Sweet’s Mill gathering in the California mountains.

Chris Simon is a fourth generation Californian now based in Salt Lake City. She collaborated with documentarian Les Blank for over 15 years creating classic traditional music films before founding her own company Sageland Media in 1995.

Her longtime involvement in the traditional music scene led her to Kenny Hall, and she began this five-year-long film project while living in Fresno.

Simon and her associate Maureen Gosling of Berkeley are currently working on a forthcoming documentary about Chris Strachwitz and Arhoolie Records.

Complete Film Festival Information

Note that an (RSVP) siminoff (at) siminoff (dot) net is necessary to attend this FREE 3-hour version of the festival.