Old Belle is a San Francisco-based group that creates original acoustic music full of harmony and groove. They feature strong female harmonies, and draw from influences diverse as old bluegrass and country greats Doc Watson and Hank Williams to contemporary acts Della Mae and Eli Morrison and Cahalen West. Combined with childhoods spent listening to 90s country and a serious love of a sing-along chorus, Old Belle is a treat for fans of fresh, original acoustic tunes. Their deep love of music, fun, and a well-tailored Texas tuxedo makes them outgoing and entertaining performers.

When you want genuine music - music that will come right home to you like a bad quarter, suffuse your system like strychnine whiskey, go right through you like Brandreth's pills, ramify your whole constitution like the measles, and break out on your hide like the pinfeather pimples on a picked goose - when you want all this, just smash your piano, and invoke the glory-beaming banjo! ----- Mark Twain

Guitarist Eric Antrim joined the Snap Jackson & the Knock on Wood Players in 2010. Previously he was a member of a Sonoma County band, the New Stumptown Rounders. Besides playing music, Eric enjoys rock hounding, gardening, and working with his girlfriend, Hannah, on her family’s farm. In 2014 Eric received an endorsement deal with Bourgeois Guitars.

He is 23, but he is a seasoned musician with twenty years of playing under his belt. Multi-instrumentalist Scott Gates music fascination began at the tender age of three when he started playing piano. By age seven he was playing the mandolin. He added guitar and singing when he was thirteen. Nobody could stop him. Fortunately, nobody wanted to. As a child he was classically trained, but intrinsically he had a bluegrass soul. This was passionately realized at age eight when he fell in love with bluegrass music after attending his first bluegrass festival.

In addition to music, Scott loves craft beer, painting, cooking, and barbecuing with his darling Safiyyah Outlaw. He also enjoys the ocean, rock climbing with his dog Patrick, and playing ice hockey. He currently resides in LA, where he plays with an eclectic acoustic trio and various bluegrass bands.

The Brookdale Bluegrass Band has had numerous members. The current band of highly skilled, professional musicians is possibly the best Brookdale Bluegrass Band ever assembled. They meet for jams, and for the last three years have perform at various festivals, including Brookdale Bluegrass Festival, GOF, and the Pick and Gather Festival. Each member shines in his or her own way and deliver extremely entertaining shows. Their songs are bluegrass instrumentals and standards, and include popular original songs written by Eric Burman and BanjerDan.

In 2000 Dancin’ John attended 19 music festivals and music shows. After speaking with friends, he discovered that he had attended more events than anyone he knew. In 2001 he decided to make a deliberate effort to attend as many music events as possible to see what his record high could be. He attended 120 events---but many festivals and events were cancelled after the September 11 attacks. John decided to try again in 2002 to see how many events he could attend in a full year. His amazing record for 2002 was 162 music festivals and shows. Realizing this was a record not likely to be broken by himself or anyone else, John has (since 2002) attended 40-50 festivals or shows each year. Even at 40-50 per year, we doubt anyone can challenge his record! Dancin’ John, we all THANK YOU for your unwavering loyalty to musicians and to music events.

Grasslands is a popular Southern California bluegrass band made up of five multi-talented music veterans. These best friends enjoy entertaining their audiences and playing music together.

From the stage of the Strawberry Music Festival in California to pubs and concert halls throughout Ireland and Northern Ireland, the acoustic duo of Kathy Barwick & Pete Siegfried delights and enchants audiences with a distinctive blend of bluegrass, old-time country, traditional Irish and folk with an engaging Americana fusion that showcases Pete’s exceptional lead vocals and Kathy’s amazing guitar work and sterling duet harmonies.

The Dim Lights are an exciting Bay Area bluegrass band grounded in traditional bluegrass and anchored by the Frankel Family – daughter Dana, mom Vicki, and dad Avram. Veteran musicians Larry Cohea and Matt Kendall round out the band. Their performances reflect their love of bluegrass and their attention to the tradition.

Multi-instrumentalist and vocalist David Field plays and writes with a deep love of the melodic, enjoying everything from old time fiddle and banjo tunes to bluegrass to show tunes to rock to powerful originals… in short, pretty much the entire folk spectrum.

Field’s son, Adam, got the singing bug in the mid- 90’s by joining his dad on the Strawberry Breakfast Club stage. They have been developing the familial harmonies since then, and wowing audiences with the blend and power of their vocals.

Penny Godlis brings her years of experience playing bluegrass bass and adding a delightful third part harmony vocal and lead female vocals to the mix.

Buzz Brown, who formerly performed with the Wild Oats’n Honey band, and now is part of Murphy’s Flaw in Southern California, adds tasteful mandolin and vocals to the band.

Rogue River's fiddler, Cactus Bob Cole, performs with his family band, Faux Renwah, his partly-family band, Spur of the Moment, and just about anyone else who is fun to hang out with.

The band's name comes from the title track to Field’s debut CD, Rogue River Waltz, which features Dennis English’s virtuoso violin as well as the talents of many GOF veterans like Lisa Burns and Charlie Wallace.