Ben Greenberg & Crucial Country

David Thiessen: Mandolin - Vocals
Peter Domenici: Banjo
Ben Greenberg: Guitar - Lead Vocals
Jesse Fichman: Bass - Vocals
Jan Purat: Fiddle

Guest Musicians:

AJ Lee: Vocals
(AJ Lee & Blue Summit)

Dana Frankel: Fiddle

Bloomfield Bluegrass Band

Jim Burke: Guitar - Vocals
Marc Francis: Bass
Patrick Campbell: Fiddle
David Thiessen: Mandolin - Vocals
Christine Wilhoyte: Banjo - Vocals

Bloomfield Bluegrass Band

Bloomfield is the finest bluegrass town nobody has heard of. In the late 1880s it was the pride of far southwest Sonoma County. But then, the railroad passed it by, the river silted in, the shops closed, and Bloomfield traveled down that long lonesome road. Someone should write a song! But every now and then the dogs bark and ranchers perk up their ears: Is that bluegrass we hear? Yep, the Bloomfield Bluegrass Band (BBB) is back in the saddle, cranking out tunes in the little old cabin up on the hill.

While the all-Sonoma County band has played together only since mid-2017, its members have been active in the northern California bluegrass scene for years. Christine Wilhoyte has been surrounded by bluegrass all her life – so far; like her dad, Mike, she knows her way around a guitar, but it’s her rock solid banjo playing and high lonesome tenor harmonies that help drive the BBB.

In the mid-2000s, mandolinist David Thiessen formed The Mighty Chiplings, an energetic bluegrass group of eleven-year-olds in Sebastopol. David also plays in the Pacific Drive Band and fills in with the legendary Ed Neff Band now and then. His mandolin solos are clean, clear, and forceful, and his baritone harmonies spot-on.

Find bluegrass, find Jim Burke. Jim brings to BBB an astounding repertoire of bluegrass tunes, soulful lead singing, and some mighty fine guitar picking. Inspired by Doc Watson recordings in his mom’s folk music collection, Jim went on to play with Moonshiners in Sonoma County and the Shit Howdy Boys in Davis…. and to wear the fingers off any jammer who shows up.

Perhaps it was his upbringing in Stockton – home of Vern Williams – that eventually called Marc Francis to bluegrass. After 20 years of holding down the beat at his country rock band, Stony Point, Marc soon learned to play the bass vertically and sing some great country classics.

Patrick Campbell’s bluegrass guitar career climaxed at a high school talent show in the mid-1960s; he would like to forget his band’s rendition of That Good Old Mountain Dew. A few weeks later he learned to rosin-up a bow, went on to play viola professionally in several Bay Area symphony orchestras, and then call it quits for 25 years. But six years ago, he came back to his bluegrass roots. You could say he traded Bach for Baker: Kenny, that is.

Wendy Burch Steel & Redwood

Glenn Dauphin: Guitar - Vocals
Allegra Thompson: Bass - Vocals
Wendy Burch Steel: Vocals - Songwriter
Butch Waller: Mandolin - Vocals

A unique cross-section of genres incorporating all the good and sweet aspects of folk, old-time, country, bluegrass, and blues.

Dark Hollow

Mark Wardenburg: Fiddle - Vocals
Larry Cohea: Banjo - Vocals
Jon McNeill: Mandolin -Vocals

Jennifer Kitchen: Bass - Vocals
Jennifer Kitchen: Country music radio show on KFJC.org, 89.7 FM
Airs each Monday 10:00 AM to 2:00 PM

John Kornhauser: Guitar - Vocals
John Kornhauser: Blues music radio show on KFJC.org, 89.7 FM
Airs each Tuesday 10:00 AM to 2:00 PM

Dark Hollow has been rocking the Northern California bluegrass scene for over ten years with their fun-loving, high-energy shows. The group regularly brings down the house with their own brand of on-fire musicianship.

Led by the powerhouse voice of John Kornhauser, Dark Hollow performs traditional favorites and slam-bang originals with equal gusto. The group's virtuoso musicianship, love of tunes, melodies, harmonies, and driving bluegrass rhythms blend together to make a traditional sound spiced up with a bit of home-grown joie de vivre.

From a cozy bar hidden in a beach neighborhood to a family-friendly barbeque house, from a raucous bluegrass festival stage to the Freight and Salvage concert hall, Dark Hollow has played 'em all and knows how to put on a show.

This group of talented musicians can really make an audience feel the bluegrass spirit!

Bean Creek is a California bluegrass band that pride themselves on song selection and delivery. They search for songs that have been lost or underappreciated and make them their own, while still tapping into the bluegrass tradition of the original vocal rendition. They have carved a niche for themselves among the critical and experienced bluegrass fans as the “real thing”. More suede than patent leather, Bean Creek wants to sing and play as it was done in times past.

Windy Hill

Kyle McCabe: Bass
Ryan Breen: Banjo - Vocals
Andy O'Brien: Mandolin – Vocals
Thomas Wille: Guitar - Vocals

Guest Musician:
Alex Sharps: Fiddle

Formed in 2008 by a couple of high school friends from the Bay Area, Windy Hill has covered a lot of ground in ten years, performing all over the western states. While the band is steeped in the traditional style, they've cultivated their own distinct bluegrass sound. The balance between their love for classic bluegrass and keenness for exploring fresh musical ideas defines their style and approach, and makes them a fan-favorite for music lovers of all types.

Three-part harmony, lonesome duets, banjo breakdowns, honky-tonk sorrow, blues mandolin, and original material combine to create their vision for bluegrass music and its future. They have won numerous awards, performed at festivals, venues, and bars across the west coast, and released four albums.

The Town Howlers, based in Oakland and Berkeley, California, play traditional bluegrass music and are influenced by the great singers and pickers from the golden era of bluegrass, such as Bill Monroe, The Stanley Brothers, Vern Williams, and Jimmy Martin. With flashy picking, tight harmony singing, and original as well as traditional songs, the Town Howlers show deference to traditional bluegrass while also adding their own style and sound.

The Town Howlers - Lineup for GOF:

Andy Lentz: Fiddle
Rowan McCallister: Mandolin - Vocals
Mike Gubman: Bass
Michael Small: Banjo – Vocals
John McKelvy: Guitar - Vocals

The Brookdale Bluegrass Band

Lineup for GOF:

Eric Burman: Guitar
Tina Louise Barr: Autoharp
Ken Leiboff: Harmonica
Robert Cornelius: Bass
John Gwinner: Mandolin - Dobro
DamDave Gillett: Vocals
Bill Hunter: Drummer
Pete Hicks: Fiddle

Eric Burman, founder of GOF, and the Brookdale Bluegrass Band have been around since 2012. They entertain their dedicated audiences with good bluegrass, ol timey music, and progressive originals.

The Santa Clara Valley Fiddlers Association, founded in 1973, in San Jose, California, is a state and federal non-profit organization dedicated to the preservation of traditional types of American music such as old-time, bluegrass and gospel music, as played on the fiddle and other compatible acoustic instruments. SCVFA is an all volunteer-operated public-benefit organization dedicated to the preservation, teaching, and enjoyment of traditional music for the fiddle and other instruments. One of their goals is to encourage young people to learn traditional tunes and musical styles. Besides welcoming young musicians to join them, they offer periodic KidFiddle workshops led by local fiddle instructors. This program is primarily funded by fees for their performances in the community and by donations to the SCVFA. They are a registered 501(c)(3) organization, so donations are generally tax-deductible.

2019: Ted Kuster is a founding member of Bluegrass Pride, a project of the California Bluegrass Association. Bluegrass Pride quickly captured interest and has become its own national nonprofit, with chapters nationwide. Bluegrass Pride celebrates the role of LGBT creative artists in bluegrass, and strives to help our beloved bluegrass community become even more inclusive and welcoming. Bluegrass Pride has entered a float carrying a live bluegrass band in the San Francisco Pride Parade for three years now, winning the Best Musical Contingent Award twice.

Ted Kuster is an accomplished musician. He plays banjo with The Beauty Operators String Band and is a popular guest musician with several bands, including The Bloomfield Bluegrass Band, Muleskinner Stomp, and The Colonels of Truth.

The Rose Valley Thorns

Joshua Bergmann: Mandolin - Vocals
Jared Bergmann: Guitar - Vocals
Corey Hugh Highberg: Bass - Vocals

The Rose Valley Thorns new full-length album is now available! Recorded in Grammy-Award winning Canyon Hut Studios with Grammy-nominated engineer Chris Reynolds and Grammy-winning Tim Hutton, this project beautifully captures the eclectic combination of fresh innovation and songwriting with homage to the old. These recordings were captured in live takes with vintage microphones so as to represent the authentic expression that the Thorns create with their music. Available on the platform of your choice! The Rose Valley Thorn’s truly unique and refreshing sound was inspired by the stunningly beautiful Rose Valley, which lies in the mountains above the creative community of Ojai, California.

Red Dog Ash is an award-winning bluegrass band from California’s central valley. The quintet is known for its original compositions, hard-driving tunes, tight harmonies, and authentic high-lonesome vocals. Inspired by the bluegrass tradition, smart and passionate in its performance, the band’s unique sound has recently, and aptly, been called — Soulgrass.

Red Dog Ash

Jason Winfree: Guitar - Vocals
Gary Vessel: Mandolin - Vocals
Julie Cooper Peet: Fiddle - Vocals
Mark Peet: Banjo

Guest Musician
Mike Gubman: Bass

GrassKickers

Bob Garcia: Mandolin - Vocals

Bob plays a number of instruments but, excels on the mandolin where he executes precision breaks with taste and creativity. Bob is also the lead singer on a number of songs that form the foundation of the GrassKickers repertoire.

Ron “Bearrrr” Murray: U-Bass - Vocals

Bearrrr is truly the heart and soul of GrassKickers. Holding every song down with his unconventional ukulele bass, Bearrrr is also a talented singer/songwriter whose lead singing and harmony vocals blend perfectly with almost any song the band offers. His original songs honor the bluegrass tradition and help keep the GrassKickers unique in their musical offerings to their appreciative audiences.

Dan Stein: Guitar - Vocals

Dan grew up in Pittsfield, Maine and practices law in Fresno. His past 16 years of playing bluegrass music have brought him from Maine to North Carolina, to Vermont, to the Bay Area in California and finally planting himself in the Central Valley. Dan began playing with GrassKickers after an audition, unbeknownst to him, in a field picking session at the local Kings River Bluegrass Festival with Bob back in the fall of 2009. Dan plays guitar and sings both harmony and lead vocal on a lot of the songs GrassKickers performs, and he is thankful for the opportunity to continue to share in making great bluegrass music with this band. Dan is a songwriter as well and has written original songs for GrassKickers and even for the top national touring band, Town Mountain.

Tom Naiman: Banjo -Vocals

Tom is a multi-talented singer and instrumentalist who is also a native of Fresno. Tom is the newest member of GrassKickers and his addition to the lineup has brought GrassKickers to a whole other level in terms of the range of their music. Tom is well known for being the banjo player of past group, Dalton Mountain. Tom plays the banjo and also sings for GrassKickers plus, has brought the “blues” in bluegrass to the forefront of GrassKickers set lists. Whether he is singing Merle Haggard’s Working Mans Blues or Dan Paisley’s Raising Cain in Texas, he draws out the marrow of the bluegrass bone in every song he sings and plays.

Wildcat Mountain Ramblers

Robert Cornelius: Banjo - Vocals (Occasionally Bass & Zydeco Tie)
Suzanne Suwanda: Bass – Vocals - 2nd Fiddle
Alex Mayers: Guitar - Vocals
Mark Wardenburg: Fiddle - Vocals

Chad Johnson: Mandolin - Vocals
(Did not play at GOF this year.)

Guest Musician:
AJ Lee: Mandolin - Vocals

North Country Blue

Ida Winfree: Mandolin - Guitar - Lead/Harmony Vocals
Megan January: Bass - Lead/Harmony Vocals
Tessa Schwartz: Fiddle - Lead/Harmony Vocals
John Gooding: Guitar - Mandolin - Lead/Harmony Vocals

Not perfoming with band at GOF
Christine Wilhoyte: Banjo - Lead/Harmony Vocals

Nell & Jim Band

Nell Robinson: Flute - Vocals
Jim Nunally: Guitar - Vocals
Jim Kerwin: Bass -Fiddle
Rob Reich: Accordion - Keyboards
Alex Aspinall: Percussion

Following decades of success in their respective careers, and exciting recent appearances at the Vancouver Folk Festival, Fresh Grass Festival, La Roche Bluegrass Festival (France), Northern California musicians Nell Robinson & Jim Nunally have released a new album of original material, Steel.