San Diego Bluegrass Society P.O. Box 15292 San Diego, CA 92175 Email: sdbsinfo@socalbluegrass.org Join SDBS today! Click here to go to the SDBS membership form

BLUEGRASS DAY AT THE FAIR:

SATURDAY JUNE 12, 2010

Join us for Bluegrass Day at the Del Mar Fair on Saturday June 12 from 11 am to 8 pm. Featuring award winning Chris Stuart and Backcountry in concert from 7 to 8 pm, a fiddling demonstration, many top local bands, and a band scramble open to all, this year's event will be held at the beautiful paddock stage at the fairgrounds (Via de La Valle and Jimmy Durante Blvd at I-5 [Take Via De La Valle offramp]). All Bluegrass Day events are free with your fair admission.

BAND SCRAMBLE. All musicians, beginner to expert, and all ages can participate in the band scramble. We put a slip with your name and the instrument you play in a hat, and draw names at random to form bands. Each band then has approximately 15 minutes to work up 2-3 songs and then perform them on stage. Judges will select winners on each instrument as well as the winning bands. Categories included are: guitar, mandolin, fiddle, bass, banjo, vocal (must also play an instrument), and specialty (harmonica, dobro, other). No electric instruments please except electric bass.

Band scrambles are great fun and a great way to meet new people who share your love for music.

FREE FAIR ADMISSION AND PARKING. Sign up in advance (no later than June 1, 2010) for the Band Scramble and we will put your name on a list to receive free fair admission. We will also have a limited number of free parking passes for the entertainer's lot that will be passed out first come first served, so sign up early. To sign up send an email stating your name and the instrument category you want to enter in to sdbsinfo@socalbluegrass.org. If you want to enter in more than one cataegory, please so indicate and, time permitting, we will try to accomodate you, but note that you may have to perform while your second band is practicing.

ABOUT THE SDBS:

The San Diego Bluegrass Society is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit corporation dedicated to the preservation and promotion of bluegrass music in the San Diego area. SDBS is governed by a nine member Board of directors. Board members are elected every two years for two-year terms, and the Board then elects a president, vice president and other officers every year. Board membership is open to all SDBS members. SDBS’s goals include:

1. Educating all those who are interested, especially young persons, about the history of bluegrass music in America
2. Organizing regular jam sessions for San Diegans and visitors who desire to play bluegrass in a group setting
3. Presenting bluegrass concerts by local and traveling bands
4. Working cooperatively with other bluegrass organizations, including IBMA and our sister organization in the Los Angeles area, BASC, in promoting a variety of bluegrass related activities
5. Co-producing a premier three day bluegrass festival each August called Summergrass
6. Conducting a music outreach program with SDBS’s Emma’s Gut Bucket Band to bring bluegrass music and instruction to public and private schools, to senior centers, assisted living facilities, homeless centers and the like at no cost
7. Conducting regular jam sessions and band presentations on the second, third and fourth Tuesday of every month, and
8. Such other activities as deemed appropriate to promote bluegrass music in San Diego.
   

MEMBERSHIP & BENEFITS: SDBS membership is open to everyone wishing to join for $20 per year per family. Members get regular mailings about upcoming bluegrass events, as well as email alerts and discounts on certain concerts and workshops. Click here to join!

SDBS PROGRAMS include the following. We would welcome your participation!

Tuesday Jam Sessions and Concerts:
SDBS sponsors a local jam session and opportunity for bands to perform on stage every second, and fourth Tuesday of the month. These sessions generally begin at 6:30 pm and extend to 9 pm. Open mic and bluegrass karaoke (you call and perform a tune with the SDBS house band, the Full Deck) are also offered on a sign up basis.

Our third Tuesday event, held at Old Time Music, includes a one-hour structured slow jam learning session led by music teacher Janet Beazley (6:30 to 7:30 pm) which is free to SDBS members and $5 to non-members (you can join SDBS on site). For more information on the slow jam, or to sign up, email Janet. The open jam is open to everyone.

For details and directions on tuesday events visit the InTune Calendar page. If you are visiting the San Diego area or would otherwise like more information please send an email to sdbsinfo@socalbluegrass.org

Board of Directors Meetings:
Board of Directors meetings are held once a month on Sunday afternoon from 4:30 to 6:30 pm. If you have an item you would like to bring to the Board, or if you would like to attend a Board meeting, please send an email to SDBS President Dwight Worden - visitors are welcome.

School and Community Outreach:
SDBS sponsors Emma’s Gut Bucket Band which brings a bluegrass music program to public and private schools, assisted living facilities, churches, community centers, homeless centers and other institutions at no charge. The Gut Bucket band is made up of anywhere from 5 to 20 musicians playing guitar, banjo, bass, fiddle, mandolin, dobro and other specialty instruments. The Gut Bucket band performs a variety of bluegrass and traditional Americana music such as Appalachian fiddle tunes and old time music, as well as American classics from Hank Williams and others, with an occasional Irish, Canadian, or Mexican folk song stirred in.

The Gut Bucket Band presents a 45-50 minute school program suitable for classrooms or assemblies which includes performance of a variety of bluegrass and traditional American music, discussion and education about the music and the instruments, and fun interactions with students. If you would like to have the Gut Bucket Band perform at a school, at a senior center, assisted living facility, etc., or if you would like information about joining the Gut Bucket Band, please send an email to Larry Edwards, coordinator for the Gut Bucket Band at larry@larryedwards.com. Visit the band's website for more information.

Summergrass Bluegrass Music Festival:
Along with the North San Diego County Bluegrass and Folk Club, SDBS co-sponsors the annual Summergrass Bluegrass Music Festival held each year at the Antique Gas and Steam Engine Museum in Vista, CA. over three days at the end of August. Summergrass provides on site camping, top bluegrass stage performances, vendors, a Kid’s Music Camp, and other activities. For information, to see the lineup for this year, for tickets and camping reservations, visit the Summergrass web site at www.summergrass.net Summergrass is always lookingn fro volunteers and offers free festival admission in exhcnag for vounteer service. vist the website to learn more.

Special Concerts:
SDBS produces a limited number of special concerts each year to present traveling bluegrass bands to the San Diego community. If you are in a traveling band interested in playing in San Diego please send an email to SDBS Board member and band liaison, Vonnie Tatar at ytatar@cox.net

SDBS board of directors:
Dwight Worden, President, and Emma's Gut Bucket Band School Outreach Program; Becky Green, Treasurer; Jason Weiss, Board member; Mike Tatar, Membership; Yvonne Tatar, Publicity and Band Booking; John Deckard, Mailing; Kathy Wolf, events & raffle; Avery Ellisman, secretary; and Phil Levy, campouts, Blluergass Day at the Fair.

SDBS holds weekly events on Tuesdays to which the public is welcome. Come on out to play or listen! To see the full calendar of regular weekly SDBS sponsored events, click here or for additional information email Dwight at sdbsinfo@socalbluegrass.org

Interested in San Diego’s premier 3 day bluegrass festival in August?  Visit our Summergrass web site and learn all about it.  To receive Summergrass update emails place your email address in the field below, and click on the join button.  SDBS will not share your information and won’t bombard you with messages, but will keep you up to date on the latest Summergrass news.

 ©2007-2009 San Diego Bluegrass Society