Lockn' Music Festival - Best Lineup in 2015?

The lineup for the 2015 Lockn' Music Festival is hard to ignore. Held September 10-13 at Oak Ridge Farm in Arrington,Virginia; this camping festival has perhaps the best lineup of 2015. Just look at the opening night with The Doobie Brothers joining The String Cheese Incident as The Doobie Incident, Little Feat, Galactic, and Deer Tick. The rest of the weekend continues with a who's who of jam band and classic bands: Widespread Panic, Tedeschi Trucks Band, Robert Plant, Phil Lesh & friends (Warren Haynes, Carlos Santana) , The North Mississippi Allstars,  Anders Osborne, Steve Earle & The Dukes, Umphrey's McGee, Hot Tuna, Melvin Seals, and soon and so on. You get the picture. A four day pass is $285 with various camping options.  There will be plenty of beer food venders as well along with activities such as mountain biking courtesy of CAMBC (Charlottesville Area Mountain Bike Club) and swimming through Water Lockn'. Hope to see you there.

The Steel Wheels Presents the Red Wing Roots Music Festival - A Phenomenal Lineup

For the past few years, MyJoogTV alum The Steel Wheels have hosted the Red Wing Roots Music Festival and this year the event is being held July 10th-12th at Natural Chimneys Park in the beautiful Shenandoah Valley Virginia. Each year the lineup rivals many of other local festivals such as Floydfest and 2015 is no exception. The headliners are outstanding, but its the local talent that elevates this lineup and should encourage your participation. First, there's The Steel Wheels, an extremely talented source of roots music and generally great guys. Then there's fellow Virginians or Appalachians Scott Miller, Bryan Elijah Smith & The Wild Hearts, Frank Solivan & Dirty Kitchen, Sunliner (Travis Book and Sarah Siskind), Missy Raines & The New Hip, Chatham County Line, and Jon Stickley Trio. Then there are the imports such as Eric Lindell, The Brothers Comatose, Cahalen Morrison & Eli West, Billy Strings & Don Julin, Spirit Family Reunion, and Nikki Lane. Oh yea, the headliners. How about Robert Earl Keen featuring his bluegrass band, the Punch Brothers, The Wood Brothers, Elephant Revival, The Travelin’ McCourys, and Sara – Sarah – Aoife (Sara Watkins, Sarah Jarosz and Aoife O’Donovan). Pretty impressive. Tickets are reasonable at $129 for three days of great music. The area is also an outdoors man paradise with bike trails, hiking, fishing caverns and local wineries and breweries.

Patrick Sweany - Close to the Floor & Summer Shows

I recently received an email from a publicist for Patrick Sweany which lead me to revisit his 2013 release Close to the Floor. If you digg electric blues guitar, this is the guy for you: whether blues guitar, slide,  or fingerstyle. His vocals are deep and rustic - perfect for the genre; and his songwriting - highly original. Check out "Working For You" and I love "Bus Station " - Awake at 4:40 is a bad place to be. And the guitar in "Deep Water", "Just On Night", or for that matter the entire release.


Esquire Magazine recently featured this video and Sweany appeared on Music City Roots late last night.  This summer Sweany will appear at the Eureka Springs Blues Weekend; Red, White & Blues Festival; Hullabaloo Music Festival; and the Telluride Blues & Brews Festival; and numerous venues across the U.S.. Pair with 

Cabinet's 2nd annual Susquehanna Breakdown Music Festival

We've been listening quite a lot to This Is Cabinet – Set II; the most current live release from Cabinet and now we have a chance to see these songs live at the 2nd annual Susquehanna Breakdown Music Festival. The festival will occur at The Pavilion at Montage Mountain on Saturday, May 10th and features the following acts:  Cabinet, Sister Sparrow & the Dirty Birds, Marco Benevento, Floodwood featuring Al Schnier & Vinnie Amico of moe., Terrapin Flyer featuring Melvin Seals & Mark Karan, Driftwood, Leroy Justice, And The Moneynotes, Coal Town Rounders, East Bound Jesus, Kalob Griffin Band, The Brummy Brothers, Blind Owl Band, Tom Graham, FMO, and The Schooley Mountain Band.

Tickets are on sale now and available at Ticketmaster.com, The Pavilion Box Office (1000 Montage Mountain Road Scranton/ normal box office hours will resume in the Spring), Ticketmaster Outlets, or by-phone at 800-745-3000. Tickets are: $20 (GA), $25 (GA day of show), $55 (VIP), $60 (VIP day of show), $20 (Camping), $25 (Camping day of show). Additional fees may apply to tickets.

While listening to This Is Cabinet - Set II or at the festival pair with The Lion Brewery from neighboring Wilkes Barre. Cheers

Mobile Apps for the Bristol Rhythm and Roots Reunion

In preparation for the Bristol Rhythm and Roots Reunion, there are two mobile applications that will increase your already high enjoyment level even further.They are theCompass winery and brewery locator and the Rhythm and Roots Reunion mobile app. theCompass will help you find wineries, breweries, and distilleries on your travels to Bristol and a demo is available here.  We always take a side trip on our trip down and theCompass makes planning much easier.

The Bristol Mobile Application will guide you through the festival schedule and allow your to share your plans, comments, photos, through various social media sites. The most impressive features are the ability to create alerts to remind you when a favorite artist is performing and even use geo-location to guide you to the stage or venue. Pretty cool.They also provide biographic information about all the performers as well as videos so that you can research acts that are unfamiliar.  Highly receommended.

Bristol Rhythm and Roots Reunion -> One Month Out and Counting

Here is your one month reminder that the Bristol Rhythm and Roots Reunion is coming up quickly - September 20th-22nd in Bristol VA\TN to be precise. This is always our favorite music festival, well organized, great musicians, great venues, and quality beer. Want to see Lucinda Williams on the main street stage, check. Want to see Scotty Melton in a small bar, check. Want to see American Aquarium in a rockn' beer bar, check. Like to camp out at one stage for the entire day? Then checkout Scythian, Chatham County Line, Paul Thorn, Shovels and Rope, Hayes Carll, and Bruce Robison & Kelly Willis all on the State Street Stage. Like a historic venue? Then nothing beats Jim Lauderdale or Chris Smither  at The Paramount Center for the Arts. Got the idea? Plus, tickets are a complete bargain - a weekend pass is only $50; that's correct - $50 until September 1st. Then it rises to $70. Here is the total lineup but to help organize your schedule I would suggest the Bristol Mobile App - it makes festival life so much easier. And to make your road trip more enjoyable - theCompass mobile app will find wineries and breweries along your trip route. Cheers.

• Lucinda Williams
• Masters of Bluegrass, The (J.D. Crowe, Bobby Hicks, Del McCoury, Jerry McCoury, and Bobby Osborne)
• Blitzen Trapper
• Deer Tick
• Keller Williams
• Colin Hay
• Iris Dement
• Hayes Carll
• J.D. McPherson
• Shovels & Rope
• James McMurtry
• Travelin' McCourys, The
• Jim Lauderdale
• Scythian
• Apache Relay
• Russell Moore & IIIrd Tyme Out
• Paul Thorn
• Willie Watson
• Bruce Robison & Kelly Willis
• David Mayfield Parade, The
• Black Lillies, The
• Della Mae
• Hey Rosetta!
• Pokey LaFarge
• Claire Lynch Band
• Dale Ann Bradley & Steve Gulley
• Chatham County Line
• Quebe Sisters, The
• Red Molly
• Spirit Family Reunion
• Marty Raybon
• Balsam Range
• Elephant Revival
• Enter the Haggis
• Frank Solivan & Dirty Kitchen
• Chris Smither
• Whitey Morgan & the 78's
• Uncle Lucius
• American Aquarium
• Bronze Radio Return
• Rayland Baxter
• Breaking Grass
• Carolina Road
• Amber Rubarth Trio
• Dave Eggar & Deoro with Hammerstep
• Folk Soul Revival
• If Birds Could Fly
• Levon Helm Tribute Show
• M.S.G. The Acoustic Blues Trio
• Sol Driven Train
• Field Report
• Detour
• Kenny & Amanda Smith
• Nora Jane Struthers & The Party Line
• Hurray For The Riff Raff
• Revelers, The
• Dale Jett
• Ed Snodderly
• Two Man Gentlemen Band, The
• Whiskey Gentry, The
• Burning Bridget Cleary
• Donna Ulisse
• Frank Fairfield
• Delta Reign
• Bawn In The Mash
• Erick Baker
• Brothers Comatose, The
• Caitlin Rose
• Cactus Blossoms, The
• Chicago Farmer
• New Familiars, The
• James Justin & Company
• Old Man Luedecke
• River Whyless
• St. Paul and the Broken Bones
• Cumberland River
• Defibulators, The
• Nightflyer
• Wayne Henderson & The Virginia Luthiers
• • Cumberland Gap Connection
• Blair Crimmins & The Hookers
• Dirty Bourbon River Show
• This Mountain
• Woody Pines
• Miss Tess & the Talkbacks
• Lizzy Ross Band
• L Shape Lot
• Cutthroat Shamrock
• Old Line Skiffle Combo
• Paul Burch
• Tillers, The
• Successful Failures, The
• Annabelle's Curse
• Hermit Kings, The
• Leah Gardner
• Duty Free
• Harlow Experience, The
• Barlow Gin & The Hatchetmen
• Breaking Tradition
• Bryan Elijah Smith & The Wild Hearts
• Jon Stickley Trio
• A Great Disaster
• Wise Old River
• Black Iron Gathering, The
• ETSU Old Time Pride Band
• ETSU Bluegrass Band
• Sheets Family Band
• Black Twig Pickers, The
• Dave Adkins & Republik Steele
• Dori Freeman
• Honey Badgers, The
• These Undowners
• Scotty Melton
• Earth by Train
• Jack and the Bear
• Ron Short & the Possum Playboys
• JP Parsons
• Mis'ry Creek
• Stillhouse
• Al Scorch
• Lore
• Mountain Park Old Time Band
• Nikki Talley
• Roger Rasnake
• Scratch River Telegraph Company
• Kim Lyons
• Amythyst Kiah
• Annie Robinette
• Beth Snapp
• Craig Street Ramblers
• Empty Bottle String Band
• Jess Nunley
• Rickshaw Roadshow
• Wayne Graham
• Whiskey Incident, The
• Alli Epperson
• Dave Haney & Lisa Baldwin
• Mischief in the Meadow
• Rex Montgomery
• Rose Sisters, The
• Amazed by Grace
• Deslondes, The (formerly The Tumbleweeds)
• Honaker FFA Bluegrass Band
• Indian Run Stringband
• Corklickers, The
• Bus Driver Tour, The
• Virginia Whirlwind
• Farmhouse Ghost, The
• Kazoobie Kazoo Show with Rick Hubbard
• Steve Gryb: The Pied Piper of Percussion

Who's Playing at Joshua Tree this May?

The lineup for the spring edition of the Joshua Tree Music Festival was just released - pretty cool - and with a three day pass only taking $100 from your wallet - quite affordable. One day we will make it out.

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papadosio asheville saturday 10:30 – midnight Powerful live electronica ! Elevated songwriting showcases improvisational interludes and refreshing vocal harmonies with an amplified message of transcendence, unity, and universal understanding. Their potent ive set will stir the heart and fuel the mind. papadosio.com/tetios/tetios.html

ganga giri australia sunday 6 – 7:30pm Ganga mixes red natural elements with fat tribal beats and dirty funky bass lines to create a unique tribal-technological deep earth dance experience. If you experienced his shows in Joshua Tree in ’05, ’07 & ’09, you are hip to his magical musical madness ! gangagiri.com

bang data oakland friday 8:45 – 10:15pm From Samba-Ska-Cumbia and Electro-Bossanova to a Synth-Bass Heavy-Stooges infested beat. Melodic guitars and gritty bass, over bang electro-acoustic rhythms make this the perfect canvas for Deuce Eclipses bilingual rhymes and melodies. Bang Data’s sound is a hard driving futuristic vision of Latin Alternative music bangdata.weebly.com

the egg uk friday 10:30 – midnight Like New Order floating on a cloud. The Egg play live house, rocktronic, funk and ambient influenced dance music, using electronic and live instruments, video triggering, samples and live and vocoded vocals. Their music is inspired by artists such as Pink Floyd, Groove Armada, The Beloved, New Order, & Underworld. theegg.org.uk

janka nabay & the bubu gang sierra leone saturday 5:30 – 6:45pm Janka Nabay is the undisputed king of "bubu music," a frantically-paced dance music from Sierra Leone. Bubu music is traditional music originally used in witchcraft ceremonies, then later it evolved into a popular processional style played during Ramadan. Janka modernized the sound by adding electric studio instrumentation, infusing a broader range of musical stylings, and has evolved into an inspired band-leader and MC in the tradition of James Brown and Fela. luakabop.com/janka-nabay

ArtOfficial miami friday 7 – 8:30pm Funky, organic hip hop at its finest. A seamless marriage of unyielding, unapologetic urban poetry with an unflinching array of jazz melodies ala the Roots & Soulive. artofficialmusic.net

dogon lights guinea/cuba/south africa/us saturday 8:45 – 10:15pm Redefining world fusion by creating a funky, energetic dance atmosphere that takes listeners straight to the stars, using traditional skin and wood instruments played over grooves and inspired traditional vocals. Featuring Bongo Sidibe from Guinea, Jaqueline Laporte of Cuba and members of the award winning band Hamsa Lila (Ian "Inx" Herman, Vir McCoy, Evan Fraser and John Schroeder). The word, "Dogon" comes from the Dogon people of Mali who believe they are descendants of the Sirians- thus the Dogon Lights. dogonlights.com

m.a.k.u. soundsystem colombia/nyc saturday 3:45 – 5:15pm MAKU takes tradtional Colombian folkloric music screaming into the future, infusing it with psychedelic rock, punk, reggae and soul. Their unique, uplifting sounds are a Party for the People. www.makusoundsystem.com

liberation movement us/peru sunday 4:20 – 5:50pm Led by Resurrector of Heavyweight Dub Champion (HDC) and Sasha Rose, officially sanctioned by representatives the Shipibo Tribe of Amazonian Peru, Liberation Movement (LM) is a collective transmutational experience fusing ancient technology with modern ritual, invoking truth to pierce through illusion. liberationmovement.bandcamp.com

the main squeeze bloomington, in saturday 7 – 8:30pm A raging funk experience that meld soulful vocals, intricate jams, tight grooves, and ripping solos into a powerful live show that incites dance floor nirvana ! mainsqueezemusic.com

rising appalachia the south saturday 12:30 – 2pm Sisters Leah and Chloe tear into sound with sensual prowess as stages ignite revolutions and words light up spirit fires.  Listen to their beautiful sound for poetic harmonies, soul singing, spoken word rallies, banjos, fiddles, many beats of drums, kalimbas, washboard rants, groove, and community building through SOUND. risingappalachia.com

globesonic sound system la/nyc friday 5:15 – 6:45pm sunday 7:30 - ?? Modernizing world music, Globesonic Sound System (DJ's Fabian Alsultany & Derek Beres) creates a high energy ecstatic dance celebration of the earth's musical heritage, weaving traditional music with modern aesthetics. Says Fabian, "The music is a reflection of the commonalities between cultures. Our work is not only to get the dance floor moving, but to also stimulate a deep sense of planetary unity through music and dance." globesonic.com

jaliba kuyateh & the kumareh band gambia sunday 11:50am – 1:05pm Jaliba is a master Kora player who deftly manipulates all 21 strings of the ancient african instrument. The 'King of the Kora' is also a UNICEF Ambassador and Gambia's 'Man of the Year' with larger than life charm. Jaliba can sing in 3 languages and 7 octaves. Mad skills !  Joined by the Kumareh Band, their performance is an uplifting global call for peace and unity.  kingofkora.com

miner los angeles saturday 2:15 – 3:30pm Folk rock revivalists, Miner, have sipped from the same well as fellow "joie de folkers" the Mumfords and Edward Sharpes. It's the kind of revivalism that feels as comfortable as bare feet on a freshly mowed lawn. This family affair (husband, wife, brother, cousin & friends) will have you California Dreaming. thisisminer.com

robbi & kripa’s third ear experience south africa/joshua tree saturday Midnight - ?? African acid rock meets primal tribal dance trance therapy. A magical carpet ride for the body & soulful !

jelly bread reno sunday 1:15 – 2:30pm Dirty ensemble chops, rich vocal dexterity, a pumping rhythm section and solid lyrical flows make a Jelly Bread show monstrously funktastic ! These cats are steeped in roots, wallowing in funk, and marinated in soul. www.jellybread.net

mexico 68 la sunday 2:40 – 4:10pm This 12 strong band of musicians juxtapose Chicano funk with the body moving and elucidating vibes of Fela’s polyrhythmic afrobeat. www.mexico68music.com

whoolilicious! santa barbara saturday 11am – 12:15pm This one man band (plus drums) layers bass lines, keys, guitar, vocals, and sax live and on the spot creating funky soul, rock 'n roll, world music and dance tracks right before your ears and eyes. A seasoned vocalist, instrumentalist and producer, W! melds the live band and DJ worlds together as one.

ian winters santa cruz friday midnight to ?? This certified Booty Propulsion Specialist provides a non-stop dancefloor experience designed for sweaty, smiley, booty-drenched release. Relax your mind, let your conscience be free and step your vibrations into a new dimension of funk. mixcloud.com/ianwinters73

chicano batman los angeles friday 3:30 – 5pm Chicano Batman draws from a broad range of 60s and early 70s Brazilian bossa nova and samba, spacey psychedelia, slow-jam soul with a pinch of surf-rock cumbia.  Chicano Batman is more than a musical force but an adventurous and opinionated superhero who feeds off of community, afro-centricity and bolillos, on a mission to bring the overlooked to the forefront. chicanobatman.com

lily of the valley joshua tree sunday 10:15 – 11:45am Angels on earth. Heavenly harmonies. These soaring soul sisters of the high desert will be serving up some sunday morning goosebumps at the Cafe Stage.

SunFest Announces 2013 Lineup

Our favorite south Florida festival, Sunfest, announced their 2013 lineup today with a rock heavy set of headliners including Train, the Smashing Pumpkins, The Black Crowes, and Slightly Stoopid. Check out the image for the full lineup and the website for the schedule. The festival is also running a March MoneySaver campaign that equates to $55 for a five day pass. Now that's a bargain. See you in the Palm Beaches.

Who's Going to DelFest?

DelFest is here. Well almost; the actual festival is Memorial Weekend (May 23-26); but the lineup is here. And what an awesome lineup it is. Two sets from Trey, Del McCoury, Old Crow, Yonder Mountain, Trampled, the Stringdusters and CCD. Plus the Masters of Bluegrass (Del McCoury, Bobby Osborne, J.D. Crowe, Bobby Hicks, and Jerry McCoury). There's no doubt that I'm finally going to head to Cumberland Maryland for this festival. Three day tickets are $140.

The Del McCoury Band
Trey Anastasio Band (2 sets) • Old Crow Medicine Show
Yonder Mountain String Band • The Masters of Bluegrass
Trampled By Turtles • Carolina Chocolate Drops
The Travelin’ McCourys • The Infamous Stringdusters
Greensky Bluegrass • The Campbell Brothers
Sarah Jarosz • Pikelny, Sutton, McCoury, Bulla & Bales
Davisson Brothers Band • Larry Keel and Natural Bridge
Elephant Revival • Missy Raines and The New Hip
The Rambling Rooks • Reverend Peyton's Big Damn Band
Hackensaw Boys • Joe Craven
Mamajowali • Spirit Family Reunion • Blue Mafia
and more TBA!

MyJoogTV Artists Descend on Ocracoke Island

On June 2nd, four acts which we recorded through MyJoogTV will be performing at the 2012 Ocrafolk Festival, held in our favorite Outer Banks island - Ocracoke. Our very first MyJoogTV video featured Ocracoke natives Martin Garrish and Lou Castro of Molasses Creek live in concert here. Our friends at
The Steel Wheels have played the festival a couple times and here is the band discussing the festival and their signature brews. Finally, this year marks the first appearance by the Holy Ghost Tent Revival - and in our 2nd episode here, the band discusses touring while drinking some Flying Dog beer.  Here is the schedule for June 2nd. And below are the videos we've mentioned.

Bernie Petteway Trio 9:30 AM	Lizzy Ross Band 11:00 AM
Jacob Johnson 11:30 AM	Beleza Brasil 1:00 PM
Shana Tucker 1:30 PM	Holy Ghost Tent Revival 2:00 PM
Carolina Lightnin' 2:30 PM	The Steel Wheels 3:00 PM
Molasses Creek 5:00 PM	Aaron Caswell Band 9:00 PM
Martin Garrish 10:00 PM

Martin Garrish & Lou Castro in Ocracoke, NC


Episode 2: Holy Ghost Tent Revival at Flying Dog Brewery from MyJoogTV on Vimeo.


Episode 11: The Steel Wheels with Blue Mountain Brewery

Los Lobos and Assembly of Dust Round Out Merlefest 25 Lineup

We wanted to share this press release regarding our favorite music festival: MerleFest.

With the addition of two renowned roots music groups - Los Lobos, considered by critics and fans as one of America’s most distinctive and original bands, and Assembly of Dust, known for their stellar live performances from Bonnaroo to Carnegie Hall - MerleFest 25, presented by Lowe’s, firms up another diverse, crowd-pleasing collection of performers for the festival’s 2012 lineup. Los Lobos will perform on Friday, April 27, delivering the closing performance of the evening, and Assembly of Dust will perform on various stages on Saturday and Sunday, April 28-29.

Slated for April 26 – 29, 2012, MerleFest 25 will once again take place on the campus of Wilkes Community College in Wilkesboro, North Carolina. MerleFest is an annual homecoming of musicians and music fans, gathering to celebrate the memory of musician Eddy Merle Watson, beloved son of American music icon Doc Watson.

Over the years, MerleFest has become known for spontaneous moments, collaborations and last-minute performance additions. To keep up with any additional changes and additions to this year’s lineup – even during the festival – MerleFest encourages fans to sign up for the e-newsletter and to follow the festival through Facebook and Twitter. Links are available at www.merlefest.org.

Rolling Stone magazine has said that, “With the exception of U2, no other band has stayed on top of its game as long as Los Lobos.” Now in their 38th year of making music, the three-time Grammy-winning band is still creating inventive and inspiring music. Though they may have come to the attention of many with their huge hit “La Bamba,” Los Lobos’ rich musicality has continued to evolve and expand with each project and with each tour. Drawing equally from rock, Tex-Mex, country, folk, R&B, blues, and traditional Spanish and Mexican music, this internationally renowned group of performers delivers a graceful, gritty sound that never strays from the musical traditions that form the heart and soul of the band. About their most recent album, the Grammy-nominated Tin Can Trust, NPR’s Ken Tucker said, “Los Lobos is a master of creating moods, of summoning up a setting and putting you in the center of it. From the band's major-label debut Will The Wolf Survive to Tin Can Trust, the band has always sung about people who take their pleasures where they can find them and who lead rich imaginative lives.

All Music has described the New York-based Assembly of Dust as “melding the deep grooves of blues and R&B with guitar work that recalls J. J. Cale and Little Feat.” AOD's 2011 release Found Sound represents a "behind the curtain" look at a band that has gained notoriety as a studio/live performance hybrid. The energy captured on Found Sound represents what fans from coast to coast have known for years: music's best kept secret may have just been found.

Ticket purchases for MerleFest 25 can be made on the web at www.merlefest.org or by calling 1-800-343-7857. An early bird ticket discount is available through March 12, 2012.

With over 90 artists performing on 14 stages during the course of the event, MerleFest 25 is an excellent entertainment value. A complete list of confirmed performers is available at www.merlefest.org.

MerleFest, considered one of the premier music festivals in the country, is held on the campus of Wilkes Community College in Wilkesboro, North Carolina. MerleFest was founded in 1988 in memory of Eddy Merle Watson and is a celebration of what Doc Watson calls “traditional plus” music, meaning the traditional music of the Appalachian regional plus whatever other styles we were in the mood to play.” The annual festival has become the primary fundraiser for the WCC Endowment Corporation, funding scholarships, capital projects and other educational needs.

13th annual San Francisco Bluegrass and Old-Time Festival (SFBOT)

The eclectic blend of events booked for the 13th annual San Francisco Bluegrass and Old-Time Festival (SFBOT) will raise up a bluegrass ruckus, create some old-time fun and guarantee some ass kickin' music through performances, dances and workshops. The 10-day festival runs from Feb. 10-19 and comprises more than 30 shows at numerous small clubs around the Bay Area featuring some of the most talented musicians on the Americana and Roots music scene today.

Highlights of this year’s festival includes Bay Area favorites such as The Brothers Comatose, The Crooked Jades, Earl White String Band and the Kathy Kallick Quartet. Also featured are out-of-town bands; Foghorn Stringband, Cahalen Morrison & Eli West, and making their SFBOT debut, The Deadly Gentlemen (epic folk and grasscore out of Boston!). The Deadly Gentlemen consists of band members: Greg Liszt on banjo (from Crooked Still), Mike Barnett (from David Grisman Quintet/toured w/Jesse McReynolds) on fiddle, Dominick Leslie on mandolin, Stash Wyslouch on guitar and Sam Grisman on upright bass (son of mandolinist David Grisman).

For the first time the festival will feature a band contest which will bring out some of the up-and-coming new Northern California Bluegrass and Old-Time bands. There is a lot of excitement about this contest and it is expected to be a regular addition to the festival.

In addition to shows, the festival aims to provide rich experiences for Bay Area residents through workshops, jam sessions, kids shows, Bluegrass and Old-Time in the Schools and the Saturday night old-time square dance (always a sell-out with over 220 attendees)! Each year the Festival showcases the best in rising acts from the West Coast and beyond, with a special spotlight on the immense amount of local talent located right here in the Bay Area.

Thanks to a generous investment from the Chris and Warren Hellman Foundation, the festival committee continues its commitment to the Bluegrass and Old-time in the Schools program. The program aims to expose elementary and high school students to the worlds of bluegrass and old-time music and continue the legacy of this important music. Schools interested in bringing performers to their Bay Area location should contact:sfbotf.volunteer.coordinator@gmail.com.

Unlike any other festival in the country, the San Francisco Bluegrass & Old-Time Festival is a grass-roots, non-profit, volunteer-run festival  dedicated to keeping the tradition of bluegrass and old-time music alive. For more information on the festival, visit http://www.sfbluegrass.org.

Confirmed 2012 Acts
Foghorn Stringband, Jeff Kazor & Lisa Berman, Anne and Pete Sibley, Good Luck Thrift Store Outfit, The Brothers Comatose, Emily Bonn and The Vivants, Water Tower Bucket Boys, BrownChicken BrownCow StringBand, The Bee Eaters, Cahalen Morrison and Eli West, Stairwell Sisters, Water Tower Bucket Boys, Erik Clampitt, The New Five Cents, Squirrelly Stringband, Evie Ladin, The Juncos, Houston Jones, Susie Glaze and the Hilonesome Band, Family Lines, Kathy Kallick Band Quartet, Taco Jam, Anne & Pete Sibley, The Trespassers, Windy Hill, Snap Jackson & the Knock On Wood Players, Kleptograss, Knuckle Knockers, The Alhambra Valley Band , Redwing, The ONs, Misisipi Mike & the Midnight Gamblers, Mad Cow String Band, Misisipi Rider, Sweetback Sisters, James Nash and the Nomads, SUPERMULE, Belle Monroe and Her Brewglass Boys, Nell Robinson & Jim Nunally, Misner & Smith, Jeanie and Chuck Poling, The Earl Brothers, Henhouse Prowlers, Cahalen Morrison and Eli West, Gayle Schmitt and the Toodala Ramblers, Rita Hosking and Cousin Jack, Evie Ladin, The Blushin' Roulettes, Earl White Stringband, Black Crown Stringband, Jordan Ruyle, Pine Box Boys, The Jugtown Pirates, Hang Jones, Dark Hollow, The Crooked Jades, The Deadly Gentlemen