(HOLLYWOOD PRESS CORPS) — Calabasas — On Sunday, May 19th, Bluegrass enthusiast from all over, gathered together for another incredible Bluegrass festival in the hills of Calabasas. This festival has been going since 1961 and is one of the oldest American music festivals in existence.
The festival was held at King Gillette Ranch in Calabasas up in the Santa Monica mountains. The weather was perfect. People were jamming. Golf carts were whizzing around. There were live performances, exhibitions, food trucks, artisans, jamming workshops, and a children’s craft area. They were dancing on King Gillette‘s tennis court.
People were picnicking, having craft beer and enjoying the bluegrass music. Chairs were provided in the shade in the Americana lounge area. There was a little shade but a lot of sunshine. It wasn’t too hot this year. People sat right in front of the stage. AJ Lee and Blue Summit was the standout performance of the day. The Way Down Wanderers played earlier and they had a unique performance. A band from Mexico that featured singing, violin, guitars and a harp called Grupo Bella played. They were a lot of fun. Hillary Klug did her clog style dancing with cowboy boots on while people played banjos and guitars. She played the fiddle and called out a few. She’s got great spirit.
The band Water Tower did some great Bluegrass numbers. On the tiny porch stage the Crooked Jades had an impressive performance and were a lot of fun. The Pack Rats were an old timey banjo and bass combination. They played a blues tune and some real deal bluegrass songs. The JB Barton band played some soulful Bluegrass. Matt McKenzie played Old Time Mountain Music on bass. There was a Step Dance competition and the Crooked Jades played while people square danced on Mr. Gillette’s tennis court.
The jamming workshop was led by Bluegrass musician extraordinaire John David. John was a musician in the folk band the Limeliters back in the 1980s. John is an incredible teacher and motivates people of all levels to play better.
John is a master on the guitar, banjo and mandolin. The Denver Post once described him as a: “guitarist’s guitarist.” John uses the Pete Wernick method. Pete Wernick is a master teacher with decades of experience in teaching and promoting bluegrass. His method gets people to start out by playing two chord songs. They lead the jam from the very beginning. It was a lot of fun. The workshop started out in the shade under the Easy Ups and he went through some basics.
People broke up into groups and jammed for another hour and a half. There were a lot of people who led the jam for their first time. It was a lot of fun. There was an advanced group led by Paul Marshall as well. John David’s jam was held in the SWABA tent area. The Southwest Bluegrass Association does music in schools, music campouts, jams and workshops. Later in the day, SWABA had a jam led by SWABA regular, DJ, a really tall guy who wears a cowboy hat and really knows how to lead a jam. There were jams all over Topanga this year. There was the Flying J Ranch Jam led by Jeff Fleck. A lot of big dogs at this jam including harmonica master David Nadich.
It would’ve been fun if it went on all weekend. People really enjoyed jamming together. This year’s Topanga Fiddle Contest was a lot of fun. Full of bluegrass, sunshine and perfect weather. There were lots of things for kids to do and plenty of guitar playing a bluegrass picking. We really look forward to next year!
