Hand-picked fun at Great 48 bluegrass jam
Jan. 4—If you overdid it a little bit this holiday season and are looking for some fun that won't tax your wallet, the California Bluegrass Association has just the event for you.
Its annual Great 48 bluegrass jam, which takes over the Bakersfield Marriott at the Convention Center this week, even exceeds its name, with four days of workshops, performances and community-building musical jams, most of which is free.
CBA member Jeff Russinsky, who has been on the event committee for the past five years stepped into the chairman role this year but he's as cool as the Kentucky rain about the program.
"It almost runs itself," he said of the event. "More than anything else, people just get together. We fill the Marriott — the (former venue) DoubleTree before that — from all over the state with beginners to professional-quality musicians."
Performers come from all over the West but primarily Northern and Southern California, with Bakersfield offering a good midway point.
"Those coming down from the Bay Area take over an Amtrak car or two," Russinsky said. "They're jamming from Jack London Square (in Oakland) to the Amtrak station in Bakersfield. They have enough people to jump on the train at the various stops to fill it up."
The organizer said "you never know who's going to show up at the Great 48," noting that a few years ago at the DoubleTree they noticed that Merle Haggard's tour bus was parked outside during the event.
"There were groups playing down the hallways and in one of the rooms comes Merle Haggard. He said, 'You're sounding really good.'"
A special attendee this year is Jerry Douglas, a Grammy-winning musician and master of the dobro, a type of resonator guitar.
The legendary musician's show at Buck Owens' Crystal Palace on Friday is a team-up between the CBA and Guitar Masters Concert Series, organized by Rick Kreiser.
"We approached Rick Kreiser about doing a co-venture," Russinsky said. "Having that kind of partner, we can really up the kind of quality act we offer.
"We've always had a welcome concert on Friday at the Marriott with a good band on the national circuit. This year we were able to bring one of the top acts in bluegrass music today."
Unfortunately, the show sold out last weekend but Russinsky said a call to the Crystal Palace or check-in on Friday may land you a spare ticket if something opens up.
Musicians will still have a chance to benefit from Douglas' expertise thanks to a dobro masterclass he will conduct on Saturday in one of the ballrooms at the Marriott. Russinsky notes that this won't be a performance but rather an exploration of the instrument.
The cost to attend is $35, with tickets available in advance at the CBA website (californiabluegrass.org/great-48/workshops-and-jams) or at the welcome table at the event.
Along with the paid class, the Great 48 will offer free workshops for a variety of instruments.
"We've always also had instrument workshops geared toward beginners. We'll have instructional workshops for the fiddle, guitar, banjo, mandolin and stand-up bass."
As the name implies, jamming is front and center every day, with smaller jams throughout the fully booked hotel as well as hosted jams, which can help those new to the bluegrass community to explore jamming and meet new bluegrass buddies. (See accompanying schedule for workshops and hosted jams.)
Festivities will also include a free showcase concert on Saturday with three California bands: Sequoia Rose out of Humboldt County, Inland Empire band Honey Buckets and Bay Area-based Mission Blue.
"We would love to see as many people come out to the Marriott (for that)," Russinsky said.
Russinsky, who also plays guitar and stand-up bass, said the group and attending musicians are excited to bring bluegrass to Bakersfield.
"We love it and we want to share it. We welcome people who don't know a lot about it. It's a wonderful American art form and we want to share it with everybody, build a bluegrass community in Bakersfield."
Stefani Dias can be reached at 661-395-7488. Follow her on Twitter at @realstefanidias.
