Workshop and Jam Descriptions
A rare opportunity to learn from the Masters
at CBA’s Great 48 Bakersfield Jam – Registration is limited
Masterclass: Bluegrass Mandolin with Scott Gates
Friday, January 10, 2025. 3 – 4pm
Bakersfield Marriott Hotel
$25.00
“Described as a fun-loving and remarkable musician, Scott Gates is yet another product of the California Bluegrass youth movement. He has been playing mandolin, guitar, and singing hard core bluegrass since before he was ten years old. Scott is with AJ Lee and Blue Summit and is a popular instructor for the next wave of California bluegrass talent. When you see him play live, you will not forget it.”
– Dave Berry, Bluegrass Today
Masterclass: Flatpicking Guitar with Sullivan Tuttle
Friday, January 10, 2025. 4:30 – 5:30pm
Bakersfield Marriott Hotel
$25.00
“His rock-solid rhythm playing can be overshadowed by his dazzling, often unpredictable, leads, while his mastery of several genres (traditional bluegrass, gypsy jazz, various folk) is obvious. So, too, is his distinctive musical personality; Sully doesn’t sound like anyone else, but he does sound like someone you want to hear.”
– Peter Thompson, Producer/Host
Wernick Method Bluegrass Jamming class
ONE, three-hour Wernick Method Jam Class will be offered FOUR times.
Spaces limited so register early!
Class A – Thursday Evening, January 9, 6:30-9:30 pm
Class B – Friday Afternoon, January 10, 1:00-4:00 pm.
Class C – Saturday Morning, January 11, 9:00am-Noon
Class D – Saturday Afternoon, January 11, 1:30-4:30 pm.
Cost: $50
Take any of the sessions and in three hours you will learn basic jam etiquette. how to join a bluegrass jam, how to take solos in a jam and how to sing with a jam. You will have plenty of practice time with personalized coaching to get you “making music with friends, and friends with music.”
Multiple jamming opportunities exist throughout the Bakersfield Great 48 so you can go from class directly to jamming!
Each class is limited in size to provide personalized coaching. Register early! Class fee per person is $50.
For more info, contact Mike Thomas 703-727-8491, Banjoworx@gmail.com.
Free Workshops
Guitar – The Heartbeat of the Jam with Tyler Grant
Tyler Grant, National Flatpicking Champion, renowned guitarist, singer, educator, and songwriter will be presenting a free workshop on Guitar–The Heartbeat of the Jam, Saturday afternoon, January 11. Many Great 48 jammers know Tyler from his YouTube and Facebook livestreams “Tyler Grant’s Playalong Bluegrass Jams” with over 230 archived videos of slow, mid-tempo, and fast jams for practice at home.
Tyler’s thirty-year music career started when he toured with Abigail Washburn, Adrian Young & Little Sadie, and April Verch. He then joined the Drew Emmitt Band, which evolved into the Emmitt/Nershi Band. After seven years in Nashville, TN, he moved to Colorado to found the Cosmic Americana band Grant Farm® in 2010. After five albums, and hundreds of concerts and festivals, the band sought new directions during the “Great Pause” of 2020. Those new directions included Tyler becoming a river rafting guide and hosting musical raft adventures which have inspired his upcoming solo release, The Flatpicker.
When not on the road, the stage, or the river, Tyler keeps up with students on ArtistWorks and TrueFire. Tyler spends most of his time in Colorado and California, searching for that perfect combination of song and story.
Photo by Jessie Bell Photography
Learn an Old-time Fiddle Tune
Learn an old-time Appalachian-style tune on fiddle or clawhammer banjo. (Banjos please bring capo & tuner. Guitar, mando, bass, etc, also welcome.) Geff & Masha Crawford teaching.
Geff and Masha Crawford play together as the duo “Old Soles”, a celebration of traditional music that doesn’t take itself too seriously. They’ve been playing old-time fiddle and clawhammer banjo for more years than they like to admit, performing and teaching at the CBA Music Camp for over 10 years, the Strawberry Music Festival for more than 20, plus hundreds of barn dances, pubs, restaurants, wineries, weddings, and at least two grocery store openings.
Geff has a huge repertoire of both fiddle tunes and songs, and has shared stages, music, friendship, and laughter with folks like Ewan MacColl, Peggy Seeger, Tom Paley, Byron Berline, Tracy Schwarz, Earl Murphy, Franklin George, Walt Koken, Clare Milliner, Dan Gellert, and others. Masha was one of the founders of the Chicago Barn Dance Company, studied folklore and ethnomusicology in graduate school, and has been teaching and performing across the US and Europe since… well, let’s just say that several years were spent in a horse-drawn wagon. Is that “old-timey” enough for you?
After many years of separate musical wanderings, fate and fiddles brought them together, and Geff & Masha have been making beautiful, toe-tapping, driving, energetic, red-hot, and adjective-laden, traditional music, together ever since.
~ facebook.com/oldsoles
Basics for Bluegrass Bass
Interested in playing bass in a jam? Invited to play bass in a band? Spouse bought “you” a bass for your birthday? Come on down as Dave Gooding discusses the basics of playing bass in a Bluegrass setting. He will also share the practical side of owning an upright bass. All levels are welcome.
Banjo – Intro to Major Pentatonics with Julio Boysenberry
Julio Boysenberry is a treasured mainstay of the Bakersfield Great 48 and for banjo pickers of any level, Julio can show you a whole new world of banjo back-up and solo possibilities. Saturday afternoon, Julio will offer a free banjo workshop called INTRO TO MAJOR PENTATONICS. Rather than overwhelm you with music theory, Julio will show you how this easy-to-learn musical concept is immediately applicable to many common tunes.
Starting at 3 pm Wednesday, Julio will be offering free, 1-on-1 banjo lessons to any interested Great 48 attendees — just look for Julio jamming in the Marriott’s lobby or check in at the Welcome Table for info on how you can reserve lesson time with Julio.
Bluegrass Fiddle/Twin Fiddle Workshop – Annie Staninec & Dennis Fetchet
Attention fiddle fans! Last year Annie and Dennis had such a well-received twin fiddle workshop that they’ve been asked to do it again this year. We’ll play some fiddle tunes, twin them, show you how, and have a splendid time. Come have some fiddlin’ fun with us!!!
Annie makes her living performing, teaching, and recording bluegrass fiddle. She has taught at many camps around the country including CBA Music Camp, Kaufman Kamp, Sore Fingers, and Rockygrass Academy. She is a full-time member of the Kathy Kallick Band and Whiskey Deaf, and she has toured with numerous other bands including John Reischman & the Jaybirds and Rod Stewart.
Dennis has been an icon in the SoCal bluegrass community since the early 1970’s and has played in numerous bands including the Wild Hickory Nuts, Bluegrass Cardinals, Byron Berline’s LA Fiddle Band, Hoyt Axton, and a full-time 25-year stint with Billy Hill & The Hillbillies at Disneyland.
Photo by David K. Cupp
Duet Singing Workshop
Learn the pure joy and beauty of duet singing with Michaela Mae and Ryan Harlin! As two San Francisco Bay Area musicians, songwriters, and music teachers Michaela and Ryan are bringing their popular duet singing class to Bakersfield for the Great 48! There’s a lot that goes into duet singing and the harmony parts are just the start. In this workshop you’ll be learning a song, with its harmony counterpart, to get experience singing comfortably alongside others. Along the way, Michaela and Ryan will be sharing tips about vocal technique, tone, dynamics, and other duet singing strategies to help you get the best buzz and sound with your duet partner.
Michaela Mae is a life-long professionally trained vocalist and performer who has recently opened The Folk Farm Music School in Sebastopol, CA hosting private and group classes that focus specifically on traditional, bluegrass, and Americana roots musical styles. Michaela regularly brings her teaching to Northern California music camps such as Walker Creek Music Camp and CBA Summer Music Camp.
Ryan Harlin is a music producer, composer, and songwriter whose work spans everything from traditional bluegrass to video game music soundtracks on popular titles such as Valorant. For the past 14 years, Ryan has produced music production educational videos on YouTube that have had millions of views, but teaching at CBA Summer Music Camp, Walker Creek Music Camp, and classroom workshops allows him to enjoy connecting directly with students.
Find your Jam at the Bakersfield Great 48
The goal of this event is for you to play music with other people through a wide variety of jam opportunities.
Mike & Gail’s Wernick Method Jam Class will give you confidence in the basics of jamming as well as demystify the etiquette of joining and leaving jams.
Once you’ve arrived at the Great 48, check your free printed Event Guide, the What’s Happening white board, and follow the signage to find hosted Bluegrass Jams, Old-Time Jams and Themed Jams
Where else can I jam at Bakersfield’s Great 48?
You are not only welcome to jam, but encouraged to do so, in the Lobby Great Room, Business Center, any floor designated JAMMING FLOOR, and especially on the 9th floor! There you’ll find The California Bluegrass Association jamming suite, the Southwest Bluegrass Association jamming suite, Bluegrass Music Society of the Central Coast jamming suite, the Central San Joaquin Chapter jamming suite, and the combined San Diego bluegrass associations’ (San Diego Bluegrass Society and North County Bluegrass & Folk Club) jamming suite. These suites are open for anyone to come and jam with the hope that you’ll meet new friends and learn about the exciting acoustic music events these groups have planned for 2025!
There’s no guarantee but sometimes Bakersfield’s January weather is pleasant, and the Marriott will turn on the poolside heaters for those who want to jam outdoors. There is also space to jam outside by the South Side parking area, and the North Side pre-function area across from the ballroom salons.
This year, we’ll have an area designated for Old Time all-the-time where you can find others who know your tunes!
If you’ve made your reservation for a jamming floor, prop open your door and your room becomes jam central for your friends, old and new!
We know jams form just about anywhere, but for safety considerations, please do not jam in the elevator landings or the stairwells. There’ll be folks with instruments coming through!