We are heading into another busy CBA year with more events scheduled than ever before! We have some new officers and coordinators in our volunteer stable who are scheduling events in their home areas.
The first event to kick off 2016 is, of course, our big Bakersfield event. The Great 48 Hour Jam is shaping up to be the biggest and busiest yet. The CBA has taken over responsibility for the Friday Night Concert for the first time so this is the first year there has been an outlay from the CBA Treasury. Purchase tickets for this concert PLEASE. You can tear yourself away from a couple hours of jamming to listen to the big boys in Sideline perform for you. I purchased two tickets at the last Board meeting. The web page has all the info. www.cbaweb.org
Our new Area Activities VP for El Dorado/Amador Counties, John Staiti, is producing a concert in Shingle Springs CA on January 31, 2016 with the Edgar Loudermilk Band featuring Jeff Autry. This is a brand new band and you can hear them before they start winning awards. If you live within driving distance, attend this concert. It has been 40 years since the CBA has had a presence in this area and we are thrilled that John is on board and busy.
February 26th and 27th are the Michael Cleveland & Flamekeeper concerts. There is a fundraiser for the CBA Youth Program in Alameda on Friday, the 26th and A Night at the Grange in Morgan Hill on the 27th. Tickets are available on the website. Morgan Hill always sells out so purchase those tickets early. The Alameda event is the first ever Bay Area event at this venue and we hope to sell out. We are applying for some matching grants for the Youth Program and the CBA proceeds from the Alameda Concert will be part of those “matching” dollars. Kids under 13 will get in free with paying adults and The Rambling Minors will open at 6:30. The Rambling Minors band is the newest/youngest CBA bluegrass band featuring: Miles and Teo Quale, Daisy Kerr and D’jango Ruckrich.
Other noteworthy dates for February are the opening of enrollment for both the 2016 CBA Music Camp on February 7th and the 2016 Academy on February 15th. Both these events always sell out so make plans early and get your registrations in.
As of this date (Thanksgiving Day) we are still in the process of reaching wide for the donations of GOOD mandolins and little basses. Our friends at Mandolin Café (www.mandolincafe.com) and Bluegrass Today (www.bluegrasstoday.com) both spread the word to the community outside of California and things are beginning to happen. There will be a report later on but know that some of our improving mandolin players will be able to play some really fine instruments for a while. We have a waiting list for both good mandolins and little basses. The CBA Youth Program has friends in the bluegrass community who are so generous.
PLEASE DONATE TO THE CBA YOUTH PROGRAM SCHOLARSHIP FUND. All donations through December 31, 2015 can be declared on your 2015 tax return. It is easy to donate with PayPal or Credit Card on our websites (no fees charged for donations) or a check written out to CBA Youth Program and sent to me at Darby Brandli, 2106 9th Avenue, Oakland CA 94606. We gave out $6000 in scholarships in 2015 and only have about $1000 in our fund as of today. Give generously for the holidays !!
Purchase those Early Bird Tickets to the Father’s Day Festival, it is never too soon to begin to plan for our 41st Annual Festival on the Nevada County Fairgrounds. In the meantime, there are a lot of “warm up” events produced by the CBA January through May. Happy 2016!
