SACRAMENTO AREA BLUEGRASS & DANCE EVENTS
8/20 - 11/7
Everything on this list is worth recommending. Starred items are editor picks.
If you've got an event or comment on this list email joel@letsjambg.com
📚 CLASSES & WORKSHOPS
Let's Jam Bluegrass - Fall Drop-In Jam Class
Date: Tuesdays, 9/8 - 12/15/2026
Time: 7-9:30pm
Venue: Watermelon Music, Davis
Drop-in jam sessions for players new to acoustic jamming. Moderate pace, supportive environment. Participants should have mastered basic chords and be able to play simple songs with ease. $30 drop-in, first class free.
The Freight Fall I Classes
Date: 9/8 - 10/16/2026
Venue: Freight & Salvage, Berkeley
Six-week fall session of acoustic music classes, including Beginning Fiddle, Fiddle Repertoire & Theory, Good Basic Flatpicking Rhythm Guitar, Cool Easy Songs For Your Jam Repertoire, Introduction to Mountain Dulcimer, and the jam-skills class Jams Well With Others! About 90 minutes from Sacramento.
Berkeley Old Time Music Convention Workshops
Date: 9/17-20/2026
Venue: The Freight and various venues, Berkeley
Four days of old-time workshops running alongside the convention: Southwest fiddle and classic banjo (9/17), 2-finger banjo, fiddle and ukulele (9/18), and a full slate of fiddle, guitar, and theory sessions (9/20). About 90 minutes from Sacramento.
Wernick Method Jam Camp
Date: 9/19-20/2026
Venue: Hollister, CA
Two-day bluegrass jam camp with Mike & Gail Thomas using the Wernick Method. No improvising experience needed — you just need to change chords smoothly and tune your instrument. About 2.5 hours from Sacramento.
Walker Creek Music Camp
Date: 10/23-26/2026
Venue: Walker Creek Ranch, between Marshall & Petaluma
Multi-instrument bluegrass and old-time music camp. About 2 hours from Sacramento.
🎵 SHOWS & CONCERTS
Taylor Mountain Band
Date: 8/30/2026
Time: 1-3pm
Venue: The California Theatre, Santa Rosa
Stage debut for Taylor Mountain — an intimate afternoon of mostly bluegrass. $17 advance / $25 at the door. About 2 hours from Sacramento.
The Deslondes
Date: 9/6/2026
Time: Doors 7pm, show 8pm
Venue: The Starlet Room at Harlow's, Sacramento
New Orleans roots band formed on Deslonde Street in the Ninth Ward, blending swamp blues, country, and folk. Touring their covers album Don't Let It Die Vol. 1, reimagining Swamp Dogg, Johnny Cash, and Clifton Chenier. With Shana Cleveland and Desiree Cannon. All ages.
★CBA After-School Bluegrass Club Benefit
Date: 9/10/2026
Time: Doors 6:30pm, show 7-10pm
Venue: Sweetwater Music Hall, Mill Valley
Benefit for the California Bluegrass Association's After-school Bluegrass Club featuring the David Nelson Band — a founding voice of West Coast psychedelic Americana and longtime Grateful Dead collaborator — with Suzy & Eric Thompson, Paul Knight, and Lowell “Banana” Levinger. Opening set from CBA youth-program alumni Crying Uncle Bluegrass Band. $83-160. About 2 hours from Sacramento.
The Infamous Stringdusters
Date: 9/15/2026
Time: 7pm
Venue: Center for the Arts, Grass Valley
Grammy-winning modern bluegrass quintet (banjo, bass, fiddle, dobro, guitar) blending traditional roots with Americana, country, and indie-folk. Known for unmatched instrumental chemistry and high-energy picking. Touring their album 20/20. $57. About 60 minutes from Sacramento.
★★Michael Cleveland
Date: 9/23/2026
Time: 7pm
Venue: Center for the Arts, Grass Valley
Twelve-time IBMA Fiddle Player of the Year and one of the most electrifying fiddlers alive, leading his band Flamekeeper through hard-driving traditional bluegrass. A rare Northern California appearance. $50-55. About 60 minutes from Sacramento.
Bill Frisell & Harmony Five
Date: 9/27/2026
Time: 7pm
Venue: Center for the Arts, Grass Valley
Genre-defying guitarist Bill Frisell, whose playing sits at the crossroads of jazz, Americana, folk, and country, with his Harmony Five ensemble. $54-59. About 60 minutes from Sacramento.
An Evening with Jorma Kaukonen
Date: 9/29/2026
Time: 7pm
Venue: Center for the Arts, Grass Valley
Founding member of Jefferson Airplane and Hot Tuna, and a master of fingerstyle blues and traditional American roots guitar. Solo acoustic. $55-65. About 60 minutes from Sacramento.
★Marty Stuart & His Fabulous Superlatives
Date: 10/4/2026
Time: 7pm
Venue: Center for the Arts, Grass Valley
Country Music Hall of Famer, Grammy winner, and mandolin and guitar ace who came up playing with Lester Flatt and Johnny Cash. His Fabulous Superlatives are one of the finest bands in country music, moving between honky-tonk, bluegrass, gospel, and psychedelic twang. $70-80. About 60 minutes from Sacramento.
Fox & Bones
Date: 10/8/2026
Time: 7-9pm
Venue: The Side Door, Sacramento
Portland-based retro folk-rock duo, winners of the 2023 Tucson Folk Festival songwriting contest and PNW Music Awards Best Folk/Americana Album of 2024. With openers J.B. Barton and Dominick Restivo. $25.
Roger McGuinn
Date: 10/10/2026
Time: 8pm
Venue: Center for the Arts, Grass Valley
Founder and frontman of The Byrds, whose 12-string Rickenbacker jangle bridged folk, bluegrass, and rock. Solo show mixing the hits with the traditional folk repertoire he has championed for decades. $58-68. About 60 minutes from Sacramento.
Shovels & Rope
Date: 10/13/2026
Time: Doors 7pm, show 8pm
Venue: Harlow's, Sacramento
Charleston husband-and-wife duo trading guitars, drums, and harmonies in raw, hard-hitting Americana. Their minimalist two-piece setup is built for the live room. All ages.
John Moreland
Date: 10/20/2026
Time: Doors 7pm, show 8pm
Venue: Harlow's, Sacramento
Oklahoma singer-songwriter whose spare, devastating folk and Americana writing has made him one of the most admired lyricists working. Touring his album Visitor, with Georgia Maq. All ages.
The Wildwoods
Date: 10/26/2026
Time: Doors 7pm, show 8pm
Venue: The Starlet Room at Harlow's, Sacramento
Folk-Americana trio from Lincoln, Nebraska — Noah Gose (guitar), Chloe Gose (violin), and Andrew Vaggalis (upright bass) — with three-part harmony in the lineage of Nickel Creek and Gillian Welch. Touring Dear Meadowlark. All ages.
Paul Thorn
Date: 10/27/2026
Time: 7pm
Venue: Center for the Arts, Grass Valley
Mississippi songwriter and former prizefighter whose Americana blends Southern soul, gospel, and roadhouse rock with sharp, funny storytelling. $59-69. About 60 minutes from Sacramento.
The Last Revel
Date: 11/2/2026
Time: Doors 7pm, show 8pm
Venue: The Starlet Room at Harlow's, Sacramento
Minneapolis string band playing introspective Americana on guitar, fiddle, and banjo. Their album Gone for Good was produced by Dave Simonett of Trampled by Turtles. All ages.
Solas
Date: 11/7/2026
Time: 8pm
Venue: Center for the Arts, Grass Valley
One of the most influential Irish-American bands of the last thirty years, driving traditional Celtic music with fierce ensemble playing and contemporary arrangements. $60-65. About 60 minutes from Sacramento.
🎪 FESTIVALS
CBA Golden Old-Time Campout
Date: 8/20-23/2026
Venue: Camp Russian River, Guerneville
California Bluegrass Association's old-time campout — three days and nights devoted to playing old-time music, jamming, and fun, near Armstrong Woods State Reserve. About 2 hours from Sacramento.
Bowers Bluegrass Festival
Date: 8/22-24/2026
Venue: Bowers Mansion Regional Park, Washoe Valley, NV
Long-running Northern Nevada bluegrass festival with a weekend of bands, jamming, food and craft vendors in a scenic rural valley about 20 miles south of Reno. About 2.5 hours from Sacramento.
Berkeley Old Time Music Convention
Date: 9/16-20/2026
Venue: The Freight and various venues, Berkeley
Five-day old-time music festival featuring concerts, workshops, square dances, a stringband contest, kids' activities, and plenty of jamming. About 90 minutes from Sacramento.
★Fiddletown Fiddlers' Jam
Date: 9/19/2026
Time: 11am-5pm
Venue: Downtown Fiddletown, 14445 Fiddletown Rd
Free all-day festival in historic Fiddletown — live music on the main stage, an open fiddle contest, roughly 30 vendors, and food, held every third Saturday in September. About 75 minutes from Sacramento.
★Hardly Strictly Bluegrass
Date: 10/2-4/2026
Venue: Golden Gate Park, San Francisco
Massive free three-day festival in Golden Gate Park with more than 100 artists across bluegrass, Americana, country, folk, and roots on multiple stages. All ages, no tickets required. About 90 minutes from Sacramento.
CBA Fall Campout
Date: 10/5-11/2026
Venue: Lodi Grape Festival Grounds, Lodi
California Bluegrass Association's weeklong fall campout — camp for a week and pick with friends. About 45 minutes from Sacramento.
💃 DANCES
Sacramento English Country Dance
Date: 1st & 3rd Sundays 2-5pm
Venue: Masonic Lodge / YLI Hall, Roseville & Sacramento
English Country Dance with live music. 1st Sundays at Masonic Lodge (235 Vernon St Roseville) 3rd Sundays at YLI Hall (1400 27th St Sacramento). Free intro class at 1:30pm. $15 adults; $10 students; $5 under 18; $30 family max.
Sacramento Contra Dance
Date: 2nd & 4th Saturdays 7-10pm
Venue: Coloma Community Center, Sacramento
Regular contra dances with live music and calling. Newcomer orientation at 6:30pm. $15 adults; $10 students; $5 under 18; $30 family max.
🎸 JAM SESSIONS
Martinez Bluegrass Jam
Date: Sundays 11am
Venue: Market & Main (upstairs), Martinez
Regular bluegrass jam session.
Lucky Horseshoe Performance Jam
Date: Sundays 4pm
Venue: The Lucky Horseshoe, San Francisco
Intermediate-level performance bluegrass jam (on stage playing into a mic). Must be able to lead a vocal or instrumental song. Ages 21+.
East Bay Bluegrassers Jam
Date: Wednesdays
Venue: Rockin' Robbie's Music Store, El Cerrito
Free bluegrass jam. All ages and skill levels welcome. Guitar mandolin banjo bass violin and other bluegrass instruments.
Napa Bluegrass Jam
Date: Tuesdays 7-9pm
Venue: Meadows of Napa, Napa
Friendly bluegrass jam hosted by Vern Flock at the Meadows of Napa retirement home.
Two Rivers - Old Time Jam
Date: Every Sunday 6-8pm
Venue: Two Rivers Cider, Sacramento
Old time jam session. All ages welcome.
Uncle Sonny's - Bluegrass Jam
Date: Every Wednesday 6-8pm
Venue: Uncle Sonny's, Colfax
Bluegrass jam at Uncle Sonny's in Colfax. High activity as of 10/12/25. Ages 21+.
Third Friday Irish Session
Date: Third Friday 7-9pm
Venue: The Fox and Goose, Sacramento
Mostly Irish session at Fox and Goose.
North Bay Old Time Music Sessions
Date: 1st Sundays 3-5pm
Venue: Church of the Oaks, Cotati
Old time music jam session.
Sebastopol Bluegrass Jam
Date: 3rd Sundays 2:30pm
Venue: Sebastopol Center For the Arts, Sebastopol
Bluegrass jam for various skill levels.
Orangevale Grange Fiddle Jam
Date: 2nd Sundays at 1pm
Venue: Orangevale Grange, 5807 Walnut Ave, Orangevale
Fiddle jam session.
SPENCE Bluegrass Jam Series
Date: 4th Tuesdays, 1st/3rd Thursdays, 2nd/4th Thursdays, 1st Fridays 7-11pm
Venue: Various Bay Area venues
Rotating bluegrass jam series: 4th Tuesdays at Ashkenaz (Berkeley), 1st & 3rd Thursdays at Papermill Creek Saloon (Forest Knolls), 2nd & 4th Thursdays at Peri's (Fairfax), 1st Fridays at Smiley's Saloon (Bolinas). Format: 7-8pm open jam, 8-9pm house band, 9-11pm open jam.