For nine days in early February, the San Francisco Bay Area will be a Mecca for fans of bluegrass and old-time music.  Thirty shows featuring 57 bands and artists are planned at 17 small Bay Area venues between February 1 and 9 as part of the Ninth Annual San Francisco Bluegrass & Old-Time Festival.  The festival also will include a number of free jam sessions at various locations, two-days of  screenings of bluegrass and old-time films at San Francisco’s Red Vic, kids shows, and a variety of Sunday afternoon workshops with personalized instruction from some of the festival’s performers at the Verdi Club.

The David Grisman Experience, fronted by that “dawg”-gone good virtuoso mandolinist & composer, helps kick things off with a concert at The Independent on Friday night, Feb. 1, while Peter Rowan gives a closing night performance at Noe Valley Ministry on Saturday, Feb. 9.  Other artists of note include the Carolina Chocolate Drops, an up-and-coming young African-American string band, which plays Berkeley’s Freight & Salvage on Thursday, Feb. 7; festival co-founders the Crooked Jades, a Frisco-based quintet that mixes originals and traditional old-time string band songs, at Noe Valley on Saturday evening, Feb. 2 and on a double bill with the Freight Hoppers, an old-time string band, at Freight & Salvage on Friday, Feb. 8.  The Freight Hoppers also provide the music for an old-time square dance at Swedish American Hall on Saturday, Feb. 9. 

For a complete schedule and other details on this grassroots, nonprofit, volunteer-run festival, visit www.sfbluegrass.org.