2024 FEATURED LINEUP…

NOTE: We don’t know what the COVID situation will be in May but we’ll follow the California and Monterey county requirements in place at that time.

 

Mr. Sun

Friday and Saturday
Acoustic Music supergroup Mr Sun, featuring renowned fiddler Darol Anger, 
guitarist Grant Gordy, Scottish bassist Aidan O’Donnell, and mandolinist Joe Walsh, will come to Watermelon Wednesdays on September 22nd, celebrating their upcoming CD release Extrovert on Compass Records. Their appearances in the last 4 years at Wintergrass, Grey Fox and Freshgrass, and at IBMA conventions, have created a powerful presence throughout the Acoustic Americana music scene.
Click here to learn more…

 

Edgar Loudermilk Band

Thursday and Friday
Influenced greatly by his father and grandfather, Edgar Loudermilk cut his teeth on bluegrass by learning to play bass to the legendary record, “Bluegrass Album Band Volume 1.” Surrounded by music at an early age, Loudermilk was only nine when he began playing bass in his family’s band. He continued to play in his family’s band until he was 20 years old when he joined the group Carolina Crossfire. Carolina Crossfire had quite a following in the Georgia area and it wasn’t long before Loudermilk decided to expand his options and try his hand at playing professionally, a decision that has made him a staple for elite artists in bluegrass music.
Click here to learn more…

 

The Clements Brothers

Saturday and Sunday
The Clements Brothers are George (guitar) and Charles (upright bass), identical twins from the heart of New England. The two have been playing and writing music together for as long as they can remember, first entering the Americana music scene in 2012 as part of the internationally touring grass-roots band, ‘The Lonely Heartstring Band,’ with whom they put out two albums on Rounder Records. Most recently, George could be found playing the role of Paul Simon in the hit national act ‘The Simon and Garfunkel Story’ while Charles could often be found on stage with the Boston Symphony Orchestra. Now, ‘The Clements Brothers’ marks their first original project together, focused on capturing their singer-songwriter sensibilities in a unique blend, with harmonies only achievable by their identical voices, at once enthralling and intimate, groovy and serene. Click here to learn more…

 

Never Come Down

Thursday and Friday
Weaving together modern and traditional styles of American music, Never Come Down is a Portland, Oregon based 5-piece composed of Joe Suskind (guitar), Crystal Lariza (vocals), Brian Alley (banjo), Kaden Hurst (mandolin), and Ben Ticknor (bass). Their dedication to thoughtful songwriting and dynamic arrangements highlight polished technical skills and a commitment to listening to each other. Formed in 2018, the band began touring extensively- steadily cultivating a passionate fan base at home in the Pacific Northwest, and eventually around the country. Click here to read more…

 

Mountain Highway

Saturday and Sunday
With a style all their own, Mountain Highway is a musical family group performing bluegrass, country, and gospel music originally made famous by icons like Bill Monroe, the Carter Family, Ralph Stanley, and a few outliers like the Eagles and Linda Ronstadt. Two sisters and a family friend play banjo, guitar, and mandolin as they sing three-part harmony, while the sisters’ dad plays an electric upright bass.
Click here to read more…

 

Crying Uncle Bluegrass

Widely recognized as one of the most exciting young bands in acoustic music, Crying Uncle Bluegrass plays a unique mix of bluegrass, Dawg (David Grisman music), jazz, and modern originals. Brothers Miles and Teo Quale are joined by bassist Andrew Osborn and 2023 National Flat Pick Guitar Champion Ian Ly, all outstanding young musicians of the vibrant California bluegrass scene. Click here to learn more…

Alum Ridge Boys with Ashlee

Thursday and Friday
The Alum Ridge Boys & Ashlee are torchbearers for a dynamic, deeply grounded musical style that champions the fertile common ground between bluegrass, early country, and traditional mountain music. Their powerful harmony singing and excellent musicianship have captivated audiences around the country and overseas and helped them win many awards. Click here to learn more…

 

Stillhouse Junkies

Thursday and Friday
A crowd-thrilling trio from the hills of Colorado, Stillhouse Junkies share the kind of strangely charmed chemistry that elevates both artist and audience alike. Since forming the Stillhouse Junkies in 2017, the Durango-bred band have offered up a hypnotic and high-energy form of roots music anchored in the free-flowing interplay.
Click here to learn more…

Mr. Sun

Friday and Saturday
Acoustic Music supergroup Mr Sun, featuring renowned fiddler Darol Anger, 
guitarist Grant Gordy, Scottish bassist Aidan O’Donnell, and mandolinist Joe Walsh, will come to Watermelon Wednesdays on September 22nd, celebrating their upcoming CD release Extrovert on Compass Records. Their appearances in the last 4 years at Wintergrass, Grey Fox and Freshgrass, and at IBMA conventions, have created a powerful presence throughout the Acoustic Americana music scene.
Click here to learn more…

 

The Clements Brothers with Carolyn Kendrick

Saturday and Sunday
The Clements Brothers are George (guitar) and Charles (upright bass), identical twins from the heart of New England. The two have been playing and writing music together for as long as they can remember, first entering the Americana music scene in 2012 as part of the internationally touring grass-roots band, ‘The Lonely Heartstring Band,’ with whom they put out two albums on Rounder Records. Most recently, George could be found playing the role of Paul Simon in the hit national act ‘The Simon and Garfunkel Story’ while Charles could often be found on stage with the Boston Symphony Orchestra. Carolyn Kendrick is a California-based singer-songwriter, fiddler, guitarist, and producer. Most of the time she lives as a musician must: hitting the open road, gigging, and playing the fiddle late into starry nights.

Click here to learn more…

Mountain Highway

Saturday and Sunday
With a style all their own, Mountain Highway is a musical family group performing bluegrass, country, and gospel music originally made famous by icons like Bill Monroe, the Carter Family, Ralph Stanley, and a few outliers like the Eagles and Linda Ronstadt. Two sisters and a family friend play banjo, guitar, and mandolin as they sing three-part harmony, while the sisters’ dad plays an electric upright bass.
Click here to read more…

 

Stillhouse Junkies

Thursday and Friday
A crowd-thrilling trio from the hills of Colorado, Stillhouse Junkies share the kind of strangely charmed chemistry that elevates both artist and audience alike. Since forming the Stillhouse Junkies in 2017, the Durango-bred band have offered up a hypnotic and high-energy form of roots music anchored in the free-flowing interplay.
Click here to learn more…

Edgar Loudermilk Band

Thursday and Friday
Influenced greatly by his father and grandfather, Edgar Loudermilk cut his teeth on bluegrass by learning to play bass to the legendary record, “Bluegrass Album Band Volume 1.” Surrounded by music at an early age, Loudermilk was only nine when he began playing bass in his family’s band. He continued to play in his family’s band until he was 20 years old when he joined the group Carolina Crossfire. Carolina Crossfire had quite a following in the Georgia area and it wasn’t long before Loudermilk decided to expand his options and try his hand at playing professionally, a decision that has made him a staple for elite artists in bluegrass music.
Click here to learn more…

 

 

Never Come Down

Thursday and Friday
Weaving together modern and traditional styles of American music, Never Come Down is a Portland, Oregon based 5-piece composed of Joe Suskind (guitar), Crystal Lariza (vocals), Brian Alley (banjo), Kaden Hurst (mandolin), and Ben Ticknor (bass). Their dedication to thoughtful songwriting and dynamic arrangements highlight polished technical skills and a commitment to listening to each other. Formed in 2018, the band began touring extensively- steadily cultivating a passionate fan base at home in the Pacific Northwest, and eventually around the country. Click here to read more…

 

Crying Uncle Bluegrass

Widely recognized as one of the most exciting young bands in acoustic music, Crying Uncle Bluegrass plays a unique mix of bluegrass, Dawg (David Grisman music), jazz, and modern originals. Brothers Miles and Teo Quale are joined by bassist Andrew Osborn and 2023 National Flat Pick Guitar Champion Ian Ly, all outstanding young musicians of the vibrant California bluegrass scene. Click here to learn more…

Alum Ridge Boys with Ashlee

Thursday and Friday
The Alum Ridge Boys & Ashlee are torchbearers for a dynamic, deeply grounded musical style that champions the fertile common ground between bluegrass, early country, and traditional mountain music. Their powerful harmony singing and excellent musicianship have captivated audiences around the country and overseas and helped them win many awards. Click here to learn more…

 

WE ARE ALSO PROUD TO PRESENT THESE ADDITIONAL AMAZING ACTS…

Central Valley Boys

The Central Valley Boys are the premier Traditional bluegrass band on this side of our great country . Now in their 14 season, The Boys are led by the Dynamic Yoseff Tucker, multiple award winning guitarist and vocalist, The Central Valley Boys take you back to an Old style Bluegrass show from days gone by playing and singing classics and hidden treasures from the First generation of Bluegrass Masters. Solos, duets, classic trios and four part gospels are performed with a CVB flavor. Read more here…

SLO County Stumblers

The SLO County Stumblers are an energetic American string band based in California’s Central Coast. The band features fiddler Casy Meikle, guitarist David Baine, banjo player Daniel Bohlman, and banjo builder Jerry James on bass. The band formed in 2018 when Meikle returned to California after several years in Middle Tennessee where he became steeped in the region’s musical traditions, traveling extensively with a variety of Southern string bands and with buckdancer Thomas Maupin. The Stumblers play hard-driving old time fiddle tunes and spirited songs, heavily influenced by the golden-era string bands of the 1920s and 30s.

Click here to learn more…

Blue Birds on a Wire

Blue Birds On A Wire (BBOAW) came together for the first time in May of 2023 when they filled in, last-minute, on the main stage at the Parkfield Bluegrass Festival. It was clear at that very first gig that something magical had been born.
As far as they know, BBOAW is the only bluegrass band with a lead singer on the pedal harp.
Read more here…

Amber Cross

Authenticity is a difficult thing to measure in American roots music. It’s not in the hat you wear, or the twang in your voice. It’s in how well you understand that the music comes from the land, and that its roots run deep. Americana songwriter Amber cross understands this, and on her new album, Savage on the Downhill, she makes music as beholden to the landscapes of Northern and Pacific California, where she lives and travels, as to the visually-rich songwriting she crafts around it.
Read more here…

 

Who’s Feeling Young Now

Who’s feeling young now is a bluegrass band from the California Bay Area. The band features Niko Quale on fiddle and vocals, Lucy Khadder on bass and vocals, Silas Jude on banjo, and Teo Quale on guitar and vocals. who’s feeling young now started in 2019, but the members have all been playing since before they could tie their shoes. Sharing a love for bluegrass and a passion for playing music, who’s feeling young now will make those who hear them feel young at heart again. Read more here…

 

Gerry Higbies “Kids on Stage”

Something for the whole family!

Click to learn more…

Central Valley Boys

The Central Valley Boys are the premier Traditional bluegrass band on this side of our great country . Now in their 14 season, The Boys are led by the Dynamic Yoseff Tucker, multiple award winning guitarist and vocalist, The Central Valley Boys take you back to an Old style Bluegrass show from days gone by playing and singing classics and hidden treasures from the First generation of Bluegrass Masters. Solos, duets, classic trios and four part gospels are performed with a CVB flavor. Read more here…

Blue Birds on a Wire

Blue Birds On A Wire (BBOAW) came together for the first time in May of 2023 when they filled in, last-minute, on the main stage at the Parkfield Bluegrass Festival. It was clear at that very first gig that something magical had been born.
As far as they know, BBOAW is the only bluegrass band with a lead singer on the pedal harp.
Read more here…

Who’s Feeling Young Now

Who’s feeling young now is a bluegrass band from the California Bay Area. The band features Niko Quale on fiddle and vocals, Lucy Khadder on bass and vocals, Silas Jude on banjo, and Teo Quale on guitar and vocals. who’s feeling young now started in 2019, but the members have all been playing since before they could tie their shoes. Sharing a love for bluegrass and a passion for playing music, who’s feeling young now will make those who hear them feel young at heart again. Read more here…

SLO County Stumblers

The SLO County Stumblers are an energetic American string band based in California’s Central Coast. The band features fiddler Casy Meikle, guitarist Stuart Mason, banjo player Daniel Bohlman, and Jerry James on bass. The Stumblers play hard-driving old time fiddle tunes and spirited songs, heavily influenced by the golden-era string bands of the 1920s and 30s. Their performance is filled with humorous stories and banter and is guaranteed to get feet moving across the dance floor.

Click here to learn more…

Amber Cross

Authenticity is a difficult thing to measure in American roots music. It’s not in the hat you wear, or the twang in your voice. It’s in how well you understand that the music comes from the land, and that its roots run deep. Americana songwriter Amber cross understands this, and on her new album, Savage on the Downhill, she makes music as beholden to the landscapes of Northern and Pacific California, where she lives and travels, as to the visually-rich songwriting she crafts around it.
Read more here…

 

 

Gerry Higbies “Kids on Stage”

Something for the whole family!

Click to learn more…