I just returned from a weekend at UCLA, celebrating the 50th anniversary of the founding of the Ash Grove, a seminal music club in Hollywood. The LA Times has had several related articles, and I’m sure more information will be released over the next month. While there, I moderated a workshop titled “Hillbilly Fever”, on the Ash Grove and its very considerable influence on old time, folk, and bluegrass music in Southern California. We invited Mike Seeger, Tom and Patrick Sauber, Herb Peterson, Phil Borof, LeRoy McNees, and Roland White to come play and talk about their Ash Grove memories. I also hosted a bluegrass jam session with a lot of LA pickers and guest Roland White, former leader of the Kentucky Colonels.
Peter with Roland White and LeRoy McNees of the Kentucky Colonels. Photos by my friend Rita Weill Byxbe.