The Dillards Play Goleta!

Funny. It seems almost like a couple of years ago I first saw the Dillards at the first Monterey Folk Festival back in May, 1963. Rodney and Doug Dillard, along with Mitch Jayne and Dean Webb, clad in fringed buckskin outfits, straight from the Ozarks, playing great shows with sparkling banjo solos from Douglas.

Well, here we are in the next millenium, and I thought all those guys were dead! But no, they’re back, having a great time on a reunion tour, allbeit without Mitch or Dean. They played the Songtree series last night, and it gave me a chance to catch up on old times with guys I hadn’t seen since the 70s. You can see Doug with his banjer and Rodney on the guitar (Rodney was always one of my very favorite rhythm players – really rock solid and great bass runs).

The Dillards Play Goleta

Peter Feldmann photo

About Peter Feldmann

Peter Feldmann has long been a musical mainstay in Santa Barbara and Southern California. Besides actively performing bluegrass and old time music with a variety of groups, Peter is also known as a bluegrass historian, collector, music consultant, teacher, and producer, both of live concerts and radio/tv programs throughout the area. His music has been heard in clubs, concerts, saloons, universities, pre-schools, at weddings, wakes, parties, barn-raisings, calf-ropings, rodeos, auctions, fund raisers, wine tastings and chili cook offs. Peter founded Santa Barbara's Old Time Fiddler's Convention (1972), UCSB's Old Time Music Front (1964), and The Bluebird Cafe (1971). Through these and other outlets, he was the first to bring many prominent folk, blues, and bluegrass artists, including Bill Monroe, Mance Lipscomb, The Stanley Brothers, The New Lost City Ramblers, Fred McDowell, Furry Lewis, Rose Maddox, the Balfa Brothers, and many others to the Santa Barbara area. Peter also helped others access the music by teaching privately, and in group classes for Santa Barbara Continuing Education, UCSB Extension, and McCabes Guitars. He was the first on the West Coast to produce and market instruction Lps - three on How To Play Country Fiddle, and one each on Clawhammer Banjo, and Maybelle Carter Style Guitar. He still presents lectures on country music history at UCSB, Santa Barbara area libraries, and for various interest groups, festival workshops, etc. In 2006, he presented his monograph titled "The Big bang Of Bluegrass Music" (describing the origins of bluegrass 1938 - 1946) to the worlds first International Music Symposium at the University of Kentucky at Bowling Green. He has also been very active in radio, television, and film work, producing weekly shows on country and bluegrass music over a 21 year period on various commercial and public stations. Peter currently maintains three music-related websites, a music blog, and an entertainment service company, "BlueGrass West!", based in the Santa Ynez Valley in Southern California. Peter performs tunes and songs from the heart of America's musical treasure chest. His shows can include fiddle, guitar, banjo, and mandolin. Well-known as a historian and teacher, Peter is first and foremost an entertainer, sharing his respect, energy and love for the music with his fellow musicians, friends, and audiences.
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2 Responses to The Dillards Play Goleta!

  1. REGINA BARTLETT [Visitor] says:

    Great photo!

  2. Thanks Regina. Somewhere, I have photos I took of the Dillards back in 1963. If I ever find the right cardboard box, I’ll publish one or two.
    Matter of fact, here’s a snap of Doug Dillard, onstage at the Monterey Folk Festival in May, 1963. This was the first time the Dillards made it out to Sunny California, complete with buckskin jackets and fringe.Doug Dillard, 1963

    -Peter

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