Fiddle contests and old-time music in California
Fiddle contests and old-time music in California, each compiled from its own sources: dates, divisions, and where the jams happen. No ratings; every entry carries its status.
Point at a dot to see the place.Tap a dot to see the place. Road map of California.
- Berkeley Old-Time Music ConventionBerkeley · Old-time music conventionAn annual five-day old-time music convention spread across Berkeley, California, whose string band contest still pays in agricultural prizes, as its 1968 ancestor paid in rutabagas.
- California State Old Time Open Fiddle & Picking Championships (Lodi)Lodi · Fiddle & picking championshipsCalifornia's state old-time fiddle and picking contest, held each April in Jackson Hall at Lodi's Grape Festival Fairgrounds, with a 2026 field expected to span ages 7 to 93.
- Contra Dance Nevada County (Grass Valley)Grass Valley · Contra dancingA volunteer-run contra dance in Grass Valley, California, called to live music on third Saturdays on what is reportedly the oldest sprung floor west of the Mississippi.
- Fiddletown Fiddlers' JamFiddletown · Performance and event venueAn annual old-time fiddle contest and street jam in Fiddletown, California, held the third Saturday of September beneath a giant fiddle bolted to the community hall roof.
- Humboldt Folklife Festival (Blue Lake)Blue Lake · Barn danceAn eight-day summer folk festival at Dell'Arte in Blue Lake, California, begun in 1978 at a Fickle Hill dude ranch and booked with Humboldt County's own musicians.
- Oroville Old-Time Fiddlers monthly jam (CSOTFA District 1)Oroville · Circle jams & open mic performancesCalifornia non-profit corporation formed to educate about and perpetuate fiddling as an art form and cultural treasure.
- Santa Cruz Contra Dance at Live Oak GrangeSanta Cruz · Traditional social dancing eventContra Dance is a traditional social dancing event with origins in New England and Appalachia. Each dance is taught beforehand and prompted by a caller using gender neutral terms (Larks / Robins). No dancing experience or dance partner is necessary.
- Topanga Banjo Fiddle Contest and Folk FestivalCalabasas · Music festival and competitionAn annual Sunday contest and folk festival at King Gillette Ranch in Calabasas, begun in 1961 by two housewives raising money for their church building fund.
Old-Time Music in all eleven states; next door in Oregon and Arizona.