Strawberry Music Festival features Bruce Cockburn, Lindsay Lou

NOW IN ITS 37TH YEAR, NORTHERN California’s iconic Strawberry Music Festival takes place Memorial Day and Labor Day weekends. “Everything from Americana to bluegrass to rock,” as festival co-founder Charlie Cran told MTV.

The Spring Strawberry Music Festival returns to the Nevada County Fairgrounds in Grass Valley on May 24-28, drawing thousands of musicians, entertainers and music enthusiasts from across the country. The setting offers forest and meadow camping, and lots of indoor and outdoor space for family fun.

The festival features a wide range of musical acts, representing many different musical genres, including Americana, bluegrass, blues, folk, swing, rock, Cajun, Celtic and gospel. It also offers children’s programming, teen dances, workshops and Strawberry’s legendary camp jam culture.

This year’s spring lineup features Bruce Cockburn, Lindsay Lou, Taj Mahal, Anders Osborne & Jackie Greene, Lukas Nelson & Promise of the Real, Dave Alvin & Jimmie Dale Gilmore, Todd Snider, Frazey Ford, Lindsay Lou, Ghost of Paul Revere, The Suitcase Junket, Marley’s Ghost, The Revelers, and Keith Little and LittleBand.

Also performing is Dangermuffin, Duo Quartet, Sam Reider and The Human Hands, Phoebe Hunt &a the Gatherers, Hannah Jane Kile, the Banana Slug String Band and more.

Some are local talents, such as Auburn’s Hannah Jane Kile. At 18, Hannah played as a “tweener” on Strawberry’s Spring 2013 main stage. It happened to be the festival’s last day at Camp Mather, where it was based for 30 years until the Rim Fire ended its rein there. Two years later, Hannah returned to kick off the Fall 2015 Festival — the first Strawberry performance at Westside, near Sonora in Tuolumne County. For tickets and more information, visit StrawberryMusic.com.