Effective January 22nd, 2025, we have secured new jamming and listening space in this downtown location, every Wednesday evening from 7:30pm to 9:30pm. This is in addition to our regular Tuesday night events at First Church of Christ Scientist. Mark your calendars!
For now, the jam portion is intended for advanced players, but all members are welcome to come and listen and learn. The advanced players are currently bursting at the seams at the regular Tuesday night location and the new location provides an opportunity to play with lots more elbow room.
There is no parking at the Bowling Club, but on street parking can be located on Blanshard and there is a pay lot at St. Ann's Academy. There is a drop off only area at the back of bowling club which can be accessed from Blanshard Street (at Humboldt).
The use of the facility is a generous gift from the Bowling Club. But it's not free as the VBA has had to take out an annual membership to the bowling club to access the facilities as well as materially increase our insurance to meet the City of Victoria insurance requirements (they are are owners of the site).
We will accept donations from all entrants (minimum amount as per our regular Tuesday night jam fees).
Hope to see you Wednesdays!
Each year the Victoria Bluegrass Association awards one week of tuition to a young aspiring musician to attend the NimbleFingers Bluegrass Workshop at Sorrento Centre in late August.
The bursary covers 100% of the registration fee plus an additional $250 towards travel, lodging and food costs.
To qualify for the Young Musician's Bursary, you need to meet all the following criteria:
You are a member of the Victoria Bluegrass Association
Your age was 25 years or younger as of Dec 31st last year
You have not attended the workshop previously
You wish to take instruction in a traditional bluegrass instrument
You are available to attend this year's workshop
Email your application to scholarship@victoriabluegrass.ca
indicating who you
are, and why you think you should be selected.
Deadline for application is January 31st.
Our donations to local charities are a big part of the VBA's connection to the community. In 2023, we raised $2,047 at our XMAS Jam and Auction, which we donated to The Mustard Seed.
And as a result of the concert by John Reischman and the Jaybirds, with Cordova Bay United Church, Sooke River Bluegrass Association, and the musicians involved, we donated $975 to Our Place Society.
Thanks everyone who helped with these donations.
Grassroots Membership gives you online access to the full colour quarterly BMAC magazine. Subscriber Membership includes a printed magazine and access to member-only pages on the website.
VBA members qualify for these discounts:
Sign up on the BMAC website. You need to indicate that you are a member of the VBA as it appears in the drop down box, and the discount will apply automatically.
Please take advantage of this special offer and help support Bluegrass Music across Canada.
Our donations to local charities are a big part of the VBA's connection to the community. In 2023, we raised $1,752 at our XMAS Jam and Auction, which we donated to The Mustard Seed.
And as a result of the concert by John Reischman and the Jaybirds, with Cordova Bay United Church, Sooke River Bluegrass Association, and the musicians involved, we donated $1,195 to Our Place Society.
Thanks everyone who helped with these donations.
Mary and Eric Day have been awarded a lifetime membership in the Victoria Bluegrass Association for their tireless and consistent work in support of bluegrass music on Vancouver Island. Bob McKechnie (centre) did the honours.
Congratulations, and thanks for being such strong supporters of the scene !
Maya Roe is the winner of our 2023 VBA Bursary to the NimbleFingers Workshop in August.
This bursary is an exciting opportunity for me because I am an entirely self-taught banjo musician, and I would love to ground my banjo music in stronger music theory. I have been playing bluegrass banjo for over 5 years, but I have never had the money to take any classes.
She plans to take the Beginner/Intermediate clawhammer workshop with Brian Alley in the first week.
The bursary covers 100% of the registration fee plus an additional $250 towards travel, lodging and food costs.
Congratulations, Maya !
Linda Henson passed away peacefully with family by her side on January 8, 2023.
Linda was a spark in every jam session, and an enthusiastic supporter of all music and musicians that came her way. She is greatly missed by the bluegrass community.
A Celebration of Life will be held in the Spring. Her obituary is here.
The VBA may be a small non-profit, but our donations to local charities are a big part of the VBA's connection to the community. We raised $928 (plus a big load of clothing etc.)) at our Holiday Jam and Fundraiser, which we donated to The Mustard Seed.
And as a result of the concert by John Reischman and the Jaybirds, with Cordova Bay United Church, Cowichan Vally River Bluegrass Association, and the musicians involved, we donated $940 to Our Place Society.
Thanks everyone who helped with these donations.
As a result of the concert by John Reischman and the Jaybirds, with Cordova Bay United Church, Cowichan Bluegrass Festival, and the musicians involved, we donated $735 to Our Place Society.
Thanks everyone who helped with this effort.
Our donations to local charities are a big part of the VBA's connection to the community. In 2019, we raised $1,660 at our XMAS Jam and Auction, which we donated to The Mustard Seed.
And as a result of the concert by John Reischman and the Jaybirds, with Cordova Bay United Church, Sooke River Bluegrass Association, and the musicians involved, we donated $1,500 to Our Place Society.
Thanks everyone who helped with these donations.
Tai McGillivray was the winner of the 2019 VBA Bursary to the Nimblefingers Workshop in August. He recently sent us a summary of the experience.
... We got the NimbleFingers/Sorrento around 6pm and parked the rig. We walked around
and found all our old friends at the instructors get-together. We all ended up sitting
down to a pizza dinner and caught up with one another of all the things that happened
since we last saw each other the previous year. Then the jamming started to
happen. I found a killer jam in the back and ended up playing until 2am. This would
become a routine.
On the first day of classes, I woke up at 7:45am walked over to breakfast. The food was pretty good again this year and we had scrambled eggs, bacon, sausage and salad. Coffee would become more important later in the week as I suffered more from lack of sleep. After breakfast I walked back to my Cabana and got some practice in before the class started at 9:30am.
I had never met David Benedict (Advanced Mandolin), but was very excited to meet him. I had known of him via his weekly Mandolin Mondays posts where he features a different mandolin player each week. David Benedict is a really nice guy and a great teacher - very organized!
... Living in a Cabana for a week was so much fun. A couple of my roommates were the same from last year and it was great catching up and hanging out with them. One of my roommates were in my class, so we got to see a lot of each other. All my roommates were friendly people and great to pick with. It was so nice to come back to the dry Cabana at 4am and not have to sleep in a cold wet tent.
During the afternoons, there were workshops that you could attend. My favourite one was with John Reischman and David Benedict. They played some tunes and talked about how they learned, how they practiced, songs they wrote, improvising, and so much more. John talked about how he got his Gibson Loar mandolin and where he gets it worked on when it needs attention. David also talked about his Apitius mandolin. They both talked about their upbringings and the bluegrass scene. That alone would have been a great week, but my favourite part was the jamming at night.
In the evening there was usually a concert and dance that were well attended. After that it was jamming time! Most nights I got back to my Cabana between 3-4 in the morning. It was so much fun playing with different people and in different jams. After the festival concert on Saturday August 24th, there were some great jams. At 12am, it was my birthday and I turned 17. They made up a birthday song for me and made me play a split break tune. That meant that I had to play half of everyone's break. It sounds kind of nerdy, but it was so much fun!
... I would like to thank everyone at the Victoria Bluegrass Association for making this opportunity possible. If you haven't been to NimbleFingers before, I highly recommend it! It's not too many places where you can stand across from your bluegrass heroes and jam with them. It's a lot of fun and you learn so much in a relaxed atmosphere. I think one of the biggest highlights of the week for me was playing a set with Jenny Lester and friends to kick off the Saturday festival. Great musicians and even better people!
See the full letter here.
Tai McGillivray is the winner of the 2019 VBA Bursary to the Nimblefingers Workshop in August.
Denman Island's Tai McGillivray is 16 years old and has been playing music and performing seriously since he was 7. Although mandolin is his main instrument, he also plays guitar, fiddle and bass. He has grown up playing at open mics, jams & bluegrass festivals.
Tai also plays bass in his school's R&B and Jazz bands as well as the senior concert band. In grade 9 he was awarded Music Student of the Year. At the young age of 12, Tai released his first CD entitled Wood Strings and a Pluck and he is planning a CD of original material.
Gaby Baasch was the winner of the 2018 VBA Bursary to the Nimblefingers Workshop in August. She recently sent us a summary of her experience.
"As I drove up to Sorrento Centre for the first weekend of Nimblefingers the forest fire smoke was as thick as my nervous anticipation. I had been pining after the opportunity to attend this festival for years and thanks to a bursary from the Victoria Bluegrass Association, I was finally afforded the chance. I knew that I was in for a week jam packed full of bluegrass, but otherwise I had no idea what to expect.
From the moment I stepped out of my van it became apparent that this was going to be an amazing week. Sorrento Centre is a beautiful venue overlooking a lake; a sprawling green field littered with camp sites nestled snuggly between trees, rustic lodging and various stages. The gentle plucking of various instruments could be heard from all directions.
Upon check in I was given the program for the week. I would be lying if I said I was not surprised when I read through it for the first time. Aside from our scheduled classes there were a plethora of optional workshops, beginner jam circles, square dancing lessons, instructor concerts, student concerts, and the list goes on! Everyday there were activities from 9:30 in the morning till 10:30 at night, and the music did not stop there. Around 10:30 we were fed snacks and coffee to help energize us for the rest of the night spent jamming.
My experience playing banjo prior to the festival was fairly limited. I had attended several slow-pitch jams and had been taking lessons for a few months. Though I had been to a few bluegrass festivals in the past, I had never had the confidence to join in on a jam. Nimblefingers, however, is very beginner friendly. We were taught jam etiquette and encouraged to join in as much as possible, and I can happily say that I left with much more confidence in playing with other people.
In addition to learning the prerequisite skills to jam with people, I left the week feeling more inspired to play my instrument than ever before. Every single instructor completely blew me out of the water; I have never before been surrounded by so much musical talent. I took Patrick Sauber's bluegrass banjo workshop, and I'm so grateful to have had the chance to learn from him. He is a bluegrass purist who insisted that we never touch a piece of sheet music but instead insisted we learn by listening to and imitating the classics. In his words, listening to Earl Scruggs would 'make his hair light on fire'. I have taken his lessons to heart and haven't looked at sheet music since.
On whole, Nimblefingers was a journey, both in music and in self exploration. From nervous anticipation, to exhaustion, frustration and blistered fingers, to the anxiety and adrenaline that is the student concert. This night was the highlight of the week for me. There is nothing more enjoyable than watching the people you have grown close to perform their new found skills - to see them trembling nervously as they walk on the stage, and to leave smiling with humble pride.
I can say without a doubt that the week exceed my expectations on all accounts. I feel that I left having made real musical progress and genuine friends. I am truly grateful to my teacher Cluny McPherson, who informed me of the bursary provided by the VBA, and to the VBA itself. Happy Picking!"
Al Ritchie passed away on the evening of June 7th, 2018, surrounded by family. Al was an active participant at the weekly Victoria Bluegrass Jams for many years until he found attending too difficult after becoming wheelchair bound. Even so, he continued to play his guitar regularly up until his final days as playing brought him so much joy throughout his life.
Al's enthusiasm for playing music was infectious. He was always keen to take his turn to lead a song as he had a big repertoire. Always friendly, he was a great story teller. He will be missed by his many friends and family.
A celebration of life is being held on Saturday, June 16 from 1 to 3 pm at the Colwood Community Hall at 2219 Sooke Road, Victoria BC (near the Dairy Queen). There will be an opportunity to play some music in Al's memory - please bring your instrument to participate.
Ron Jenkins, local country musician and friend of bluegrass, has died at the age of 82. He was a fixture in our country music scene, and will be missed by his many friends and family. A celebration of life will be held March 25, 2018 from 1-5pm at Langford Legion, 761 Station Ave.
His obituary is here.
The VBA has been remiss in posting this, and we deeply apologize. Marlene was such an important part of our community that everyone will understand how much we miss her, and they will appreciate how difficult it has been to say goodbye. She was always keen to volunteer, to greet new players, to encourage players to get on open stage and to play music almost anytime, anywhere.
Marlene began learning to play mandolin at the tender age of 60. Her determination and enthusiasm for learning the instrument and repertoire, together with her outgoing personality and boundless energy, got her into many musical events on and off stage. She was a tireless volunteer, generously working hard to ensure the success of the VBA in every way she knew how. And how she loved sharing her music by performing regularly on open stage nights, at our Tuesday night jams, at festivals, in retirement homes, and at many jam gatherings held at her home or at the homes of her many, many friends and family. And when she wasn't playing, Marlene could be found sitting in an audience with her Art, enjoying and supporting performances of all levels.
Marlene passed away August 1, 2017, spending her last waking day playing music with friends. No doubt she's playing and singing with the angels now. We wonder if she's taught them how to play Salt Spring yet.
Her obituary: Lovingly remembered by her husband Arthur Bertrand, daughter Celine (Brian) Berry and grandchildren Robert, Erin and David of Victoria, son Darin (Elizabeth) Bertrand and grandchildren Ryan and Matthew of Ottawa, and her many brothers, sisters, nieces, nephews and friends. Many thanks to the wonderful staff at the Victoria General Hospital for their care and devotion. A memorial mass was held at St. Patrick's Parish in Victoria on August 11, followed by a reception at the Berry residence. In lieu of flowers, donations to the Heart and Stroke Foundation in her memory would be greatly appreciated.