The California Bluegrass Association has launched a memorial fundraising drive for their vaunted youth programs in the name of the man who spearheaded those efforts more than three decades ago, Frank Solivan Sr.
Frank Sr., who passed away about six weeks ago, built the nation’s first formal method for encouraging young bluegrass musicians when his son, Frank Solivan II, who now fronts the popular Dirty Kitchen bluegrass group, was a youngster learning to play. It all started when Sr noticed how much it meant to his teen son and his friends to be recognized at the Grass Valley festival, and asked to perform on stage.
From that germ grew a far reaching and expanding set of services offered by the Association to teach young pickers how to play, how to play together, and offering a lending library of instruments for those just starting out. These days, most major festivals all over the country have a youth component based on what Frank envisioned back at Grass Valley.
CBA is soliciting donations for Frank’s legacy with young musicians via Frank’s Fund for CBA Youth, with a goal of raising $10,000 to solidify the financial foundation for the many programs that have built upon Solivan’s early accomplishments.
The Fund is set up through the Donor Box platform, which offers a secure online payment system that accepts major credit cards, Apple Pay, Google Pay, PayPal, or bank transfers, and can process payments in more than 40 different currencies. Either one time or recurring donations can be quickly set up online.
All monies received into Frank’s Fund will go to benefit the CBA Youth programs, including helping to pay for young pickers and singers to travel to the IBMA’s World of Bluegrass to participate in their Kids on Bluegrass performances.
To make a donation, simply visit Frank’s Fund for CBA Youth online.
