The Whippoorwill Arts Festival, scheduled for the end of this month in the Bay Area of California, will instead be offered as a virtual online event, with donations to the organization requested in lieu of tickets.
Whippoorwill Arts is a relatively new organization, founded by Nell Robinson and Jim Nunally as a venue to promote their brand of music and activism in the arena of bluegrass, old time, roots, and Americana arts. Funds have been raised to offer financial awards to both rising and established musicians, and to share their gifts with the public through performances and workshops in Northern California.
Their first event was held in 2018, at which time $25,000 grants were awarded to Keith Little and Molly Tuttle, in cooperation with the Freshgrass Foundation.
In 2020, awards are going to five west coast musicians. Grants will be given to emerging artists Brittany Hass, Annie Staninec, Snap Jackson, and Kamara Thomas, with a Master Artist Award going to Ramblin’ Jack Elliott.
All five honorees will be featured in the 2020 Whippoorwill Arts Festival, hosted via Facebook Live on August 29-30. Running from 9:00 a.m. to 6:30 p.m. on Saturday and 10:30 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. on Sunday (PDT), the online festival will include all new live content, featuring performances, interactive panel discussions, and workshops with this year’s award winners. The Nell & Jim Band will also do a set on Saturday.
A complete schedule of events can be found online, along with more information on the 2020 Whippoorwill Arts Artist Award winners.
Congratulations to all the honorees, and a tip of the hat to Whippoorwill Arts for offering their festival online. Information on donations is also available on the web site.
