Jacob Jolliff was born into a musical family in Newberg, OR. His dad started him on the mandolin at age seven and required him to practice ten minutes a day. But after six months of practicing this minimal amount, something clicked, and almost overnight he started putting in several hours of intense practice daily. And this hasn't really changed in the last 20 years.

When he was 18, Jacob was awarded a full scholarship to The Berklee College of Music in Boston. He moved to Massachusetts to start school in 2007, along with a lot of the other young musicians he had grown up with. In 2008, during his sophomore year of college, he joined the New England based roots music band, Joy Kills Sorrow. Over the next few years the group toured extensively throughout the United States, Canada, and Europe, playing hundreds of clubs, theaters, and festivals. In 2012, he won the National Mandolin Championship in Winfield, Kansas. After JKS went on hiatus, he joined the Yonder Mountain String Band, with whom he played until 2019.

Now in 2024, the mandolinist’s main focus is The Jacob Jolliff Band. This ensemble is a group of virtuosic pickers that play Jacob's original instrumentals, as well as showcase his singing. They tour nationally in the US and have also travelled to Scotland and Australia to perform.

In 2022, Jacob was called on by world famous banjo player, Béla Fleck, to tour as part of My Bluegrass Heart. He performed around the country alongside Béla and some of the very best musicians in the genre: Bryan Sutton, Cody Kilby, Justin Moses, Mark Schatz, Michael Cleveland, Stuart Duncan and Billy Contreras.

When it comes to movers and shakers in the bluegrass world, Full Cord is a super-group on the rise. After winning the prestigious 2022 Telluride Bluegrass Band Competition in Colorado, the Michigan-based group followed that with another much-coveted honor when the International Bluegrass Music Association named Full Cord its "Momentum Award Band of the Year." While mandolinist Brian Oberlin notes the band’s music "is new and fresh to the ears of seasoned bluegrass fans," the bluegrass traditions in Full Cord have deep roots.

The group’s core members – Oberlin, guitarist Eric Langejans, and bassist Todd Kirchner – boast decades of musical artistry, with experience in popular performing bands from Michigan to Oregon. And with the recent addition of award-winning banjoist George Guthrie Full Cord is poised to take the next step in its journey as a bluegrass powerhouse. Oberlin insists the band is "just hitting its stride" – ready to follow in the footsteps of fellow Michigan bluegrass icons Billy Strings and Greensky Bluegrass as yet another star in the making.

The Blue Waters Tribute Series has become one of the most beloved features of our festival. For 2024, instead of paying tribute to a single artist, the 6th installment of our series will be a special tribute to the Roots of Bluegrass -- the varied musical influences that went in to making this beloved form of music.

In the mid 1940's when Bill Monroe, Earl Scruggs, Lester Flatt, Chubby Wise and Howard Watts crystallized the sound that became known as "bluegrass", they were standing on the shoulders of many musicians and influences that came before them. The banjo was an instrument that came to America with the enslaved peoples of West Africa and soon spread to the wider population and into the hands of innovators like Earl Scruggs. The Scotch/Irish fiddle tunes of Bill's Uncle Pen (Pendleton Vandiver) and blues guitar of Bill's African-American neighbor, Arnold Shultz, are well-known to bluegrass fans as primary sources. Jimmie Rodgers and the Carter Family gave early country musicians the songs and stylings that soon became standards. Together all these influences wove together to form a musical family tree that is as rich and diverse and colorful as it is broad and deep and wide.

Following the format used in our previous tributes, music will be provided by artists from our 2024 lineup: New Dangerfield, The Jacob Jolliff Band, Floating Crowbar, Rock Ridge, True North Duo, and Dry & Dusty. Between songs, the story will be told by Blue Waters Music Director Kevin Brown.

You won't want to miss this set!!

Based in Sisters, Oregon, Rock Ridge specializes in bluesy vocal-based deep-groove bluegrass music with a solid traditional approach. They perform traditional & contemporary bluegrass, featuring original material as well as traditional country duets. Each of the Rock Ridge members is a veteran musician having played in some of the best bands on the west coast.

Josie Grant is a bluegrass powerhouse, wowing audiences with dynamic, powerful singing and driving guitar playing. Originally from Southern CA, she fell in love with bluegrass in the 1990s and has performed with Hiway 99 and Borderline Bluegrass Band in Northern California. Multi-instrumentailist Dale Adkins is a longtime Northwest legend who Flatpick Guitar Magazine called: "a major force!" As a part of Grammy nominee Kate MacKenzie's touring band, Dale performed across the U.S. and Europe in the 1990s. Josh Adkins epitomizes the classic saying “the apple doesn’t fall far from the tree”. He applies his considerable intelligence and talent to a certain creative mastery of any instrument he tackles whether it is guitar, bass, mandolin or ukulele. Suzanne Adkins has been a stately, rock-solid bassist and vocalist in many Northwest groups over the years. She has held down the beat for groups including True North, Knott Bros, McKenzie Crossing, and Adkins Family Band.

True North Duo is the backbone of one of the Northwest's most acclaimed songwriting bluegrass bands: Kristen Grainger & True North. Whether performing as the full band or as a duo, singer-songwriters Kristen Grainger and Dan Wetzel’s performances resonate deeply with audiences listening for well-crafted songs, skillful instrumentation, and gorgeous vocals. The alchemy of their interlocked voices with the warm, spare loveliness of Dan’s handmade guitar deliver the goods — that indescribable feeling that is part joy, part longing; a deliciously sweet ache haunting the darkest corridors of the heart.

Kristen continues to earn national recognition for her songwriting, most recently showcasing at SXSW on the USA Songwriting stage. She was named, alongside Brandi Carlile and Dolly Parton, as one of the Women Who Wrote Our 2020 Soundtrack by The Bluegrass Situation. She has won or been a finalist in national songwriting contests at Telluride Bluegrass Festival, Wildflower, Merlefest, and Kerrville Folk Festival.

We are excited to have Kristen & Dan back to Blue Waters for two intimate duo sets on Saturday and Sunday!

Dry and Dusty is an oldtime sister duo from Spokane, WA. Ruthie and Sally Jablonsky grew up playing music with their parents, hiking around in the desert singing cowboy songs, and learning the old tunes from their extended family at fiddle festivals. As well as being firmly rooted in the Appalachian fiddle tradition, the sisters write new country songs that are crooked and lonesome and true. Dry & Dusty has toured the west playing music together but much prefer playing close to home.

The sisters are joined by Ru's husband Ben Feldman, a guitar noodler/pedal steel wiz kid from California.

Sally Jablonsky: guitar, fiddle, vocals
Ruthie Jablonsky: mandolin
Ben Feldman: dobro, pedal steel

Monroe Bridge is a group of bluegrass veterans who have been playing music together at shows, festivals, and fairs throughout the Pacific Northwest. They share a deep love of the traditional bluegrass music of Flatt & Scruggs, the Stanley Brothers and, of course, Monroe. Individually, the members are experienced musicians and have played bluegrass and country music in bands throughout the land before coming together in the Inland Northwest in 2018. Today they perform a finely honed blend of traditional, contemporary, and original bluegrass, country and gospel music. With tight vocal harmony and dynamic instrumentals, we think you’re sure to love this band. Whether you're young, old, or in between, you’ll have a great time listening to Monroe Bridge! Noel Taggart on mandolin has gained a reputation as one of the finest lead vocalists around. Kent & Karen Riggs are on guitar, singing lead and harmony vocals. Jean Ballhorn on fiddle is a veteran of the Colorado bluegrass scene and has performed and recorded with Charles Sawtelle, Open Road, Camptown and many others. Scott Brownlee is playing bass fiddle for Monroe Bridge.

Unless otherwise noted, workshops are held in the picnic shelter along the walkway west of the swimming area. Just follow the walkway past the bathrooms and you will find it near the 2nd ballfield.

Workshop schedule is subject to change! Check back regularly up until festival weekend for possible updates.

Blue Waters offers two camping areas:

• Upper camping - RVs only. Dry camping -- there are no RV hookups or services available.
• Lower camping - Tents only.

Please note that a weekend festival pass is required of all campers! Weekend camping passes will be available online or at the festival gate.

Absolutely no campers, popups, etc. will be allowed in the lower parking lot or camping area! Sleeping in vehicles is allowed, but no camping activities are allowed in the lower lot. This is a city mandate which is out of our control. See the FAQ for additional information about camping.

Other Camping Options

For those that need a full service RV site, there are some other options nearby:

• The RV resort at Northern Quest Casino.   Festival sponsor!!
• Ruby's on Silver Lake, (509) 299-RUBY.

Other Lodging Options

For those out-of-town guests who are not interested in camping, there are several quality hotels within a short drive of the festival. We encourage you to check out the establishments below. Several of these hotels have become friends and sponsors of our festival and we can wholeheartedly recommend their establishments.

• Northern Quest Casino Hotel.   Festival sponsor!!
• Wingate by Wyndham, Spokane Airport.
• Day's Inn Airway Heights
• Peppertree Inn
• Ramada Spokane Airport
• Hilton Garden Inn
• Holiday Inn Express
• Super 8 Airport West

Volunteers are an essential part of the Blue Waters Bluegrass Festival. We are so fortunate to have a large group of generous, enthusiastic, friendly, and hard working volunteers. The volunteers are the first to greet visitors when they arrive, and set the tone for a fun filled weekend.

If you are interested in being a part of our volunteer team, click the link below to download our volunteer form:

Volunteer Form.

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