2017 Members
The East Bay Banjo Club was founded in 1963 as a nonprofit organization and dedicated to the spirit of playing “happy” banjo music. There are currently about 40 musician members with 20+ attending meetings each week. From outright beginners to seasoned professionals, the club always welcomes new members. The range of banjo playing experience ranges from several months to as much as fifty years.
The club has performed at hundreds of venues including: community parades in Contra Costa County and San Francisco, appearances at private parties, public parks, crab feeds, picnics, senior citizen centers, shopping centers, and retail stores. Annually, the club performs at Banjo-Rama sponsored by the Sacramento Banjo Band and at the Banjo Jubilee sponsored by the Peninsula Banjo Band in San Jose CA.
The club has also traveled and performed at venues outside of the San Francisco Bay area. Appearances include: Arizona Banjo Blast in Tempe Arizona, and in venues in Guthrie Oklahoma former home of the Banjo Hall of Fame. In September of 2005, the club was sent to the Czech Republic by the Orinda/Tabor Sister City Foundation, where they presented traditional American Jazz before large, enthusiastic crowds at an annual European Music Festival.