Our Club Turned 50 in 2024!
LOOKING BACK - 1974
The Southwest Bluegrass Club was organized exclusively to preserve and promote bluegrass music as an original art form to be both performed and enjoyed. The club’s mission includes educational activities directed toward the young and the young at heart.
After attending a few bluegrass festivals in Arkansas and Oklahoma, several friends living in Texas agreed to organize to promote the music they loved. Ideas were exchanged with other fans and musicians and on October 13, 1974 the first meeting was held at Chisholm Park in Hurst, Texas.
84 charter members made a commitment to preserve and promote bluegrass music by:
• Providing scholarships to aspiring
bluegrass musicians
• Sponsoring and promoting
bluegrass concerts featuring local
and national bands
• Publishing a monthly newsletter
• Bringing bluegrass friends together
TODAY
SBC is the oldest continually operating bluegrass/folk music organization in the state of Texas (Texas state historical records).
SBC’s long history in bluegrass/folk music promotion has kickstarted several national and international artists and songwriters. The original Dixie Chicks and musicians Brad and Greg Davis, who’ve played with Earl Scruggs, Marty Stuart, and Sam Bush just to name a few, began their musical journeys in our club. Founding member, Tom Uhr, was songwriter of the year in the Academy of Country Music. Author Braeden Paul, “Texas Bluegrass History: High Lonesome on the High Plains”, is also a longtime member of SBC.
During our 50 years of service in Texas, SBC has presented monthly shows, jam sessions, educational programs, and supported other musical associations. As of 2022, we’ve hosted an estimated 576 bluegrass/folk jam sessions and by our Golden Anniversary in 2024, we will have hosted over 600 of these public events.
In 2022, SBC joined with other Texas bluegrass organizations to raise money for Kentucky flood victims. “Texas Bluegrass for Kentucky Relief” not only raised needed funds, but helped in strengthening the Texas Bluegrass community. We will be looking for other opportunities to join forces in the future.
BUILDING A LEGACY
SBC understands that it is incumbent upon our club to provide both educational and informational resources to the generations that will follow. We are discussing plans to have a virtual library and possibly physical library to provide the new generation of Bluegrass musicians with materials that will aid them in the process.
Advances in media communication have improved the distribution of information, but we believe it cannot take the place of in-person hands-on, or group learning. SBC will be instituting workshops and seminars that will meet those needs. We want to continue the concept of building Bluegrass/Folk music as a community.
With your help, we will move forward with the goal that our founders set back in 1974: “Bringing Bluegrass Friends Together", today and into the future.
