Well, after 7 years together, 4 or 5 years’ playing a regular show at Amnesia, 3 kids, 1 Hardly Strictly appearance, 1 showcase in Nashville, 0 endorsement deals (um, Lagunitas Brewing Co., do you know how much IPA Prentice and Nicole drink?), and 1.2 recordings, the Nellies have decided that it’s time to take a break.

We’re playing our last show* at Amnesia this month, on February 28. We’ll be joined by Nicole (Nellies) and Eric Embry (Burning Embers, Plain High Drifters) doing a little opening set and our good pals the Earl Brothers closing out the evening.

Come on down and say hello and goodbye. We’ve loved every minute of playing for our friends, family, and fans over the better part of the past decade, and it just wouldn’t seem right if you all weren’t there to celebrate all the good music and fun times we’ve had.

Monday, Feb. 28
Amnesia, 853 Valencia St., San Francisco
8 pm ish Nicole Solis and Eric Embry
9 pm ish The Barefoot Nellies
10:15 pm ish The Earl Brothers
Free!

If you haven’t picked up our CD, this may be your last chance. It’s sold out at CDBaby, and we’ll have a few copies to sell at the show. (You can, of course, always buy it from iTunes or Amazon.)

xoxo,
The Nellies

*We’re not going to pull a Barbra/Cher thing and call it our last ever show. The Nellies will never die. But we will be in hibernation for a bit.

The snowmaggedon on the East Coast means that the Nellies won’t all be around to play tonight at Amnesia. But never fear, 18″ of snow 3000 miles away won’t stop Bluegrass Monday. Shawn is booking another fine band to take our place.

xoxo,
The Nellies

XOXO,

The Nellies

We have been looking forward to this Friday’s show for months. Not only are we playing at the fabulous Ashkenaz (the last time we played there, we opened for Hot Buttered Rum), but we’re playing with one of our favorite bands, Windy Hill. We have never met any band who gets more excited about traditional bluegrass than these folks do. They honed their skills back in Colorado and have that great Open Road sound. You can’t find a band that has more fun on stage than these guys do.

Friday, October 15
Ashkenaz
8:30-late
$15 at the door/$12 in advance
All ages (but there’s beer and wine for the 21+ crowd)

Hammer down,

The Nellies

The original bad-ass of bluegrass, Bill Monroe.

We interrupt our regularly scheduled Nellies-only posts for this non-Nellies news about an event Nicole threw together…

Bill Monroe Tribute Night at Amnesia
Monday, September 6

One month before the Hardly Strictly Bluegrass Festival takes over Golden Gate Park, Amnesia is hosting a truly strictly bluegrass night, dedicated to the man who founded the genre, Bill Monroe. Celebrating Monroe’s 99th birthday, three acts will be performing his music, all from different eras of Monroe’s career, for free at Amnesia on Labor Day.

Eric Embry (Burning Embers, Shed House) and Nicole Solis (Barefoot Nellies) will start off the night playing a happy hour set of songs from the Monroe Brothers. Featuring Bill and his guitar-playing brother Charlie, the Monroe Brothers was Bill Monroe’s first professional band, performing and recording in the early 1930s.

Matt and George and Their Pleasant Valley Boys kick off the official “band” portion of the show with bluegrass just the way Bill Monroe and His Blue Grass Boys played it from 1945 to 1947. Why those years? Though Monroe formed the Blue Grass Boys in the late 1930s, he made the brilliant decision in 1945 to hire banjo player Earl Scruggs and guitar player and singer Lester Flatt. Together, they created the modern bluegrass sound: driving banjo, tight three-part harmonies, and breakneck tempos. The Pleasant Valley Boys hew close to Monroe’s style musically and visually, dressing in period 1940s clothes and performing around a single microphone.

The Monroe Tribute Band, put together by renowned Monroe-style mandolin player Butch Waller (High Country), features some of the local bluegrass scene’s heaviest hitters: Larry Cohea (High Country, Blue and Lonesome) on banjo, Paul Shelasky (David Grisman, Good Ol’ Persons), Chris Smith (Mighty Crows), and Matt Dudman (Pleasant Valley Boys). They’ll tackle the rest of Monroe’s more than 60-year career, offering up some stellar picking and great singing.

After the bands play, we’ll invite some of the musicians in the audience to come onstage and sing or play their favorite Monroe songs and maybe even tell their favorite Monroe stories.

Monday, September 6
Amnesia
853 Valencia St. (between 19th and 20th Sts.)
San Francisco, CA
Happy hour set at 7:30
Bands start at 8:30
21 and over
Free

Contact: Nicole Solis (nicole at barefootnellies dot com).

SF Weekly's Best of San Francisco is out today!

Hey, folks–

We’re totally blushing. Every year, SF Weekly talks to artists, musicians, foodies, and men- and women-about-town to find out the things that they love most about San Francisco, putting it together in a list of wonderful, weird, entertaining, and amazing people, events, places, and things to do in this city.

And this year, they picked us! Read the whole piece, and then come on down to the Sand Dollar on Sunday and see us for yourself.

Two quick corrections: Adam “Roscoe” Roszkiewicz, despite being a dude, is a full-fledged member of the Nellies. And Chuck Poling’s awesome quote is from his profile of the Nellies in the California Bluegrass Association’s Bluegrass Breakdown newsletter. We would just hate for these tiny errors to have unintended effects, such as ruining any future senatorial campaigns.

Thanks, SF Weekly! We love you, too!

xoxo,
The Nellies

Stinson Beach from the Matt Davis Trail

Not sure what you’re doing on Sunday, May 23? The Nellies are playing at the Sand Dollar in Stinson Beach from noon until 3:00. You could just drive to Stinson Beach – or you could have the kind of adventure that’s possible only in the Bay Area. Here’s how.

Put on your hiking shoes, grab a couple of friends, and drive to the Pantoll Ranger Station in Mount Tamalpais State Park. Leave your car there, pick up a trail map, and cross the road to the Matt Davis Trail.

Hike downhill 4 miles. You’ll start off on open headlands with jaw-dropping views of the coastline from San Francisco to Bolinas. If the air is clear, you’ll be able to see the Farallon Islands. As the trail descends, you’ll walk under oaks and bay laurels. Eventually, the trail will take you right into the town of Stinson Beach. Once you get to highway 1, turn left and walk a little ways to the Sand Dollar (on your left).

Enjoy some well-earned beer, oysters, and bluegrass on the sunny patio at the Sand Dollar. Before or after lunch at the Sand Dollar, cross the highway and hang out on the beach.

To get back to your car, catch the Marin Stagecoach on the west side of highway 1 at Calle del Mar, at 2:15, 4:15, 5:30, or 6:55 p.m. If you’re feeling ambitious, you can hike back, either on the Matt Davis Trail or using the Dipsea Trail – Steep Ravine Trail route.

We can’t think of a better way to spend a Sunday. See you there!

xoxo,

The Nellies

We’ve got a real fun show coming up this Thursday. The Nellies will be venturing over to the East Bay for an evening of sassy lady singers and boot-stompin’ bluegrass and Western swing. We’ll be opening the show, and then Lady A and Her Heel Draggers, a great local Western swing band, will be finishing off the night. Come on by!

Thursday, May 6
Starry Plough
3101 Shattuck Ave, Berkeley
Nellies on at 9
Lady A and Her Heel Draggers at 10
$6

For more amazing Nellies gigs, check out our gigs page.

xoxo,
The Nellies

It’s only been two months since we played Amnesia, but it feels like a lifetime. Who knew this bimonthly schedule would be so hard on our bluegrass hearts? So come join us as we head back to our favorite bar. It’s gonna be a good time. You know it is. But it’ll be more fun with you there.

Monday, April 26
Amnesia
853 Valencia (between 19th and 20th)
8:30 until you stop begging for more
Free!

xoxo,
The Nellies