Oh no doubt the Bay Area has a ton of pickers, but pedal steel players are in short supply. The main scenes tend to be related to the Grateful Dead and other j

Oh no doubt the Bay Area has a ton of pickers, but pedal steel players are in short supply. The main scenes tend to be related to the Grateful Dead and other jam bands. There's been a big rise in bluegrass and country inspired jam bands as of late although they're mostly living in the foothills or Tahoe. Sweetwater in Mill Valley, Terrapin Crossroads in San Rafael, and Ashkenaz in Berkeley have a healthy amount of traditional American string players but I'm telling you, almost no one plays pedal steel. There's a few guys like Dan Lebowitz who are just phenomenal but they've all got their plates full. San Francisco's got Amnesia and Veracocha and a few other smaller venues but I'd gotta say that Phil Lesh's Terrapin Crossroads is what the scene revolves around in the Bay Area. I have no problem finding fiddle, banjo, or mandolin players! Just pedal steel!