05/02/2026
Grab your drink tickets and practice your pentatonics, we've got big plans in the works: this June we're proud to be sponsoring the Fountain Blues & Brews Festival, held smack in the middle of downtown San Jose at Plaza Park, June 27-28!
Since it's humble beginnings in 1981 the festival has been a yearly hit, drawing in both locals and outsiders, earning it the title of longest-running blues festival in California. Lead by a deeply passionate team of volunteers, the festival always puts on an exhilarating show featuring performances by both local and big-name talents. This year, feel the fire of the Sinners soundtrack with electrifying rock guitarist Eric Gales, alongside Grammy Award winner Ruthie Foster, Grammy-nominated Southern Avenue and many more!
We support the music community and will be hosting a "Musical Instrument Petting Zoo" at the festival. With some help from Kernom Pedals and LAG guitars, the booth will be fully stocked with gear for people to try out... all for free! Our award winning teaching staff will be on hand to facilitate.
Moreover, Ibanez will be donating a blues-approved semi-hollow electric guitar for the raffle, and our very own Keith Holland is making a custom piece just for the festival. We're encouraging everyone, regardless of age or skill level, to come put an instrument in their hands so they can get a taste of the rockstar lifestyle! Make sure to support the festival by getting tickets through the button below. See you there!
A preview of some of the gear you can test out at our booth:
Don't LAG behind, these expertly crafted instruments are trailblazers, paving the way towards the future of guitar technology. They have built-in reverb, chorus, delay, a looper and more, and can be paired with your device to act as a Bluetooth speaker. The kicker: there's no speaker! LAG uses attenuators attached to the inside of the guitar to use it's own body as the speaker, making them both lightweight and acoustically tone-rich.
Eh buddy, don't miss oot on these excellent guitars from the cold north, sit down and we'll tell you all aboot them. These exquisite acoustic guitars are manufactured by the Canadian parent company Godin, famous for their fine craftmanship and use of high-quality locally-sourced wood. No extra charge for the maple syrup scent, and make sure to grab these before they're gone like a sixer of Molson Ice.
We won't lie, we got excited when we saw the 1932 Dobro Cyclops sourced by composer Ludwig Göransson for use in the Sinner's movie. Come meet us at the crossroads, you won't need to sell your soul to play our truly excellent nickel-plated brass National Style O Resonator! It's metallic, cutting tone sits right in the wheelhouse for Delta Blues, Folk and Bluegrass.
This highly playable Deering Vega Bluegrass Wonder Banjo is great for beginners and pros alike. It sits in the sweet spot between yesterday's technology and today's tone.
We're excited to introduce our two newest teachers to our award winning roster. Both instructors are multi-instrumentalist powerhouses and we couldn't be happier to welcome them to the team!
Robert Cornelius
Robert, the newest member to our all-star teaching staff, is a professional multi-instrumentalist, performer and teacher. He plays and teaches guitar, banjo, upright bass, dobro and ukulele, specializing in the genres of bluegrass, classic country, and folk music.
You can find him performing with the "Wildcat Mountain Ramblers", "Purple Mountain Majesty", "The Contra Cats", "Wine, Women and Wrong", as well as performing in solo acts.
Sadie Bergstrom
Sadie, one of our new staff members, attended the School of Music at San Jose State University. Currently, Sadie plays upright bass in the Bay Area Gypsy Jazz trio, "Djangatos", alongside our store owner, Robert Witmeyer, and our in-house luthier and proprietor of LaFrance Luthiers, Ron LaFrance.
Sadie specializes in all levels of bass instruction for all ages and in a myriad of styles, specializing in Jazz and Music Theory. She also offers lessons in piano, guitar and ukulele.
"Be excellent to each other."
Musically yours,
Robert Witmeyer (Owner and Customer)
