Loafer’s Glory brings bluegrass and old-time country to The Palms on Friday

Three years ago, four top-flight bluegrass, old-time and acoustic country musicians — Herb Pedersen, Bill Bryson, Tom Sauber and Patrick Sauber — joined forces and became Loafer’s Glory. Loafer’s Glory will be bringing their popular mix of traditional and original music to The Palms Playhouse at 8 p.m. Friday. Tickets are $25.

Best known of the “Loafers” is frontman Pedersen, who cut his musical teeth playing banjo with California’s pioneering bluegrass group Vern & Ray in the 1960s and has since played with The Dillards, In The Grey, The Foggy Mountain Boys (even subbing for Earl Scruggs), and was a founding member of the award-winning Desert Rose Band and Laurel Canyon Ramblers. Pedersen’s instrumental versatility (banjo, guitar, dobro), warm vocals, and talents as a songwriter (for example, “Wait A Minute”) and producer have led to extensive studio work with musicians including Emmylou Harris, Beck, Martina McBride, Nina Gerber, Buck Owens, Linda Ronstadt and Merle Haggard, as well as television and movie credits across the spectrum from The Simpsons to Hill Street Blues.

In addition to Loafer’s Glory, Pedersen performs with longtime duo partner Chris Hillman (The Byrds, Flying Burrito Brothers, Desert Rose Band).

Bryson (Desert Rose Band, Laurel Canyon Ramblers) is on upright bass and vocals, Tom Sauber (Alice Gerrard, Mike Seeger) on masterful old-time fiddle and vocals, and Patrick Sauber (Laurie Lewis, Roland White’s All-Star Bluegrass Band) on banjo, mandolin and vocals.

Tickets for the Loafer’s Glory show at The Palms Playhouse, 13 Main St. in Winters are available at Armadillo Music in Davis, Watermelon Music in Woodland, Pacific Ace Hardware in Winters and at the door if not sold out. For more information, visit palmsplayhouse.com and www.herbpedersen.com/loafersglory.