Downtown Colfax, CA
A free, all-ages community festival — everyone is welcome
Multiple bands. One railroad town. Saturday October 10th, 1–9pm in Downtown Colfax, California — where the whistle still echoes off the canyon.
Lineup still growing — see who's playing →
Whistle blows in
Made possible with support from
The Iron Horse Music Festival is free for everyone thanks to the support of the Levitt Family Foundation, U.S. Bank and KAHI Radio.
One day · One stage · Four bands
The Rail Benders play railroad songs and real life stories — original tunes and true tales from the Sierra foothills, delivered with a driving acoustic sound.
Hall of Fame blues with a Cajun kick.“The Wailin’ Lil’ Cajun” has been belting Northern California blues since 1982, backed by a five-piece band of seasoned Sacramento players on keys, guitar, bass and drums. Expect soulful slow burns, songs full of sass and humor, and a big blues groove to dance to.
By day he’s a steam locomotive engineer.By night, Western Swing Hall of Famer Bob Woods plugs in for blazing electric guitar, backed by some of Nevada County’s finest players. Expect rockabilly, Western swing and honky-tonk grooves that have kept local dance floors packed for years, so leave room on the grass to dance.
Roots rock goes acoustic.The three songwriters behind Nevada City’s beloved Achilles Wheel take the band’s famously hard-driving sound unplugged, adding a little country and bluegrass. Two guitars, a bass and three voices trade songs and styles all night, from blues and folk to world music and rock and roll. Stick around after dark for a campfire-style singalong to close out the night.
Set times are subject to change — the trains run late up here too.
Band highlights
Achilles Wheel Trio
Called "Placerville's hardest working musician, hands down" by the Mountain Democrat — a blues player at heart who blends rock, folk, bluegrass and jam on guitar, slide, lap steel, harmonica and mandolin. Has opened for Elvin Bishop and Roy Rogers and shared bills with Richard Thompson, David Grisman and the Grateful Dead's Bill Kreutzmann.
Bob Woods Trio & The Rail Benders
Western Swing Hall of Famer tearing up foothill dance floors with blazing guitar since 1971 — sharing stages with Albert Lee, Commander Cody and Asleep at the Wheel. Offstage he's a real-life steam locomotive engineer, the perfect fit for the Iron Horse.
Pinkie Rideau & Blioux Gumbo
Sacramento Blues Hall of Famer "The Wailin' Lil' Cajun" has sung Cajun-rooted, big-hearted blues across Northern California since 1982 — sharing stages with Bonnie Raitt and Mavis Staples. She brings her band, Blioux Gumbo, to the Iron Horse.
Achilles Wheel Trio
One of the most decorated songwriters in the Sierra foothills — with duo partner Eleanore MacDonald he's won awards at Kerrville, Telluride and Rocky Mountain, released nine albums since 1987 and been heard on NPR and PBS. And he's one of the most energetic, hard-driving rhythm guitarists you'll ever see.
Bob Woods Trio
Nevada City songwriter playing "back porch Americana" — everyday stories of love, loss, family and home, sung in a crystal-clear voice. She leads her band, the Heifer Belles (four albums), has played the Kate Wolf, Strawberry and WorldFest festivals, and has worked with Dan Hicks, Maria Muldaur, Phil and Dave Alvin and Supertramp's Roger Hodgson. At Iron Horse she joins Bob Woods in the Bob Woods Trio.
Achilles Wheel Trio
Started on violin at 12 — studying with Bob Stern, son of legendary concert violinist Isaac Stern — before switching to bass. Four decades on stage have found him with Bill Kreutzmann, Carlos Santana, John Cipollina and Carole King, opening for Jefferson Airplane and Booker T. & the MGs.
The Rail Benders
Started on piano at 6 and guitar at 10, then taught himself banjo and dobro, studying with Bill Evans and Rob Ickes. Twenty-plus years as musical partner to award-winning songwriter Rita Hosking — nine albums together. Has worked with Joe Craven and Chris Isaak guitarist Hershel Yatovitz, and taught Afro-Latin hand drumming at UC Davis for a decade. Brings dobro and banjo twang to the Rail Benders.
Bob Woods Trio
The backbeat of the Bob Woods Trio — keeping Nevada County dance floors moving for years, including the Trio's legendary Geezer Gig at the Crazy Horse Saloon in Nevada City.
The Rail Benders & The Bob Woods Trio
Pulling double duty at Iron Horse — string bass with the Rail Benders at 1:30, then electric bass for the Bob Woods Trio at 5. A go-to bassist in the Nevada County roots scene, alongside Bob Woods, Skip Alan Smith and Juliet Gobert, including benefit shows like "Songs from the Heart – Harmony to End Homelessness" at the Miners Foundry.
Why we started
American music has always traveled. Long before playlists and streaming, songs moved with people — from town to town, region to region, carried along the same routes that moved workers, travelers, stories and ideas. And for more than a century, the railroad was one of those great connectors. Sounds that began in one part of the country found new audiences somewhere else, changed along the way, and became part of the larger American songbook.
Colfax happens to be a railroad town since 1865 — a real stop on the transcontinental line, where ore, lumber, fruit and people got off one train and onto the next. So roots music, blues, Americana, country, rock, folk and the sounds that grew from them don't feel imported here. We didn't go looking for a place that fit the music. We're already standing in it.
The festival's own story runs on the same track logic. A town of 2,200 applied for a national grant it had no business winning, made the top 50, and beat out cities 100x our size in the public voting round. We didn't win the grant — but we'd built too much momentum to stop, so we launched the concert series anyway. Then the Levitt Family Foundation offered a festival grant opportunity. We applied. We won. Twice, a foundation that could've looked anywhere chose us.
Iron Horse isn't a tribute to that history. It's the same story, running again — real songwriters, real stories, one stage on Main Street, in a town that still remembers what it sounds like when a train comes through.
And it's all free for the community — no ticket required, just show up and share the night.
Event site: Art Park on Main Street
Main Street, still hugging the tracks
a historic Gold Rush town where the Iron Horse still echoes
From past events
The artists in action
More clips on the Visit Historic Colfax channel
Downtown Colfax, CA
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