LH Trio with Gary Novak on drums and Terry Miller on bass. The Bear Valley Music Festival is an annual summer event in Bear Valley, California, located about 180 miles east of San Francisco at just above 7200 feet elevation in the Sierra Nevada. The festival strives to appeal to a wide demographic by presenting a variety of artists and styles of music including classical, rock, country and jazz, headliners, and opera performed by a full symphony orchestra, international soloists, legendary entertainers, and renowned opera stars. The concerts are held in a tent erected to serve as a concert hall, equipped with a stage large enough to hold a symphony orchestra.