The Lourdes of Twang

Photo by Tim Shaffer for the New York Times

Thanks to Liz Meyer for drawing our attention to Peter Gerzenstang's article 'A journey shaped by a guitar' in yesterday's New York Times, which can be read here. Gerzenstang describes his visit to the Martin guitar factory at Nazareth, PA, which he labels 'the Lourdes of Twang'.

Banjo people: don't feel left out. A week ago the Bluegrass Blog featured a video clip from the US TV Science Channel, showing what goes into the making of a Mastertone-style 5-string Sullivan banjo at First Quality Music of Louisville, KY.

The BB also featured two days ago the completion of 'Throw down your heart', a documentary film on a trip by Béla Fleck to Africa in search of the banjo's relatives and the music made on these instruments. The film will be premiered next month in Austin, TX; a clip can be seen here.