Klauder & Willms livestream concert, Sat. 27 Feb. 2021

Caleb Klauder & Reeb Willms (right) send a special reminder that advance tickets can be bought for their livestream concerts tomorrow night (Sat. 27 Feb.) at 7.00 p.m. GMT, in collaboration with the Pickathon Festival of Portland, OR. The concerts will only be available at the time of the live showing. They will, though, be interactive - the artists will be able to hear applause, and viewers can invite friends into private audio and video chat rooms. Advance tickets can be booked here. More details are on their e-newsletter.

© Richard Hawkins

Rick Faris to leave Special Consensus (UPDATE)

If it hadn't been for the pandemic, Ireland should by this stage in 2021 have enjoyed a tour by the multi-award-winning Special Consensus (USA). Something more to regret is that whenever the band does come, Rick Faris (above), who has been here with the Special C. first as mandolinist and then as guitarist, will not be a member.

Stephen Mougin's Dark Shadow Recording label, which released Rick's debut solo album Breaking in lonesome, announces that he will be leaving the band after eleven years in which they have toured nineteen countries, recorded six albums, and received two Grammy nominations and six IBMA awards. Rick pays tribute to the Special C.'s founder and leader Greg Cahill: 'I have learned so much from Greg and cannot thank him enough for giving me the opportunity to be part of his legacy.'

In addition to his business as a luthier, Rick has the makings of a new album in preparation. More details are on the Dark Shadow press release.

UPDATE: The Special C. already has a new guitar player lined up - none other than Greg Blake, well known to Irish audiences from his previous tours. See John Lawless's feature on Bluegrass Today, which includes contributions from Greg Cahill, Rick Faris, and Greg Blake.

Cedar Hill: new single 'The art of love' out today

Four months ago the BIB relayed the news that Cedar Hill, the hard-core traditional bluegrass band from the Ozarks of Missouri and Arkansas, had joined the artists roster of Mountain Fever Records and had released their first single on the label, 'How deep is the lonesome'.

Mountain Fever now announce a new single from the band, 'The art of love', which is being released today (26 Feb.). The song can be heard in full in a feature about the release by John Lawless on Bluegrass Today.

Cedar Hill have made several warmly acclaimed appearances at Omagh festivals and other venues here in the past. Their leader Frank Ray (second from left, above), who founded the band in 1967, has received a Lifetime Achievement Award and is a member of the National Old Time Country Music Hall of Fame as well as the Society for the Preservation of Bluegrass Music of America (SPBGMA) Hall of Greats.

© Richard Hawkins

Deering celebrates Pete Wernick's 75th birthday TONIGHT

The Deering Banjo Company invites everyone to take part in celebrating the 75th birthday of Pete 'Dr Banjo' Wernick on Deering Live tonight (25 Feb. 2021). Viewers can also ask Pete questions in the live chatroom or reply to this e-mail with their questions. The show starts at the usual Deering Live time of 6.00 p.m. ET/ 3.00 p.m. PT/ 11.00 p.m. GMT.

Pete Wernick has been one of the prime movers of the worldwide bluegrass scene since the 1960s as performing and recording artist, radio presenter, bandleader, interviewer, educator, communicator, administrator, historian, innovator, and guardian of tradition. He was a frequent attender, as performer and teacher, at the Johnny Keenan Banjo Festivals of the Noughties, and before that had played in Ireland as a member of Hot Rize and performed with his wife Joan at the Athy Bluegrass Festival, which he described as 'small but mighty'.

In the BIB editor's view, it is one of the most-to-be-regretted what-ifs of bluegrass history that Pete Wernick and Tony Trischka have not got together to write the biography of Earl Scruggs.

OTC's Oldtime Guitar Retreat, 9-11 Apr. 2021

The editors of Oldtime Central (OTC) announce:

Here at Oldtime Central, we've been working to put together events that can bring the community together during this time spent apart. In that spirit, we are happy to present our next event: The Oldtime Guitar Retreat!

The Retreat (9-11 Apr. 2021) is a virtual weekend focused on the guitar in old-time music, with workshops by four teachers, concerts, jams, 'hangs', a tour of a luthier's workshop with a Q&A session, and a workshop to introduce pickers to the Alexander Technique, a well established method of improving posture, performance, and general well-being. (For readers in Ireland: there's an Alexander Technique Centre near Galway city). The editors add:

In an effort to make our events accessible to everyone, we've also added an option to the registration form for participants to donate to a scholarship fund. 100% of the scholarship fund will be used to cover the cost of attendance for players who might have trouble attending otherwise. We want these to be community events - the more the merrier - and we're looking forward to spending the weekend with all of you.

Full details, including bios of the teachers and links to schedules and registration, are on the OTC e-newsletter.

Darren Flynn releases debut solo single 'Mountain whiskey'

Thanks to Darren A. Flynn (above), award-nominated Americana musician and songwriter from Dublin, for the news that he will release on Friday 12 March his debut solo single, 'Mountain whiskey', on all music platforms. The song centres on a wily old mountain moonshiner - a familiar figure in old-time and bluegrass songs, but this one is based on a real-life character from Darren's past. Darren plays the 5-string banjo parts with a flat pick (as shown in this YouTube version), nonetheless, it's a hard-driving song which would make a powerful bluegrass number.

The track was produced by Rob MacLeod and mastered at Abbey Road Studios. Brian Lally of RTÉ1's 'Country Time' has described it as 'perfect for a hooch special' and it has already been added to RnaG's late-night (English-language) playlist, as well as playlists of other radio stations across Ireland. It can be pre-saved on Spotify and Apple Music here.

Darren was formerly singer with the multi-national Americana band Mongrel State. The lead single of his most recent album with them, produced by Gavin Glass, was playlisted on RTÉ1, and the album was nominated for the Choice Music Award. He has performed live and recorded sessions for national Irish TV and radio, has appeared on most local radio stations across the country, and has performed at leading Irish music festivals as well as internationally.

Darren is also on Facebook (where his fanbase is at 3.5K and rising), Instagram, Twitter, and YouTube. Bookings: e-mail or (00353) 85 1022649.

Q&A with Jens Kruger TONIGHT

The Deering Banjo Company announce that the question-and-answer session, following upon last week's masterclass given by Jens Kruger, is taking place tonight (Tues. 23 Feb.) at 6.00 p.m. ET/ 3.00 p.m. PT. (11.00 p.m. GMT). Questions for Jens can be submitted using a form on the Deering Live page.

Last week's masterclass, the third in the series, is devoted to chord substitution for backup, and playing without a capo. The next masterclass, to be given on 16 Mar., will be on single-string playing and right-hand triplets.

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The winners of Deering's competition for photos of bands were announced on Monday (22 Feb.); the results can be seen in this 16-minute video. The winning photo is to be used for the cover of Deering's online catalogue.

Sessions on Zoom?

The BIB editor writes:

Someone using the Blogger name circleoftime has sent - in the form of a comment on the BIB calendar - the message 'Have any of these sessions gone to zoom?'

Apart from hearing directly of the Red Hat Acoustic Music Club monthly meetings, and indirectly of the Sunflower Folk Club meetings, I've received no information of any that have. If any bluegrass or old-time sessions in Ireland are using Zoom, and would like this news to be posted on the BIB, please let me know by e-mail.

Curtis McPeake, 9 Oct. 1927-19 Feb. 2021

Richard Thompson on Bluegrass Today reports the sad news of the death on Friday (19 Feb.) of another of the first generation of bluegrass musicians: Curtis McPeake of western Tennessee, born in the same year as Ralph Stanley and Jimmy Martin. Like many of that generation, he was playing 'hillbilly' music long before the label 'bluegrass' became current. 

His long and varied career included playing as a Blue Grass Boy and standing in for Earl Scruggs with the Foggy Mountain Boys. He was also a leading expert on, and dealer in, vintage instruments. His main banjo, the 1941 RB-75 'Ole Betsy', is featured in Jim Mills's book Gibson Mastertone flathead 5-string banjos of the 1930's and 1940's [sic]. Richard's BT article gives many more details, including five YouTube examples of his playing, nine photos, a discography, and the funeral arrangements for Wednesday and Thursday this week.

Curtis McPeake was interviewed by Bob Piekiel in November 2017, shortly after his 90th birthday. A transcript, with audio and video examples of Curtis's playing, is in the May 2018 issue of Banjo News Letter.

Mules & Men: new album reviewed in BU

The BIB editor reports:

In the January 2021 issue of Bluegrass Unlimited magazine, Roscommon County Line, the new album release by Dublin-based Mules & Men, receives a favourable review which can be read in full here. If Bill Foster, the reviewer, had heard their fantasia on 'Jerusalem Ridge', with extended breaks on all four instruments and vocals in Irish, he would have been even more impressed.

An important correction (update)

L-r: Chubby Wise, Curly Bradshaw, Bill Monroe, Sally Ann Forrester,

Clyde Moody, Dave 'Stringbean' Akeman, c.1943/4

The December 2020 issue of Bluegrass Unlimited magazine included the article 'The birth of bluegrass music' by BU editor Dan Miller. The membership of Bill Monroe's Blue Grass Boys on stage at the Grand Ole Opry on the historic night of 8 December 1945 was given as Monroe (mandolin), Lester Flatt (guitar), Howdy Forrester (fiddle), Joe Forrester (bass), and the new banjo player, Earl Scruggs.

BU's February 2021 issue published an important correction from Murphy Hicks Henry, longtime BU contributor and author of Pretty good for a girl: women in bluegrass (2013). Murphy pointed out that accordionist Wilene 'Sally Ann' Forrester, who had been in the band longer than any of the other members besides Monroe and did not leave till March '46, should have been included. Dan Miller apologised for the omission; he had tried to establish who was on stage that night, but no source he consulted had mentioned Sally Ann's presence. (It's fair to note that in Pretty good for a girl (p. 18) Murphy had not found it possible to give a firm 'Yes!' to the question 'Did the first bluegrass band [i.e. the band on stage on 8.12.45] include a woman?')

Sally Ann's memory is honoured and perpetuated in the Bluegrass Foundation's Sally Ann Forrester College Scholarship, a $1,000 fall semester scholarship awarded to one female bluegrass musician annually.

Update 22 Feb.: A 2000 article by Murphy Henry on Sally Ann, with emphasis on her recorded work with the Blue Grass Boys, is in the 'Archives' section of the BU website.

A T-shirt honouring Tony Rice

John Lawless gives on Bluegrass Today news of a T-shirt tribute to Tony Rice. It's a very attractive design by Colorado banjoist Jake Schepps, with a special appeal for anyone devoted to Tony Rice and aware of his outstanding knowledge of and expertise with Bulova Accutron watches. The design is shown on Bluegrass Today, with more images here, where the shirt can be bought for $25. Shipping is free in the USA, with $10 extra for international orders. All profits from sales go to Backline, an organisation providing mental health and wellness resources for the music industry.

Kody Norris Show (USA) on Song of the Mountains, 6 Mar. 2021

Thanks to Tim White for the news that on Saturday 6 March at 7.00 p.m. Song of the Mountains, the organisation holding monthly concerts in the Lincoln Theatre, Marion, VA, will present the Kody Norris Show (above), the high-energy bluegrass band in the in-your-face tradition of Jimmy Martin, who would in happier circumstances have wowed the audiences at last year's Westport festival.

The Kody Norris Show consists of Kody (guitar, lead vocals), Mary Rachel Nalley (fiddle), Josiah Tyree (banjo) and Cousin Charlie Lowman (bass). On the concert, they will be supported by Lightnin’ Charlie (Americana and gospel music) and driving bluegrass from Jonah Riddle & Carolina Express. The concert will be streamed live and also taped for later TV showing.

New release from Greg Blake (USA)

Almost exactly three months ago the BIB relayed news from the Bluegrass Standard magazine about Greg Blake - well known over here from his tours (organised by John Nyhan) as guitarist and lead singer with Jeff Scroggins & Colorado, as a bandleader, and as a solo artist.

Yesterday John Lawless posted on Bluegrass Today the news that Greg's single 'People, places, and songs' on Turnberry Records, featuring Claire Lynch, has been released to radio and will soon be available for streaming and download purchase. A one-minute snatch of it can be heard on Bluegrass Today, where details are given of the stellar accompanying musicians. The single comes from his forthcoming album; Greg is happy to have put together an album completely of original material. The next opportunity of hearing him in person will be welcome.

Direct from Caleb and Reeb

The BIB editor writes:

Following yesterday's post giving news from FOAOTMAD, here's a special message direct from Caleb Klauder & Reeb Willms (above), clarifying the times and other details for their concerts on Saturday 27 February - which will be as interactive as an online event can be - and giving a link for advance booking. One particularly important point:

The concert will be a one-time live only experience, and will not be available afterward, so don’t go thinking you can just tune in lazily later on, you know who I’m talking to:)

And there's a brief note on the weather in Portland, OR. The message begins 'Hello Richard!', but I'm sure it's not intended to be private.

Caleb Klauder & Reeb Willms online concert, 27 Feb. 2021

FOAOTMAD, the UK's organisation for old-time music and dance, announce that a few places are still vacant for the workshop weekend of 27-28 Feb. (see the BIB for 25 Jan.). The banjo workshop is nearly full.

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FOAOTMAD also announce that Caleb Klauder & Reeb Willms of the Foghorn Stringband (USA) can be seen in a special livestream concert at 7.00 p.m. (GST; Europe) on Saturday 27 February. General admission $15, ticket + merch bundle $25. The relevant links are:

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/events/547134042840973
Twitter: https://twitter.com/pickathon/status/1357060847999176704
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/p/CK1-b_vHEtA/

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© Richard Hawkins

Earl Scruggs expounded in eight parts, beginning THIS SATURDAY

Bill Evans (who toured Ireland a couple of times some years back with fiddle star Megan Lynch Chowning) is well respected as player, historian, and teacher of the 5-string banjo. He is now scheduled to present on the Peghead Nation website 'Earl Scruggs: a player's guide', a workshop in eight fortnightly instalments, beginning this coming Saturday (20 Feb.). This aims at complementing and expanding on the ground covered in the book Earl Scruggs and the 5-string banjo, examining in depth all aspects of Earl's playing.

The course costs $200, amounting to $25 a lesson - not a lot, for all that is on offer. A two-and-a-half-minute video in which Bill introduces the course can be seen on YouTube, on Bluegrass Today, and on Peghead Nation, where full details are given and you can sign up.

Winfield 2021 - an Irish contribution?

Thanks to Rex Flottman of the Walnut Valley Festival in Winfield, KS, for news that the 49th Festival is scheduled to be held, as in the past, at the Winfield fairgrounds on 15-19 Sept. 2021. The lineup features the artists previously announced, together with several major additions, and can be examined on the poster image (right; click to enlarge).

The poster itself is the third in a series of posters focusing on campground picking, for which Winfield is famous. It comes from a designer who, according to Rex, is based in London, and according to his website is from Kent, but as his name is Sean de Burca we suspect an Irish connection somwhere. Sean is a graphic designer, illustrator, and typographer (and an accomplished acoustic guitarist) who creates album artwork, logos, posters, and other materials for many musicians and record labels worldwide. He is also on Facebook.

© Richard Hawkins

Jens Kruger and Alison Brown on Deering Live

The third instalment of the 2021 series of banjo masterclasses by Jens Kruger on Deering Live is taking place tonight (Tues. 16 Feb.) at 6.00 p.m. ET/ 3.00 p.m. PT. (11.00 p.m. GMT), and can be watched here,  This instalment is devoted to chord substitution for backup, and playing without a capo. According to Deering, 'it promises to be a fun one!'

Last Thursday the great Alison Brown was on Deering Live, playing her deep-tuned Deering Julia Belle banjo and the prototype 'John Hartford Low Banjo' from which it was developed, as well as a banjo in standard tuning. The full eighty-minute interview can be seen on the Deering Live pages or on YouTube.

© Richard Hawkins

The Foreign Landers' new single

Thanks to John Lawless on Bluegrass Today for the news that the Foreign Landers (see the BIB for 3 Sept. 2020) have released their own tribute to both Tony Rice and Gordon Lightfoot in the form of a single - a recording of 'I'm not sayin'', the Lightfoot song from the 1987 album Blake & Rice.

The Foreign Landers are David and Tabitha Benedict. The new single can be heard and bought on Apple Music, and a video can be seen on Bluegrass Today and on YouTube.

© Richard Hawkins

Thile, Eldridge, Tuttle, and Sutton on what Tony Rice meant to them

The latest Weekly Dispatch from the Bluegrass Situation online magazine includes links to:

• The third and final episode of 'Toy heart', a podcast series hosted by Tom Power in which musicians who have known or been influenced by Tony Rice talk about him and his impact on their lives and music. In this episode, nearly two hours long, the speakers are Chris Thile, Chris Eldridge, Molly Tuttle, and Bryan Sutton.
• The latest in Neil Rosenberg's series of 'Bluegrass memoirs', in which the premier bluegrass historian recalls the Earl Scruggs Celebration of 1987. This is the first of two instalments about this event. and includes a good deal about Charlie Poole.

'Runaway man' from Lilly Drumeva (BG)

Lilly Drumeva, singer, songwriter, bandleader, and moving spirit of bluegrass and country music in Bulgaria and the Balkans generally, brought her band Lilly of the West to the 2013 Shannonside Winter Music Festival, where they earned (and received) a very warm reception. Thanks to Lilly for news of her latest single, 'Runaway man' (from the album of the same name), a video of which is now on YouTube. Lilly writes:

Enjoy my new song and video here and subscribe to my channel. Greetings from Bulgaria!

Bill Keith - channelled via Belgium

Our good friend Thierry Schoysman, who was touring in Ireland in January 2020 as mandolinist and singer with the Sons of Navarone (B) and half of the duo Table for Two (B/DK), is also an outstanding banjo player and was a close friend of the late and great Bill Keith. Thierry proves his entitlement in both respects by the too-brief video above from his YouTube channel, in which he plays the Bill Keith composition 'Phlebitis'. The reason for the name is in the note on the video.

A Co. Armagh contributor on Bluegrass Today

Tabitha (Agnew) Benedict of Co. Armagh has for years been well known on the bluegrass scene here as banjo player, guitarist, and singer of Cup O' Joe, Midnight Skyracer, and (most recently) the Foreign Landers. She is now in addition an accredited contributor to Bluegrass Today, with the appearance on Thursday (11 Feb.) of her review of the album Trad (right) by the Norwegian multi-instrumentalist, singer, and composer Magnus Wijk.

The full review, together with a player giving samples of the nine tracks of the album (the last of which is the Irish Gaelic lullaby 'Dun Do Shuil'), can be seen on Bluegrass Today. As a member of the scene here, contributing to a leading US bluegrass website, Tabitha Benedict follows in the footsteps of the patriarchal Niall Toner, who reviewed for the Bluegrass Prescription Blog some years back.

'Thistle and thorn in harmony' from Australia

Thanks once again to the McKernan family in New South Wales, Australia, whose 'browngrass' music has featured several times on the BIB in the past. In this instance, thanks particularly to Joe McKernan (right), who sends this link to his article 'Thistle and thorn in harmony', published last Tuesday (9 Feb.) on the blog of the Bruderhof religious community.

Joe wrote it after a family outing on which his son Donal and Donal's wife Cordelia brought out their new original song in traditional style, 'Thistle and thorn', and sang it in harmony. The song's complete text is given, together with a video which can also be seen on YouTube - their debut performance on the Bruderhof YouTube channel. The article is a timely reflection on the (literally) vital importance, during the isolations imposed by a world pandemic, of continuing to sing and make music, instead of being a passive audience. Warmly recommended.

Lee Sexton, 1927-2021

The BIB editor writes:

Richard Thompson announces on Bluegrass Today the sad news that Lee 'Boy' Sexton of Letcher county, KY, farmer, coal-miner, and highly regarded banjo- and fiddle-player, performer, and teacher, died on Thursday (11 Feb.) at the age of 93.

Lee Sexton's example has done much to encourage a revival of old-time two-finger banjo playing. As this nine-minute video shows, he could play in two-finger style with the drive, subtlety, and spirit of Scruggs-style playing. The strength, clarity, and precision of his old-time playing, however, is well shown in this six-minute video of him playing and singing 'Shady Grove', 'Little Maggie', and 'Wildwood flower'.

More detail, including photos, three videos, a discography, and a link to a documentary film, are in Richard's BT feature.

PS: Worth seeing (and worth also reading the film-maker's comments) is this video - a brief but weighty case for playing old-time music on a resonator banjo.

Red Hat Acoustic Music Club, 12 Feb. 2021

Paul and Anne McEvoy, organisers of the Red Hat Acoustic Music Club, announce:

Red Hat tomorrow 12th. It is with deep sorrow we hear of the passing of our good friend Michael Gannon. RIP. Paul & Anne.

In normal times the Red Hat meets on the second Friday of every month at the Harbour Hotel, Naas, Co. Kildare. Music starts around 8.30 p.m.; a donation of €3.00 covers coffee/ tea and sandwiches at the interval.

The editor apologises...

... for an unexplained change in the appearance of the BIB since yesterday. For some unknown reason, the sidebar has again (it happened last year) moved down to below the posts for the past month; and a new twist has come with a change in the spacing within posts. Compare, for instance, today's posts with those of the previous days, in which the text has been squeezed into a narrower space, affecting the placing of images (e.g. the post of 29 Jan.).

This may be Blogger's way of hinting that it's about time the BIB adopted a new format. If we can find a way of restoring the look of the BIB without sacrificing content, it will be done.

'We Banjo 3: Live from Ireland' live online, 13 Mar. 2021

Galway's We Banjo 3, originators of Celtgrass, announce on their website and Facebook that they will host their next epic virtual experience, 'We Banjo 3: Live From Ireland' on 13 March, with all four members together live on stage for the first time since live concerts ceased this time last year. The show will be streamed live in real-time from the Pearse Lyons Distillery in Dublin.

Tickets (from $20) and merch bundles (from $22.50) are on sale now. Loyalty Early Bird discounted tickets can be bought up to 11.59 p.m. EST on Friday 12 February. Each ticket purchase includes on-demand streaming access for seven days after the event.

More old-time news from Britain

Paul Bennett of FOAOTMAD, the UK organisation for American old-time music and dance, announces that Bill Smedley's 'Old Time Music Hour' - 'a great show for all old-time-music fans' can now be heard as a podcast, concurrently with Colm Daly's Padlet page. Details on access to these, and on choosing a podcast player, are given on the FOAOTMAD news blog.

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Croft Farm Water Park near Tewkesbury, Gloucestershire, has been booked for the FOAOTMAD spring camp (21-24 May 2021) and summer camp (6-14 Aug. 2021). FOAOTMAD emphasise that the camps will only be held subject to whatever COVID restrictions are in force at the time. Anyone intending to attend should contact FOAOTMAD for confirmation.

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Michael Starkey (right) of Edinburgh, Scotland, offers lessons in old-time clawhammer banjo and acoustic guitar, including online tuition on Zoom during lockdown conditions. One-on-one lessons tailored to the individual student are available, as well as group lessons and workshops, supported by audio and tablature material.

Full details are on Michael's website, together with audio and video examples of his own playing - which the BIB editor finds a treat to listen to, let alone learn from. For example, 'Lucy Neil' on banjo is on the website and on YouTube, while he can be heard playing backup guitar to Jane Rothfield (fiddle) and Cameron DeWhitt (banjo) on 'Farewell to Havertown', a Jane Rothfield composition.

Looking to get lost

The BIB editor writes:

Not all that many books have a cover photo showing Bill Monroe, so when this photo (right) appeared at the full size of a computer screen, heading a feature on the Bitter Southerner online magazine, it had my attention. The book is Looking to get lost: adventures in music & writing by Peter Guralnick, which was published by the Little, Brown Book Group last autumn and is available through all the usual channels. The feature is 'Getting caught up: a talk between Marty Stuart & Peter Guralnick'.

Not forgetting guitarists

Many people nowadays are unaware of any outstanding bluegrass guitar player earlier than the late Tony Rice; so it's good news that Chris Henry and David McLaughlin are presenting a Traditional bluegrass guitar improvising course, extending over twelve weeks and comprising over a hundred videos, for a special introductory price of $250 ($299 after 1 March).

Click on the image (right) to see the list of great players from the past whose styles will be examined in the course; full details are given here, with a three-and-a-half-minute introductory video which is also on John Lawless's feature on Bluegrass Today.

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Steve Kaufman has been teaching flatpicking bluegrass guitar for nearly forty-five years and is beginning his sixth year of conducting live online interactive weekly group lessons. Full details of Steve's instructional programmes and materials (including five new videos, free downloads and tips, and other features) are given on his website.

'More light!' (Goethe)

The BIB editor writes:

Thanks to the European Bluegrass Music Association Facebook for drawing attention to Light Up Your Banjo, a Dutch company that designs and builds lighting systems to fit inside or around a banjo pot. A player can control the display during performance, using a switch attached to the banjo sling.

The system was demonstrated in 2012 at the Banjo Camp Munich (see this YouTube demo). The website shows fifteen other videos of different light patterns that can be chosen to fit particular songs.

Before plastic banjo heads were invented, some players would instal an electric bulb inside the pot to warm and tighten the skin head before a performance, but Light Up Your Banjo have raised this utilitarian concept into an art form. I once contemplated putting a flash unit inside my banjo, to mark the end of a set, but never thought out a reloading system. No doubt Light Up Your Banjo could do this, if they haven't already.

Carolina Blue (USA) in concert online, 6 Feb. 2021

Thanks to Tim White for the news that this coming Saturday (6 Feb.) at 7.00 p.m. Song of the Mountains, the organisation holding monthly concerts in the Lincoln Theatre, Marion, VA, will present Carolina Blue (right), a highly acclaimed traditional bluegrass band, supported by the rockabilly band Broken Angels. The show will be streamed live and also taped for later TV showing.

Carolina Blue is Bobby Powell (guitar, vocals), Timmy Jones (mandolin, vocals), James McDowell (banjo, vocals), Reese Combs (upright bass, vocals) and Aynsley Porchak (fiddle). Just to single out one member as an example of the band's calibre, Aynsley Porchak won the 2018 IBMA Momentum Instrumentalist Award, and is one of the few younger bluegrass musicians whom the great Sonny Osborne mentions with unreserved approval. The March concert in the 'Song of the Mountains' series will be headed by the Kody Norris Show, who would (in happier circumstances) have wowed us all at Westport last year.

... and something for fiddlers

Dave Berry, California correspondent for Bluegrass Today, draws attention to a new series of online workshops for fiddle players, offered by The Fiddle Mercantile, the hub for all things fiddle in San Francisco, CA. The series, entitled 'The Fiddler in Question', features seven highly regarded fiddlers from across North America, each giving a ninety-minute session dedicated to the genre for which they are individually known. 

The first, Deanie Richardson on bluegrass fiddling, has already been given; those to come, at fortnightly intervals, are Tatiana Hargreaves (old-time and early bluegrass fiddle); Jason Anick (jazz violin); Calvin Vollrath (Canadian fiddling); Liz Carroll (Irish fiddling); Jake Blount (black and indigenous mountain music); and Megan Lynch Chowning (Texas style). Each workshop costs $25.00. More details are on Bluegrass Today.

Mostly banjo

Yesterday (1 Feb.) Ken Perlman (USA), master of 'melodic clawhammer' banjo, began his programme of four online live instructional banjo workshops on Zoom, devoted to 'Translating the fiddle music of Cape Breton and Prince Edward Island to clawhammer banjo' and taking place every Monday this month. Details of times and prices are given on the booking pages.

The eight hour-long workshops which Ken has already given on different aspects of clawhammer technique and playing can be bought as videos for $25 each from his Clawhammer Clinic encore collection.

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In his latest e-newsletter, Michael J. Miles (USA) as always shows his wide-ranging musical tastes; three videos include one of Bach's 'Sleepers awake' on banjo, and versions of 'Lean on me' and 'Both sides now' for fingerstyle guitar. Further information on Michael's one-off workshops for guitar and clawhammer banjo, as well as his four-week classes for both instruments and his concert dates, can be found here.

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Deering Banjos announce that last week's hour-long masterclass from Jens Kruger can be seen here, and today (2 Feb.) a follow-up session of questions and answers on the class (which was on playing fast and clean, and on embellishments) will be held at the usual times of 6.00 p.m. ET (3.00 p.m. PT). Jens's next masterclass (on chord substitution for backup, and playing without a capo) will be two weeks from now.

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Finally, the International Bluegrass Music Association and Pisgah Banjos of Asheville, NC, announce that a special banjo has been made to be raffled at $20.00 a ticket with the object of raising $20,000 for the IBMA's Arnold Shultz Fund, which was set up in 2020 to support activities increasing participation of people of colour in bluegrass music. Bill Monroe acknowledged the influence that Shultz's playing had on him in youth, and the IBMA release includes a useful list of links to sources on Shultz and his musical legacy. For more details on the banjo, see John Lawless's feature on Bluegrass Today.

NB: People outside the USA who want to buy a raffle ticket through the Pisgah website will find that it doesn't cater for overseas addresses. Thanks to Pisgah's Patrick David Sawyer, who advises:

Use the Pisgah Banjo address [82 Whitaker Road, Fairview, North Carolina 28730]. If you win we will contact you for your shipping address. Thanks for supporting the Arnold Shultz Fund!

Happy birthday, Tom Gray

Today is the eightieth birthday of Thomas L. 'Tom' Gray, a pillar of the bluegrass scene in the Washington DC area and one of the few people to have been inducted twice into the Bluegrass Music Hall of Fame, as a core member of two extremely influential bands: the 'classic' Country Gentlemen and the original Seldom Scene. In the image (right) from the Gents' second Folkways album, Tom is right of centre. A long list of other artists with whom he has recorded over the years is on Wikipedia.

Tom was the first bassist inducted into the Hall of Fame, and while with the Seldom Scene he won the IBMA's Bass Player of the Year award eight times. His many achievements in a number of fields are outlined in the biographical article about him for the Hall of Fame. Happy birthday, Tom Gray!

Old-time music galore

FOAOTMAD, the UK organisation promoting American old-time music and dance, announce on their news blog that nearly three hours of varied old-time music amd interviews can now be heard every week via the Old Time Music Cornwall website, which has embedded players for three shows from the USA: Bill Smedley's 'Old Time Music Hour', Dale Brubaker's 'The Old Time Zone', and Cameron DeWhitt's 'Get up in the Cool'. All shows will be updated weekly.

Colin Tipping, a FOAOTMAD member, also reports that the 1940 film 'Grand Ole Opry', directed by Frank McDonald, will be shown on Thurs. 4 Feb. at 12.35 GMT on TV Freeview Channel 81 'Talking Pictures TV'. The film includes footage of Roy Acuff, Leon Weaver, and Uncle Dave Macon. The familiar clip of Uncle Dave and his son Dorris playing and singing 'Take me back to my old Carolina home' comes from this film.