For guitarists

On Tuesday John Lawless announced on Bluegrass Today that fiddle maestro Mark O'Connor has just released as an eight-minute single 'MashbluegrassD-28', a 1978 unofficial recording which has only recently been rediscovered. It was made after the taping of O'Connor's first album, Markology, when he, Tony Rice, and Dan Crary were jamming in the studio. The photo of the three of them is well worth seeing in itself; the recording can be heard on Bluegrass Today, on YouTube, and here, and can be bought online at the usual outlets. It dates from the same year that Dan Crary first played in Dublin, with the Sackville String Band (beginning a more bluegrass-orientated phase) opening for him at the Tailors' Hall.

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Claire Lynch and Jim Hurst are playing shows together in the USA till the end of this year. Both have played several times in Ireland - Jim Hurst as recently as three years ago. Claire Lynch intends to take 2023 off as far as live shows are concerned, so fans who can get to the shows should make the effort; details are given by John Lawless on Bluegrass Today.

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Bluegrass Today also announces an exhibition at the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts in Richmond, VA, entitled 'The guitar in American art' and featuring 125 art works and thirty-five instruments. The exhibition began a month ago and runs to 19 March 2023, after which it will move to Nashville. A half-minute trailer video showing a few of the art works can be seen on Bluegrass Today, on the VMFA website, and on YouTube. The exhibition is accompanied by a 300-page catalogue which 'positions the guitar within a nexus of art, music, literary, and cultural histories', and by a series of 'Richmond sessions' - studio recordings by an 'eclectic roster of guitarists performing in the art exhibition'.

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Finally, Fretboard Journal magazine will publish next month An instrument maker's guide to insanity and redemption, by luthiers Michael Gurian and Dick Boak (see cover image above). The book, which FJ says is 'not just for luthiers, but for any fans of the modern guitar movement', can be pre-ordered for $19.95.

© Richard Hawkins