American Bach revisited, and more

Michael J. Miles announces that his new recording, American Bach revisited, will be officially released this coming Friday (4 Aug.). A special concert to mark the release will be held at Space Evanston in Evanston, ILL, on 17 Sept., featuring Michael (banjo, guitar) and Jill Kaeding (cello). The album can be pre-ordered on BandCamp.

Michael also announces his coming schedule of one-off workshops for playing country and classic pop/ rock on clawhammer banjo and fingerstyle guitar. Full details are in his latest e-newsletter.

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On Tues. 25 July the IBMA presented a webinar discussion on the topic of generative AI (artificial intelligence) within the music industry, its copyright implications, and its future relationship with human creators. A one-hour-and-fifty-minutes video of the discussion can be seen on the IBMA Facebook and on YouTube.

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The BIB sends a belated 'Happy birthday' to master fiddler Robert Caldwell 'Bobby' Hicks (left) of western North Carolina, whose 90th birthday was on Friday 21 July. Sandy Hatley describes on Bluegrass Today the celebrations in Marshall, NC, with three photos, a video (also on YouTube), and quotations from those present, including fiddlers Michael Cleveland and Aynsley Porchak. One of the places around the world where Bobby has been is Dublin, where he played c.1996 as a member of Ricky Skaggs's country music band, on rhythm guitar and banjo as well as fiddle. He was inducted into the Bluegrass Music Hall of Fame in 2017; the photo above is taken from his Hall of Fame bio article.

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The Birthplace of Country Music Museum (BCMM) in Bristol, TN/VA, announces a special screening of the film '"I've endured": the music and legacy of Ola Belle Reed' on Mon. 28 Aug., associated with their ongoing 'Women in old-time music' exhibit. A three-minute-plus trailer of the film can be seen here. More details are on the BCMM newsletter.

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Finally, more IBMA news: the Keynote Speech at this year's World Of Bluegrass in Raleigh, NC, will be delivered by fiddle/ violin maestro Matt Glaser on Tues. 26 Sept., under the title 'Hidden threads: bluegrass in the American musical tapestry'. More details are on the IBMA press release, and still more about other aspects of World Of Bluegrass in the IBMA July 2023 newsletter.

© Richard Hawkins