Pickers in the news

Following yesterday's post about the winners of this year's Steve Martin Banjo Prize, it has been announced that the winners are Alan Munde (left above) and New Orleans jazz tenor-banjo player Don Vappie (right; featured on Deering Live earlier this year). Each will receive $25,000.

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Nora Brown was interviewed on Deering Live on 27 May (see the BIB for that date). She has now been interviewed for Fretboard Journal by the editor, Jason Verlinde, in 'The old-time mastery of Nora Brown'.

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Also on the Fretboard Journal website: a video premiere of guitarist Jordan Tice (who, like his parents, has played bluegrass in Ireland), playing his composition 'Cats and kitties'. The video went on to YouTube yesterday.

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In last week's IBMA Bluegrass Music Awards, Billy Strings received the awards for Entertainer of the Year and Guitar Player of the Year. The Bluegrass Situation (BGS) online magazine has now announced him as its Artist of the Month for October, with a video of his 'Heartbeat of America' (also on YouTube) and a playlist of twenty-two numbers from his recordings. A video feature on Billy Strings and Del McCoury singing 'Midnight on the stormy deep' together (with Billy on mandolin) is also on BGS, and a two-part interview will follow later this month.

© Richard Hawkins