March is over, which means we're a quarter of the way through 2026. In the past, I used to provide quarterly reports on my various musical goals, but I've gotten away from that kind of content over the last few years. You'd have to go back to 2024 for the last one I did, and further back to 2020 for the last time I provided a report on all four quarters of the year.
To keep me motivated and to give me a regular source of content, I figured I'd bring them back this year to see how they go. I'll use these regular posts as a kind of housekeeping and progress report of the last three months, along with any recent trends and happenings I deem important. So, here we go!
The stats
Banjo: A strong January helped carry me through a light February. I stayed on target in March. So far, I've exceeded my benchmark for each month this year, and I'm trending in the right direction for this year's goals.
Fiddle: As reported above, my January numbers helped carry me through a light February and March. I hit my March benchmark right on the nose.
Jams: I went to two jams this quarter, one in January and another at the start of March. During the most recent jam, I got to play my friend's Bob Anderson banjo. It was a beautiful instrument with an 11-inch rim, a bracket band, and an electric tone ring, along with exquisite pearl inlay and engraving, as well as a beautiful heal carving. That's the banjo in the photos above. Anderson was originally from Ohio, but he lived in North Carolina until his death in 2023.
Festivals: I missed the Lake Erie Folk Festival this year because of a major plumbing problem at home. However, I did get a shirt to commemorate the 10th year of LEFF. The next festival in the area is the Banjos and Bigfoot Festival at Salt Fork State Park on June 6. I promoted this festival before its inaugural year in 2024, and then I missed the announcement for the 2025 event. I was able to confirm the date for this year, although I haven't seen any sort of event listing anywhere online. The Summer Sasquatch trail race is happening that same weekend at Salt Fork, and I'm contemplating making it a weekend getaway.
Overview: My motivation was really high in January, which allowed me to still meet my benchmark goals for February, even though I didn't meet my monthly playing goals for that month. As for March, the jam helped me meat my banjo playing goal, and I just hit my fiddle benchmark yesterday. The biggest thing I've been working on this year is learning to read music. It was great getting to two jams, although I'm sad I had to miss the Lake Erie Folk Fest.
18th Banjoversary
It was March 2008 when I got my first banjo and started this glorious journey. My life as a banjo player has entered adulthood at 18 years and is now old enough to vote. On the other hand, January marked my 13th year playing fiddle, and that snot-nosed teenager is bound to drive me crazy. What I've learned over the years is I still have a lot to figure out.
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