The Glory-Beaming Banjo

Local old-time sessions have been canceled amid the COVID-19 pandemic, and I suspect festivals will start feeling the effects soon as we move toward summer. For instance, organizers have recently announced that the John Hartford Memorial Festival  has been postponed until September. My local festivals don't start rolling along until July, so hopefully they'll still be able to continue. Chances are I won't be hauling my banjo anywhere soon. However, I did get chance the last two months to test my new Boulder Alpine gig bag . I lugged my banjo to the Lake Erie Folk Festival in February and to a local jam at the beginning of March before Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine closed local businesses and issued a stay-at-home order. Now, the only place I take my banjo is to my front porch. And I don't need a gig bag for that. In my two experiences using it, however, I was very pleased with the results. The Boulder Alpine gig bag is lightweight and comfortable to carry. There are a se...

Something happened when I started playing fiddle. I stopped taking my banjo to jams and festivals. The rare occasions when I would lug both instruments somewhere, the unwieldiness of the two handheld, hard-shell cases was overwhelming. I needed a new solution. Granted, when I first got my current banjo, my wonderful wife offered to make me a well-padded gig bag as a present, but I snobbishly declined. I didn't trust the protective qualities of a soft-sided case. And yet, here I am today touting my new forest green Boulder Alpine Deluxe gig bag from Saga Music. My wife, rightfully, gave me the side-eye when I opened the gift over the holidays. She threw in a couple choice words for good measure. I admit it: I was an ass when I said no to her offer 10 years ago. That said, I'm excited to have this gig bag. I know a bunch of banjo players who use them, and they receive strong reviews. I hope to add mine to the list after a thorough testing. The features I like most ar...