The Glory-Beaming Banjo

Leave it to me to write whole big post about records that aren't vinyl, and then forget about the newest additions to my old-time music collection that ACTUALLY ARE vinyl.  First up is an album released earlier this year. I had my local record store pre-order me a copy of Rhiannon Giddens & Justin Robinson, What Did the Blackbird Say to the Crow , which was released in April on Nonesuch. The album features two-thirds of the original Carolina Chocolate Drops lineup and arrived shortly before the band's reunion concert at the inaugural Biscuits & Banjos Festival , April 25-27, in Durham, North Carolina, and it also preceded the release of a new documentary about the band that you can watch now on Amazon Prime.  The Giddens-Robinson duo provide a dozen North Carolina fiddle and banjo tunes. The entire album was recorded outdoors at Joe Thompson’s and Etta Baker’s North Carolina homes, as well as the former plantation Mill Prong House. In the background you can hear the s...

Scrolling through the winners of the 2023 Pulitzer Prize , one name should stand out for banjo nerds like us: Rhiannon Giddens . The former Carolina Chocolate Drops member and renowned solo artist was awarded the Pulitzer for Omar , an opera about enslaved people brought to North America from Muslim countries.  Of course, Giddens is no stranger to awards. She has won two Grammy Awards as both a member of the Carolina Chocolate Drops and as a solo artist. She received the MacArthur Fellowship in 2017. She won the Steve Martin Banjo Prize in 2016. She has also won two International Folk Music Awards, three Living Blues Awards and several others, plus she's been inducted into the North Carolina Music Hall of Fame, and she has been nominated for countless other accolades. On the heels of the Pulitzer Prize news, Giddens also announced a new solo album .    Giddens collaborated with composer Michael Abels on Omar , which premiered on May 27, 2022, at the Spoleto Festiv...

Prior to his death in August 2009, Mike Seeger had been working on a documentary project, recording banjo players throughout North Carolina, Virginia, West Virginia, Kentucky, Alabama and Tennessee. He became ill before he could finish the project. Ten years later, Seeger's final work is at last seeing the light of day. Released in September by Smithsonian Folkways, Just Around the Bend: Survival and Revival in Southern Banjo Sounds — Mike Seeger's Last Documentary includes a 110-minute DVD, two CDs and an 80-page booklet. The documentary was directed by Yasha Aginsky, who accompanied Seeger on the project. The CDs were compiled by Bob Carlin and include 19 banjo players that Seeger interviewed and recorded during the summer of 2009. Seeger sought to document different banjo styles, including variations of clawhammer and up-picking. He also chose players with a wide range of experience and age. Seeger also aimed to represent women and African American banjo players, th...

Rhiannon Giddens has been on a roll this past year. In 2016, she was awarded the Steve Martin Prize for Excellence in Banjo and Bluegrass . In February, her third solo album, "Freedom Highway," was released on Nonesuch Records. On Sept. 26, she was selected as the keynote speaker at the International Bluegrass Music Association (IBMA) conference. And today, she was named among the recipients of the MacArthur Foundation fellowships , the so-called "Genius Grants." Of course, like many of you, I first became aware of Giddens' work with the wonderful Carolina Chocolate Drops , a group that studied under the late, great fiddler Joe Thompson and sought to reclaim the African American tradition of Appalachian string band music. Along with founding bandmates Justin Robinson and Dom Flemons, Giddens won a 2010 Grammy Award for Best Traditional Folk Album with "Genuine Negro Jig." The Chocolate Drops were among the earliest influences that sparked my ...

Source: Rhiannon Giddens Facebook C arolina Chocolate Drops founder Rhiannon Giddens was named the 2016 recipient of the Steve Martin Prize for Excellence in Banjo and Bluegrass. The $50,000 award was established in 2010 and has been presented annually by a board comprised of Martin, J.D. Crowe, Pete Wernick, Tony Trischka, Anne Stringfield, Noam Pikelny, Alison Brown, Dr. Neil Rosenberg and Béla Fleck. Giddens is the first woman and first African American to win the award. In addition to performing with the Grammy-winning Carolina Chocolate Drops, she has also recorded a successful solo album that prominently features her banjo playing. "Rhiannon Giddens occupies a unique position in the world of banjo music, bridging contemporary and traditional forms and the cultures of three continents," says the Steve Martin Prize website . "Few musicians have done more to revitalize old-time sounds in the last decade. Drawing from blues, jazz, folk, hip-hop, traditional Af...

After finishing my three-part series " Tracing the Banjo Addiction ," I decided to compile my musical listening timeline to show all my shifts in taste over my lifetime. These date ranges are as accurate as I can remember and include my favorite artists at the time. 1979 / I Am Born: Disco tops the charts, New Wave emerges, and Bob Seger pleads for that "Old Time Rock and Roll." 1979-1987 / The Early Years:  Memories of popular hits like the Police's "I'll Be Watching You" and Hall & Oates' "Private Eyes," going to my first Kent State Folk Festival , and my parents' influence of the Beach Boys, Rolling Stones, and the "folksingers" of the 1960s. 1986 / First Album: Bon Jovi, "Slippery When Wet," a Christmas gift from my uncle. 1986-1992 / Hair Bands:  Poison, Gun N' Roses, and Aerosmith. 1991 / First Concert:  Beach Boys at Cleveland Municipal Stadium, June 1, 1991. 1992-1993 / Blowing in...

The 45th annual Kent State Folk Festival kicks off tonight with a performance by the Carolina Chocolate Drops and will wrap up Sunday with a concert by Peter Yarrow, of the legendary folk group Peter, Paul and Mary. The real fun will be Friday's Folk Alley 'Round Town , with free performances by a variety of musical acts around downtown Kent, Ohio, and the free community workshops Saturday at the KSU Student Center. The 'Round Town and workshops will provide a number of opportunities for enthusiasts of old-time music and the banjo to watch, listen, and play. On Friday, you can participate in the Kent Shindig old-time jam from 5 to 8 p.m. at the Europe Gyro. This is the group your host regularly jams with every first Sunday of the month. They're a welcoming group, so don't be shy. From 7 to 9 p.m., you can swing over to Woodsy's Music to catch Brady's Run, a local string band that includes Lynn Frederick and Sue Goehring. Also of interest are the Mayfie...

Shortly before winning a Grammy for Best Traditional Folk Album , the Carolina Chocolate Drops announced a new lineup and the departure of fiddler Justin Robinson. The Drops added multi-instrumentalist Hubby Jenkins and human beatboxer Adam Matta to replace Robinson, who provided much of the group's old-time vibe with his bowing and singing. Ever since, I'd been wondering how the new makeup of the Carolina Chocolate Drops would sound. Now, I no longer have to guess, as the group was featured on the 30-Minute Music Hour on Wisconsin Public Television. Watch the full episode . See more 30-Minute Music Hour. As you can see from the video, it appears Matta has taken over playing the jug--albeit without the jug--from Dom Flemons, who in the video concentrates on four-string banjo and sings. Rhiannon Giddens handles the fiddle duties and adds her solid vocals. Jenkins plays bones, guitar and mandolin and sings a song. On the program, the Drops' sound leans more toward ...