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...

Greetings Banjo Friends! Election Day in the United States may have been last week, but that doesn't mean you're done voting. I know it's been a while since our last post, as other responsibilities have been eating up my brain space. I have a couple articles in the works, but it may be a couple weeks yet before I can get to those. In the meantime, I thought it would be fun to see your top clawhammer banjo players. Below you will find a poll with a bunch of clawhammer players, but certainly not ALL the clawhammer players out there. Pick from the list or choose "Other" at the bottom and write in your candidate. Next week, I'll tabulate the answers and share the results. So, what are you waiting for? Get voting! Favorite Clawhammer Banjo Player Clarence Ashley Riley Baugus Hilarie Burhans Fred Cockerham Tom Collins Kyle Creed Dwight Diller Allison de Groot Dan Gellert Rhiannon Giddens Adam Hurt John Herrmann Mark Olitsk...