The Glory-Beaming Banjo

Everyone seems to be doing these "best of the decade" posts, so I might as well too. It seems like a good way to close out the year. This blog started in 2011, so there's not a full 10 years to choose from. Regardless, it was interesting to take a stroll through the archives and revisit these stories from the last eight years. Without further ado, here are the most visited Glory-Beaming Banjo stories of the 2010s. No. 10 Postcards: Vinyl Hunting Tour From July 8, 2016, this is the post that kicked off the " Vinyl Hunter " series. On that maiden voyage, I picked up Ed Haley, Parkersburg Landing , and the Galax Va. Old Fiddlers' Convention compilation from 1964. No. 9 The Milliner-Koken Collection of American Fiddle Tunes From March 3, 2011, my review of this wonderful and large collection of tunes, compiled by Clare Milliner and Walt Koken. They released a second edition of this 888-page tome earlier this year. You can buy the book at the Mudthum...

There are many great banjo builders today creating magnificent instruments, but some of the neatest innovations and most interesting wood choices come from Bryson City, N.C., where Jeff Delfield creates his Deep Creek Strings banjos. Delfield is a local librarian in Bryson City by day, but he has been building banjos for the past few years. However, his interest in building folk instruments started with Cigar Box Guitars, or CBGs, as he refers to them. “I was always a fan of the banjo and banjo playing,” he says. “But, honestly, six years ago, when I moved to Bryson City, I didn't know the difference between clawhammer and three-finger, bluegrass banjo. I was much more interested in the blues — especially country blues.” The music of Skip James, Son House, Mississippi John Hurt, Robert Johnson, and others led Delfield to wanting a CBG, which in turn led him to wanting to build the instrument himself, he says, “Because I’m cheap.” One CBG led to another. Within a year, he h...