The Glory-Beaming Banjo

Things got busy. That's why you haven't heard from me. That's also why my banjo and fiddle have sat dormant for about two months. All of a sudden I feel the urge to get back into the musical habit as several local festivals are on the horizon.  Between family, work, kids activities, a vacation, a death in the family and just the general schedule glut of summertime, I haven't found the time to play music lately. But I'm itching to get back to it. Thankfully, the upcoming Music in the Valley festival provides some much-needed motivation to resharpen my skills.  Music in the Valley The first event on deck is the annual Music in the Valley festival July 8-9 at Hale Farm in Bath, Ohio. This has been an excellent opportunity to play old-time music with others from my region. However, this year is getting a boost with Cleveland-based fiddler Paul Kirk assisting the programs manager to add instrumental highlights for banjo, fiddle and mountain dulcimer, as well as a fiddl...

Planning for the future. It's an exercise many like undertake at the beginning newly minted years. Last year was a bit of a down year. My music playing didn't measure up to the plans I had made last January. This year is one I hope that ends with better results. So far I've managed to keep my daily playing streak alive. The problem is one I've had before. For the most part I'm only doing the bare minimum to mark off each day as one that I've played banjo and fiddle. Longer practice sessions have eluded me.  Despite the minimal playing, my logged time has still outpaced last year's results. So there is good with the bad. While I want to play more often this year than I did in 2022, what I really want to achieve is getting back into situations where I can play with others more often. Getting Back to Jams One way to play with others is to attend regular jam sessions. The ones I used to attend went away with COVID-19. There are two monthly jams I am aware of tha...

Music Along the River, Aug. 12-13, in Harpersfield, Ohio, proved to be a fun time. However, it turned out to be my only opportunity to play old-time music with others this month. Parking challenges canceled out one event and a scheduling conflict eliminated another.  As I mentioned in my previous post , August was a busy month. There was the aforementioned Music Along the River, the Raccoon County Music Festival in Burton, Ohio, as well as a new jam in Cleveland's Ohio City neighborhood that offered ample opportunities to play banjo and fiddle with other likeminded folks.  On Saturday, Aug. 13, I drove north to the site of the Harpersfield Covered Bridge , which has been removed and will be rehabilitated as part of a construction project approved earlier this year that is estimated to cost more than $6 million and be completed by Dec. 31, 2023.  In past years, Music Along the River (or MATR, as it's affectionately referred to by festivalgoers) spans both sides of the Gra...

Summer brings festival season. Clifftop and Galax are just around the corner, but there are a slew of events coming up that are closer to home where there will be plenty of old-time jamming to enjoy. Meanwhile, I'm still struggling to find time to play music amid other summertime activities.  July and August are especially busy for Northeast Ohio's old-time music community, with a full slate of events packed into a tight window. I'm sad to say I missed Music in the Valley earlier this month, but there are two more festivals to look forward to next month. Following the disruptions to events the last two years from the COVID-19 pandemic, this seems like especially challenging time for organizers. It was such a welcome experience to return to the Lake Erie Folk Festival in April. I hope the rest of the local events experience plenty of success to bolster them for the future.  This is a good reminder to show support for the things you enjoy, or they might not be around muc...

Steady as she goes. That was the name of the game these past three months. I maintained my pace toward my yearly playing goals on fiddle and banjo. I learned "Mississippi Sawyer" on fiddle and "Sloop John B." on banjo. I attended two local festivals and arranged a one-on-one jam session to keep up with my "playing with others" goal. I posted twice a month on this blog, which is at least consistent if not up to last year's standard-bearer. All in all, it was a steady third quarter. On the fiddle, I played 50 hours this quarter and feel pretty happy with "Mississippi Sawyer." I've worked out a couple variations, and I even tried it out in a jam at one of the festivals I attended this year. I've also continued to work on "Possum on a Rail." Next up is the good old chestnut, "Old Joe Clark." I also had written down "June Apple" in my notes. Depending on how well "Old Joe Clark" comes along, I ma...

We're lucky in Northeast Ohio to have a handful of local festivals that feature plenty of old-time performances and open sessions. However, we're unlucky to have these events stacked on top of each other. I've written in the past about how the Raccoon County Music Festival in Burton, Ohio, is my favorite of the local events. Another well-regarded festival is Music Along the River (MATR) in Harpersfield, Ohio. Usually, these two events are a week apart, but this year they occur on the same weekend — i.e., this weekend. Raccoon County is Saturday, Aug. 18, while MATR runs Friday-Sunday, Aug. 17-19. Luckily, circumstances allow for someone to attend both events, if they were so inclined. However, there will no doubt be some people will only have time for one. It's a shame that two great events will likely experience reduced attendance because of this scheduling conflict, as these festivals attract the same crowd. To make matters worse, another strong festival...