The Glory-Beaming Banjo

Grab those banjos and head for the hills of Southeast Ohio. The  Happy Hollow Old-Time Music Gathering will provide a weekend full of jamming and workshops, Sept. 24-27, at Snow Fork Event Center in Nelsonville, Ohio. Formerly known as the Happy Hollow Hootenanny, the event is entering its fourth year, and the organizers have pulled out all the stops to provide programming led by some of the top old-time musicians in the country.  For banjo players, there are several workshop options for musicians of all levels. There are beginning workshops by Janie Rothfield and Hilarie Burhans, an intermediate program by Whitt Mead, and an advanced course on crooked tunes led by Mark Olitsky . Plus, there are daily open jam sessions where banjos are always welcome.  As a proponent of Ohio old-time traditions , there's a workshop on Ohio Fiddle Tunes conducted by Mead, who will also be teaching Ohio tunes in the banjo workshop mentioned above.  Vibe check Happy Hollow is a relaxe...

C hange is the only constant. This past weekend was the  Music in the Valley Folk & Wine Festival , a local folk music festival dating back to the 1970s that was paired with a wine tasting event a little over a decade ago. For whatever reason, the festival has undergone some head-scratching changes over the past few years, which have directly impacted the folk music aspect of Music in the Valley. However, the tradition endures.  Last year was the 50th anniversary of Music in the Valley, which is free for musicians entering with an instrument. Located at Hale Farm and Village in Bath, Ohio, the event is typically held on the second weekend in July. Saturday is usually the busiest day, but I went on Sunday last year. Sadly, nobody I recognized was there and no one was playing old-time music. I walked through the grounds and right back to my car. What a bust. However, what stands out from that milestone year was how the Western Reserve Historical Society (WRHS), which operat...

Today is Black Friday, signaling the start of the gift-giving season. No matter your heritage, this time of year is packed with holidays that involve presents. You might have some banjo-loving freak on your nice list for whom you need some gift ideas, or you might be a banjo-loving freak yourself who has been asked to provide gifts ideas for others. As we  resurrect an idea from a decade ago , here is the 2025 Glory-Beaming Banjo Gift Guide.  Let's start with some new music ...  The Field Recorders' Collective has released a ton of new albums this year that are worthy of your attention. However, for my money, the Kerry Blech collection (FRC 751) is the one to get. This 50-track behemoth features Blech playing tunes with brief introductions throughout. Recorded in 2004 during a concert at Clifftop, he's accompanied by John Schwab, Bill Schmidt, and Kevin Enoch. The FRC also offers gift cards if you're unsure of what to get.  David Bragger's Old-Time Tiki Parlo...

The COVID-19 pandemic has had a significant impact on every aspect of our lives. For those of us who enjoy playing old-time music, opportunities to play our instruments with others has been severely limited. No more going to jams at bars or coffee shops. No more festivals. No more workshops. No more lessons. Just sit at home and play alone. Thankfully, technology can ease some of that pain. In the last couple weeks, I participated in a couple of online fiddle workshops and a virtual old-time jam. As a result of the coronavirus pandemic, video conferencing has hit the mainstream. People using the technology for everything from remote work meetings to virtual cocktail hour with family and friends. Zoom has become the technology du jour. The online conferencing platform seems to have materialized out of nowhere with the advent of social distancing, stay-at-home orders and mass quarantines. While some old-time musicians have been offering lessons through Skype for years, many are...