The fourth annual Lake Erie Folk Festival is coming up this weekend, and there’s plenty to enjoy for us banjo nerds.
First and foremost is the Old-Time Banjo Summit at 3:30 p.m. on Saturday, Feb. 23, featuring such five-string luminaries as Mark Olitsky, Doug Unger, Richie Stearns and Lukas Pool. These four banjo masters will compare their banjo playing styles.
Longtime readers of the Glory-Beaming Banjo may already be familiar with Olitsky, who was featured in a two-part feature on this site in 2011. Click the links to check out Part 1 and Part 2.
Unger is known for his brilliant banjo building, but he is also an accomplished player with a sparse style. I once heard him describe his style as a series of runs, and hearing that opened up my thinking on how to play in a jam when I don’t necessarily know the tunes.
Stearns is a virtuoso based in Ithaca, New York, known for his playing in the Horse Flies, the Evil City String Band and many others. Currently, he tours with fiddler Rosie Newton.
Pool is a two-time National Old-Time Banjo Contest winner and graduate of Berklee College of Music in Boston, where he studied under Bruce Molsky, Darol Anger, Matt Glaser and John McGann.
Following the Old-Time Banjo Summit will be the Banjo Maker Shoptalk, at 4:45 p.m., featuring the master craftsman Unger and Lukas and Eden Pool, who operate the Ozark Banjo Co.
In addition to these intriguing discussions, Stearns and Pool will also be presenting workshops and performing at the Lake Erie Folk Festival.
Pool presents Intro to Old-Time Banjo at 1 p.m., focusing on the basics of clawhammer banjo, learning basic right-hand technique and chords.
Stearns presents Intermediate/Advanced Old-Time Banjo at 2 p.m., discussing his unique style and how to best complement the fiddler, showing various tunings and chord patterns to accompany both modern and traditional melodies.
Eden and Lukas Pool will perform Appalachian Fiddle & Banjo at 2 p.m. The duo is based in Mountain View, Arkansas. Lukas has played banjo since age 12. Eden finds her musical home in American old-time fiddle, but she has a background in Scottish music, having won the U.S. Junior Scottish Fiddle Championship as a teenager in 2004.
Richie and Rosie headline the evening concert, presenting traditional and original Americana music. Before joining forces, both members were well-established within the Ithaca old-time community. Rosie has toured with multiple bands, including an appearance while she was in high school with folk-rock band The Mammals, and Richie has performed internationally with Bela Fleck, Pete Seeger and David Byrne. The evening concert starts at 7:30 p.m., and also features traditional Irish band Journeywork, solo guitarist Jim Volk, traditional Indian dance group Shri Kalaa Mandir and the Chardon Polka Band. Admission is $10 prepaid online or $15 at the door.
For more information about the Lake Erie Folk Festival, visit lakeeriefolkfest.com.
Longtime readers of the Glory-Beaming Banjo may already be familiar with Olitsky, who was featured in a two-part feature on this site in 2011. Click the links to check out Part 1 and Part 2.
Unger is known for his brilliant banjo building, but he is also an accomplished player with a sparse style. I once heard him describe his style as a series of runs, and hearing that opened up my thinking on how to play in a jam when I don’t necessarily know the tunes.
Stearns is a virtuoso based in Ithaca, New York, known for his playing in the Horse Flies, the Evil City String Band and many others. Currently, he tours with fiddler Rosie Newton.
Pool is a two-time National Old-Time Banjo Contest winner and graduate of Berklee College of Music in Boston, where he studied under Bruce Molsky, Darol Anger, Matt Glaser and John McGann.
Following the Old-Time Banjo Summit will be the Banjo Maker Shoptalk, at 4:45 p.m., featuring the master craftsman Unger and Lukas and Eden Pool, who operate the Ozark Banjo Co.
In addition to these intriguing discussions, Stearns and Pool will also be presenting workshops and performing at the Lake Erie Folk Festival.
Pool presents Intro to Old-Time Banjo at 1 p.m., focusing on the basics of clawhammer banjo, learning basic right-hand technique and chords.
Stearns presents Intermediate/Advanced Old-Time Banjo at 2 p.m., discussing his unique style and how to best complement the fiddler, showing various tunings and chord patterns to accompany both modern and traditional melodies.
Eden and Lukas Pool will perform Appalachian Fiddle & Banjo at 2 p.m. The duo is based in Mountain View, Arkansas. Lukas has played banjo since age 12. Eden finds her musical home in American old-time fiddle, but she has a background in Scottish music, having won the U.S. Junior Scottish Fiddle Championship as a teenager in 2004.
Richie and Rosie headline the evening concert, presenting traditional and original Americana music. Before joining forces, both members were well-established within the Ithaca old-time community. Rosie has toured with multiple bands, including an appearance while she was in high school with folk-rock band The Mammals, and Richie has performed internationally with Bela Fleck, Pete Seeger and David Byrne. The evening concert starts at 7:30 p.m., and also features traditional Irish band Journeywork, solo guitarist Jim Volk, traditional Indian dance group Shri Kalaa Mandir and the Chardon Polka Band. Admission is $10 prepaid online or $15 at the door.
For more information about the Lake Erie Folk Festival, visit lakeeriefolkfest.com.
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