The Glory-Beaming Banjo

Doug Unger died last month, and the banjo community lost a legend. Although I did not know him well, I was a great admirer of Unger's artistry and craftsmanship, from his bucolic paintings to his ornate banjos, as well as his thoughtful musicianship. But Unger always seemed a bit mysterious to me. He could be prickly but generous, curt but welcoming. I first knew him by reputation as a cantankerous art professor at Kent State University. I never took any of his classes, but I have friends who did. But then I took up the banjo in 2008, and it wasn't long before I learned of Doug Unger, the banjo builder. Unger was renowned for his expert pearl inlay and engraving work, as well as his decorative wood carving. Unger built some of the most beautiful banjos in the world, as well as other instruments, including "pocket mandolins," some examples of the which reside in the Smithsonian collection. What made him a master craftsman was the fact that, in addition to building thes...

Running a bit late on this quarterly report. September closed out a rollercoaster of a Q3 on a high note. The Happy Hollow Old-Time Music Gathering was a particular highlight of the the last three months, and perhaps the most fulfilling musical event I've experienced this year. After writing a preview about the event last time, I embraced an opportunity to drive three hours south to Nelsonville, Ohio, to camp and play tunes for a delightful weekend to end the month.  From Thursday through Saturday, Sept. 24-27, I attended several workshops and jams. Two of workshops I attended focused on Ohio tunes, presented by Whitt Mead, one for fiddle and the other for banjo. Coincidentally, two of the tunes taught appear on my " Ohio Dozen " list that I compiled in 2023, and another I included on my list of common tunes from Buckeye State fiddlers .  Two of the workshops I attended were hosted by fiddler Rhys Jones, one on bowing fundamentals and another on old-time fiddle standar...

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...

June coming to an end brings a close to the second quarter of the 2026. As mentioned in March, I decided to bring back my quarterly reports to stay accountable to my yearly playing goal progress and ruminate on whatever banjo-y things I did over the last three months.  April was a bit of a struggle. I came down with an illness and wasn't able to play for more than a week, and I had already gotten out of the strong groove I was in during Q1 . To make matters worse, I ended up not playing at all in May, the second straight year that the fifth month has ended with double zeroes. I finally got back on the horse in early June. However, I'm sad tot say I didn't make it down to the Banjos & Bigfoot festival on June 6. One of these years!  Vinyl Hunter 24.5 One banjo-related highlight from Q2 was picking up the My Soul Is Lost compilation from Jalopy Records on Record Store Day in April. However, I neglected to share four other banjo records I had picked up earlier this year....

This month has been a bit quiet. I haven't played a whole lot of music in May. I had hoped to go to a couple jams, but my plans fell through. However, the weather is finally starting to turn summerlike, and that means music festivals are on the way.  I know lots of folks travel far and wide to places like Mount Airy, Clifftop, and Galax to get their banjo and fiddle groove on, and there are several smaller, regional events like the Indiana Fiddlers' Gathering, Rockbridge, Brandywine and more. Here in Northeast Ohio, we have a small slate of banjo-friendly music festivals that I try to attend every year.  Coming up next month, in fact just nine days from now, is Banjos and Bigfoot 3  at Salt Fork State Park  in Cambridge, Ohio. I wrote about this festival a couple years ago, and I just love the concept. It definitely seems to lean more toward bluegrass, but I'm hoping there'll be some old-time picking represented. I'm not sure if there is any jamming involved, or wh...

Last Saturday was Record Store Day. There were a few albums I wanted, so I set my alarm for 6 a.m., which doesn't even seem that early compared to how early some people line up outside local record stores for this annual event. I saw a couple people camped out at one local store at 8 p.m. on Friday, choosing to spend all night in a shopping plaza in hopes of finding that sweet, sweet vinyl treasure.  My alarm went off, and I hit snooze. It went off again, and I turned it off. Getting up early to wait in line for hours is a younger person's game. I didn't leave the house until 7:30. The shop I visited first opened at 8 a.m. There was a line, but it didn't seem too crazy. However, it took almost an hour for me to get my turn to enter the fray to search for the records on my wish list.  There were three albums that I considered "must have," and I knew Big D's Records at Summit Mall, in Fairlawn, Ohio, had at least gotten copies of each of them. There were tw...

March is over, which means we're a quarter of the way through 2026. In the past, I used to provide quarterly reports  on my various musical goals, but I've gotten away from that kind of content over the last few years. You'd have to go back to 2024 for the last one I did, and further back to 2020 for the last time I provided a report on all four quarters of the year .  To keep me motivated and to give me a regular source of content, I figured I'd bring them back this year to see how they go. I'll use these regular posts as a kind of housekeeping and progress report of the last three months, along with any recent trends and happenings I deem important. So, here we go!  The stats Banjo: A strong January helped carry me through a light February. I stayed on target in March. So far, I've exceeded my benchmark for each month this year, and I'm trending in the right direction for this year's goals.  Fiddle:  As reported above, my January numbers helped car...

Happy Valentine's Day, banjo lovers! Can you believe it's been 15 years since I started this blog? It's true. On Feb. 14, 2011 , I made you all my banjo Valentines. More than 300 posts later, and I'm still complaining about not having enough time to practice, while looking for old-time records and trying learn more about Ohio's fiddle repertoire.  Let's revisit the Top 10 Glory-Beaming Banjo posts of all time 1. The Ultimate Banjo Joke Compendium | I love how this post keeps generating comments. Usually, it's from fellow banjo jokesters wanting to add another zinger to the list. However, my most recent favorite comment was from some anonymous person seemingly upset about all the laughs: " Some of us LIKE banjos 😡😤" You don't say? Well, guess what, I like banjos too. Why do you think I've spent the last 15 years writing about them? If you play banjo but can't take the jokes, then maybe this isn't the instrument for you. (24.4K vi...

Last year ended on a high note, all in the effort to avoid a new low in my playing time for 2025. To start off January, I was able to carry some of that momentum into the New Year. However, I'm not fooling myself into thinking I can rack up some crazy amount of playing time in 2026.  No. Instead, I'm working on not aiming too high. That is, I'm pursuing more manageable goals this year. Although I've started off strong, I know that there will be bumps in the road, and I might find myself not playing any music for long stretches of time. And that's OK.  This year is all about forgiving myself for not living up to my expectations. After going way too long, I changed the strings on my banjo and fiddle at the end of December, and I'm thinking of 2026 as a fresh start.  Glory-beaming goals for 2026 Because I do it every year, I'll share some actual goals for 2026. I have set some modest playing time goals, but I'm not going to get too hung up on them. Of cour...