The Glory-Beaming Banjo

During these waning days of 2019, I figured I'd give you one last look back at the year that was. The following are the five most viewed posts of 2019.  Review: Mike Seeger's Just Around the Bend . I'm cheating a bit with this one because this Smithsonian release occupied two of the most popular posts of the year. The actual top post by a couple hundred views was my post announcing that Seeger's final project would be released in August . My review of said CD/DVD/booklet set came in a few slots down the list. Remembering the Kent State Folk Festival . A love letter to a once-popular event for old-time musicians like Tommy Jarrell, Melvin Wine, the Highwoods String Band, the Carolina Chocolate Drops and more. And it all happened in my hometown. Remember when I said I was going to write multiple posts on the festival? Me neither.  Review: Anna & Elizabeth, "Hop High"/"Here in the Vineyard." Anna Roberts-Gevalt and Elizabeth LaPrel...

Five years ago Mumford & Sons was probably the biggest name in banjo music. They appeared on stage with Bob Dylan . They had a bunch of catchy songs that were all over the radio. They won a couple of Grammys . The head guy was in a really good Coen Brothers movie . And people were excited because they played acoustic instruments, particularly the banjo. Then, they decided to get moody. They took a hiatus after their worldwide tour in 2013, and two years later they released an album that ditched their signature sound . They went ... electric . Maybe they thought they could emulate Dylan's career path. It seemed to me like a manufactured publicity stunt. During the band's hiatus, banjo player Winston Marshall gave an interview where he said Mumford & Sons were done for good. And then, he dropped some serious shade on the banjo. When asked if Mumford & Sons had "killed" the banjo, Marshall told Vulture , "I think 'killed' is an under...

When you think of the banjo, you probably don't think of the Beach Boys. However, we're smack dab in the middle of summer, and I can think of precious few things that sound better during the sunny season than the banjo and the Beach Boys. My love for the Beach Boys has snuck in at times on this blog before. In fact, my love for music pretty much started with the Beach Boys. Their songs are among the earliest I can remember falling in love with, as my parents played their records in the house as I was growing up. I remember being excited to get the Cocktail soundtrack in 1988 so I could play " Kokomo " non-stop. It was the only Beach Boys song that became popular in my lifetime. The Beach Boys were also my first concert in 1991, after a baseball game. As grunge music exploded in the early 1990s, and as I started to get into punk and my local music scene  during high school, my Beach Boys fandom lay dormant. However, they slowly started to worm their way back i...

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