The Glory-Beaming Banjo

The Field Recorders’ Collective has announced two new releases for 2019. Vernon Spencer and Jim Shumate seem to represent opposite ends of the old-time spectrum. Spencer was a gas station operator from Big Springs, Kansas, who played in a family band. Shumate was a professional fiddler who played with the likes of Bill Monroe and Flatt & Scruggs in the early days of bluegrass. These fiddlers, disparate though they may be, provide vital a link for today’s old-time enthusiasts. Spencer was the grandfather and main influence to one of today’s fiddling luminaries, Tricia Spencer, of Spencer & Rains . Shumate, on the other hand, exemplifies the blurred lines between old-time and early bluegrass with a fast, smooth style and repertoire filled with traditional fiddle tunes. Vernon Spencer of Big Springs, Kansas (FRC726)  features 39 tracks and includes two excellent album notes from his granddaughter that are available on the FRC website. One features detailed track note...

Summer weather is here, and there's nothing better than cruising down the road with the windows wide open and the stereo cranking your favorite tunes. Whether you're headed to the beach or on your way to your favorite festival, it's a good time to pick up some hot new music. Right now, the Old-Time Tiki Parlour is holding a sale on its music and video catalog. I'm not sure how long these deals will last, but it's borderline theft to pay $19.99 for the CD/DVD sets of Dan Gellert , Bruce Molsky, Spencer and Rains, the Stuart Brothers , Paul Brown and others. From my experience, these releases are well-packaged, immaculately recorded and provide a close-up glimpse of how these masters get the sounds they get. The liner notes provide valuable information on the sources and tunings used by the players. These packages usually go for $25. Also available is the Spencer and Rains "The Skeleton Keys" book and CD for $29.99. The package includes 17 tunes...

A bout a month and a half ago, GBB reported that the Old-Time Tiki Parlour was at work producing a CD and DVD set on the Stuart Brothers . Well, that collection is now available, as you can plainly tell by the video above. Trevor and Travis Stuart were renowned for their banjo-fiddle duets until Trevor's tragic death in March last year. The previous May, however, Tiki Parlour founder David Bragger recorded the duo for what has turned out to be the brothers' final release. The CD/DVD set contains 23 tunes played in their traditional North Carolina style. Right now, the Tiki Parlour is running a sale, so you can pick the Stuart Brothers set up for $20. It's also worth noting that the Tiki Parlour also recently released The Skeleton Keys collection, featuring Tricia Spencer and Howard Rains, along with Charlie Hartness on ukulele, Nancy Hartness on guitar and Brendan Doyle on banjo. The group plays 17 tunes that are accompanied by a full-color, 40-page booklet of...

T his seems like an especially fertile time for new old-time music being released. In addition to the Mark Olitsky and Cary Moskovitz album we featured recently, here are a few other new or upcoming notable albums. Trevor Hammons & Benjamin Davis, "The West Virginia Way" I recently received a copy of this album as a prize for answering a trivia question on the Banjo Hangout. It's a stunner. Trevor Hammons is the great-grandson of legendary banjo player Lee Hammons. Benjamin Davis has been playing fiddle for five years and has studied under Pam Lund and Jake Krack. Both grew up in Pocahontas County, West Virginia. They're playing fits together so well that you might be shocked to learn that both Hammons and Davis were 15 years old when they were recorded for this album. Fifteen! If I had a time machine ... The 16 tunes include rousing renditions of "Juliann Johnson," "Bonaparte Crossing the Alps," "Last Chance" and "Falls ...