The Glory-Beaming Banjo

There are moments when watching Allison de Groot and Tatiana Hargreaves perform that you'll be grooving to the music, and then all of a sudden you stop. No warning. Your foot stops tapping. Your head stops bobbing. Your mouth stops ... being closed. These are the moments when the duo leaves you slackjawed by their brilliance and mastery of the five-string fiddle and five-string banjo. I experienced several of these moments last night at the historic G.A.R. Hall in Peninsula, Ohio, nestled within the Cuyahoga Valley National Park in Northeast Ohio, where de Groot and Hargreaves put on a mesmerizing two-hour concert on a frosty, winter evening. De Groot and Hargreaves played two hour-long sets, with a brief intermission and an encore, playing through a good chunk of their 2019 debut album , as well as a number of tunes they had recently composed and arranged during a creative residency program sponsored by the Peninsula Foundation , which organized the concert as part of its V...

Something happened when I started playing fiddle. I stopped taking my banjo to jams and festivals. The rare occasions when I would lug both instruments somewhere, the unwieldiness of the two handheld, hard-shell cases was overwhelming. I needed a new solution. Granted, when I first got my current banjo, my wonderful wife offered to make me a well-padded gig bag as a present, but I snobbishly declined. I didn't trust the protective qualities of a soft-sided case. And yet, here I am today touting my new forest green Boulder Alpine Deluxe gig bag from Saga Music. My wife, rightfully, gave me the side-eye when I opened the gift over the holidays. She threw in a couple choice words for good measure. I admit it: I was an ass when I said no to her offer 10 years ago. That said, I'm excited to have this gig bag. I know a bunch of banjo players who use them, and they receive strong reviews. I hope to add mine to the list after a thorough testing. The features I like most ar...

Welcome to the new decade. As is usually the case, we start the year off with a statement of goals and purpose to carry us through to December. Last year ended pretty strong, finding success in learning some old chestnuts on fiddle and singing with the banjo. I wanted to continue that theme for 2020, so my theme for this year is "Jam Favorites" on fiddle and "John Songs" on banjo. Once again I'm hoping to increase my overall playing time. While I'm not sure how much more practice time I can wring out of my schedule, I'm hoping to reach those goals by finding a little more time to play with others, whether at local festivals, public old-time sessions or more intimate musical gatherings. A big goal of mine is to play my banjo more in a group setting, as I'm worried my jam skills are withering away with so much focus on the fiddle. A general goal is to record myself more often. This was a goal I set last year, but only managed to do once . To pu...

Everyone seems to be doing these "best of the decade" posts, so I might as well too. It seems like a good way to close out the year. This blog started in 2011, so there's not a full 10 years to choose from. Regardless, it was interesting to take a stroll through the archives and revisit these stories from the last eight years. Without further ado, here are the most visited Glory-Beaming Banjo stories of the 2010s. No. 10 Postcards: Vinyl Hunting Tour From July 8, 2016, this is the post that kicked off the " Vinyl Hunter " series. On that maiden voyage, I picked up Ed Haley, Parkersburg Landing , and the Galax Va. Old Fiddlers' Convention compilation from 1964. No. 9 The Milliner-Koken Collection of American Fiddle Tunes From March 3, 2011, my review of this wonderful and large collection of tunes, compiled by Clare Milliner and Walt Koken. They released a second edition of this 888-page tome earlier this year. You can buy the book at the Mudthum...

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...