Bowing Isn't Everything (or is it?)
Actual picture of me at the Indiana Fiddler’s Gathering last weekend. Sometimes when I’m playing fiddle it seems like my left hand hasn’t the foggiest notion...
To Battleground!
I’ve gotten behind on posting, and its becoming a problem, as notable stuff keeps happening. So, in the interest of breaking the drought, I’m only going to...
Workshopping: Lanesboro, part 3
There are lots of reasons to attend the Bluff Country Gathering – the scenic environs, the delicious lunches, the incredible jams, Bob Bovee’s uncanny...
Little Town in the Driftless: Lanesboro, part 2
Lanesboro, Minnesota looks like a picture postcard come to life – which is to say, it reminds me a little of Chautuaqua, New York. I’ve been to the latter...
Kick Out the Jams: Lanesboro, part 1
It has become apparent to me that the real action at an old-time gathering never appears on any official schedule. Certainly I was excited to participate in...
Updates
Yesterday afternoon I returned home from a long weekend in Lanesboro, Minnesota attending the Bluff Country Gathering. It was amazing and I have a great deal...
Rhiannon Giddens & the Old Time Revue
The most surprising thing about Rhiannon Giddens’ Old Time Revue wasn’t that Justin Robinson – Giddens’ collaborator on her recently released album of...
The Circle is Home
It was cramped in the back room the other night at Brenda and Drew’s place - there were four or five fiddles, two or three banjos, two or three guitars, and...
Haiku Fest & the DeKalb Bandshell
This past weekend included poetry and music and a good deal of travel. Friday night my partner and I enjoyed a rare night out together sans kiddos, dining...
What did the Blackbird say to the Crow
Rhiannon Giddens I’ve been listening to a new record this past weekend, What Did the Blackbird Say to the Crow, by Rhiannon Giddens and Justin Robinson. It’s...
Too Many Tunes
Last weekend I acquired a copy of Ryan’s Mammoth Collection: 1050 Reels and Jigs, Hornpipes, Clogs, Walk-arounds, Essences, Strathspeys, Highland Flings, and...
Decatur Realness
President Taft giving a speech in downtown Decatur, Illinois, February 11, 1911 I’ve been going to a monthly old-time jam in Decatur since December. It takes...
Durang's Hornpipe
3 versions of Durang’s Hornpipe Copying tunes into my notebook is becoming one of my favorite things to do. As a general rule, old time fiddlers learn tunes...
A few tunes
Last night I played some tunes with my buddy Aaron, and we recorded three of them on my phone, and I posted them to Soundcloud just now. It seemed like, if...
Grace
I think a lot about how my life might have been different. I know you’re not supposed to do that, but I do. How things might have turned out had I made...