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...