Daniel Grindstaff – Heroes and Friends
Since he was just eighteen years old, Daniel Grindstaff has played banjo for numerous top acts in bluegrass music, including Jim & Jesse, Bobby Osborne, Marty Raybon, and David Davis among others. On the aptly named, Heroes and Friends, Grindstaff has surrounded himself with first rate pickers and singers for a collection of his own original tunes […]
Nechville East at Turtle Hill Banjo Company
Danny Stewart and Tom Nechville announce Nechville East Turtle Hill Banjo Company in Annapolis, MD has announced a special relationship with Nechville Banjos. We had reported recently on Nechville’s move from their founding base in Minnesota to Tom Nechville’s new home in Sisters, OR. Tom has established a retail showroom and banjo repair facility in […]
Bill Emerson’s String Time, reissue from Patuxent Music
Marvelous news from Patuxent Music! The Maryland label run by Tim Mindte has brought back some classic tracks from the late, and ever so great, Bill Emerson. Originally released as a series of three budget-priced LPs in the early ’60s as Banjo Pickin’ & Hot Fiddlin’ by Bill Emerson & His Virginia Mountaineers on the […]
Epiphone launches Bluegrass Collection instruments
The Epiphone instrument company, once a chief rival to Gibson guitars, mandolin, and guitars in the early part of the 20th century, became more-or-less an authorized Gibson copy builder after Gibson bought the company in 1957. Not immediately, as Epiphone continued to make instruments that competed with Gibson until that company was sold in 1969, […]
Anda, Jaleo – flamenco banjo with Lluis Gomez
For quite some time, Barcelona banjo player Lluis Gomez has been recognized as the most visible and recognized practitioner of his instrument in Spain. Picking up the five string in adulthood, following many years of musical training in classical guitar and contemporary harmony, Lluis became completely smitten with banjo only after hearing the Paris Banjo […]
One-Eyed John video from Natalie Spears
Colorado old time artist Natalie Spears has released a live performance video for one of the tracks on her upcoming Hymn of Wild Things project, due next month. Recently Natalie had been seen touring in a duo with fiddler Lizzy Plotkin, supporting their Just Over The Ridge album, which was popular on both bluegrass and […]
Welcome Callie Bennett!
Chase Bennett (banjoist with Caroline Owens) and his wife, Maggie, of Canton, NC, welcome their firstborn, a daughter, Callie June Bennett. She came into the world at 6:15 a.m. on Saturday, May 25, weighing 8 pounds 14 ounces, and measuring 21 1/2 inches in length. “We are overjoyed to welcome our sweet daughter into the […]
Steven Ware wins Deering banjo from IBMA Foundation
The IBMA Foundation has announced that Steven Ware from Waco, TX is the winner of their 2024 Strings for Dreams Bluegrass Raffle, which raised $20,890 to benefit the educational and philanthropic work of the Foundation, and their overall efforts to support the growth of bluegrass music. Ware, who has been playing the banjo for more […]
Lincoln Hensley talks banjos, Sonny Osborne, and trading
Lincoln Hensley with one of Sonny Osborne’s vintage Vega banjos Lincoln Hensley is a young man in his mid-20s with an old soul. He loves and plays bluegrass music (with Tennessee Bluegrass Band), endorses for one banjo company and runs another, swaps/trades/collects instruments, antiques, and musical memorabilia. He is truly a Banjo Boy. Hensley’s love […]
Banjo NewsLetter office moves to Wisconsin
Banjo NewsLetter, the print magazine dedicated to three finger and clawhammer banjo that was published from 1973 to 2021, has announced a move of their business office. They are not resuming publication, but the magazine and its rich archive of articles, reviews, instructional information, and tablature remains available online for $8.99 per year. Founded in […]
