2025 Southeast Bluegrass Banjo Championship results
September 27 saw the inaugural running of the Southeast Bluegrass Banjo Championship at Common John Brewing Co in Manchester, TN. Competitions were held for guitar, fiddle, mandolin, and reso-guitar as well as banjo, with a special 14-and-under category where all instruments were welcome. Championship coordinator Joey Gipson tells us that things went very well on […]
Day 2 at the 2025 Monroe Mandolin Camp
Tony Williamson shows off his Loars at the 2025 Monroe Mandolin Camp – photo © Jim Morgan Day two at 12th annual Monroe Mandolin Camp delivered what pickers and players live for—deep musical knowledge, legendary instructors, and the kind of late-night jamming that feels like a throwback to your first festival campfire circle. The day kicked […]
J.R. Freeland to Route 3
Route 3 has announced the addition of J.R. Freeland to the band on banjo, filling the spot recently vacated by Janice Martin. Freeland is a Missouri native, where he was raised in a bluegrass family, starting on the banjo at age seven. Living with his family now in Arkansas, J.R. pulled away from music for […]
D’Addario quick release strap now available for mandolin and banjo
Great news for players of smaller instruments. D’Addario has released a quick release strap accessory that will allow banjo pickers and mandolinists to attach one to their instrument straps. Called the Small Instrument Quick Release Strap Connector, this inexpensive accessory allows for a simple way to detach straps that have a more permanent installation, such […]
Derek Stone to Carl Towns & Upward Road
15-year-old banjo picker Derek Stone has been announced as the newest member of Carl Towns & Upward Road, a contemporary bluegrass band from Rising Fawn, GA. Stone is from nearby Chattanooga, TN, and has only been playing the banjo this last three years. He entered his first banjo competition at the Smithville Fiddlers Jamboree in […]
Janice Martin stepping down from Route 3
Janice Martin, banjo picker with popular Missouri bluegrass group Route 3, has announced her decision to step away from the band. She will be focusing her attention on her new booking agency, JMTalent. A life-long grasser, Janice started playing the banjo at age 12, and toured with her family as The Bluegrass Martins for nearly […]
Alison Brown announces Banjo Basecamp
Alison Brown has announced a new banjo workshop week this fall, with her own unique twist. Banjo Basecamp will run October 6-10 at the Porches Inn and Studio 9 in North Adams, MA. The faculty includes some of the most highly awarded banjoists of our time, one Grammy winner and two recipients of the Steve […]
Béla Fleck banjo raffle to support Texas flooding victims
The hearts of the whole world went out to the victims of the terrible flooding in the Hill Country region of Texas last month. Particularly devastating were the floods in Kerr County, which took 117 of the 135 lives lost when the Guadalupe River flood plain experienced a 100 year flood. The stories of the […]
Frank Evans makes the move from Toronto to Nashville
Can one learn to play bluegrass and old time music in downtown Toronto, and go on to a professional career as a banjo player and singer? Frank Evans says “yes!,” and has the life experience to prove it. Known to many bluegrass lovers as the banjo man with Toronto’s Slocan Ramblers, where he also shines […]
Banjo auction closing soon for Blue Ridge Banjo Camp
The banjo auction in support of the scholarship fund for Béla Fleck’s Blue Ridge Banjo Camp closes in just two days, offering the opportunity to obtain one of four new banjos at a bargain price. Camp is in session this week at the Brevard Music Center in Brevard, NC, and the auction is for instruments […]
