- Hello and a very happy new year to friends and family,
Thank you everyone that welcomed us to your town and home this past year. We really enjoyed seeing many friends and meeting new ones in White Springs, Cashiers, Charlotte, Brasstown, Unicoi, Manasota Key, Port Allen, Tallahassee, Palm Bay, Murphreesboro, Fort Walton, Brevard, and in Ecuador and the Galapados Islands.
Thanks you to everyone who bought our cds and books and digital downloads and for all your kind words about them. You make it possible for us to continue to spread banjo music around the world. :)
Here are some of our musical highlights of 2010
- Drumming On the Edge of Banjo (our new cd) was played on NPR's Thistle and Shamrock twice in 2010, and accepted into Pandora's world music genome.
- John Bowlin's Groundhog Strut was included on efolkmusic's new compilation cd.
- Tamlin was included on a Dulcimer Players News cd compilation this year.
- Had musical genius students at the John C. Campbell clawhammer banjo workshop, and at the Violin Shop in Charlotte, NC.
- Had awesome dulcimer students at the Suwannee Dulcimer retreat and at the Violin Shop in Charlotte.
- Magical Carolina House concert in Charlotte and an awesome weekend with Jennifer Stanton.
- The 58th Florida Folk Festival
- Dulcimers In History at the Cashiers Library--another magical and unexpectedly packed event.
- The North Georgia Foothills Dulcimer Association Fall Festival at Unicoi
- The Lagnaippe Dulcimer Fete in Port Allen, Lousiana
- An impromptu house concert on Manasota Key with visiting Hawaiins, Char and Michael.
- An evening of playing Afro/Caribbean drumming with Celtic clawhammer frailing fushion banjo at the Mockingbird Cafe with Yazid and Jim Crozier, packed with friends and family.
- The Cracker Coffee House at the Stephen Foster State Park.
- Lots of good feedback on "Easy String Band Method for the Mountain Dulcimer" Thanks for letting me know you like it.
- Bob gave me a beautiful Timber Hill mountain dulcimer for my birthday built by Paul Conrad.
- Ken Miller's "Little Star" guitar came to live at my home.
Here are some highlights coming in 2011. I've just updated my web site with a whole new look and have begun to ad some event dates for 201l. Please take a look if you are interested in hearing us live or attending a banjo or dulcimer workshop :)
- New banjo centric cd coming soon. (it's almost half complete and hope to have it out early in the year.
- New banjo tab book with tabs from the upcoming cd and tabs for tunes on Drumming On the Edge of Banjo.
- Mark Sickman is ready with his Grand Canyon DVD--we have been watching the early release and it is wonderful. There is a lot of old time banjo soundtrack, and some really innovative singing and storytelling too.
- Heading west in October and wil be giving a concert and worshop in Albuquerque. If you are on the route to or from there or in or near Arcosanti in the beginning to middle of October and would be interested in hosting a house concert and/or banjo or mountain dulcimer workshop in your town--please contact me. :)