Instrument Petting Zoo in Charlotte, MI

Young mandolinist in the making at the SMBGMA instrument petting zoo during the 2016 Charlotte Bluegrass Festival - photo © Bill WarrenWednesday at the Charlotte Bluegrass Festival saw the debut of the Southeast Michigan Bluegrass Music Association’s “instrument petting zoo.” The “kids of all ages” ranged from a few months to – let’s just say well past a few months!

SMBMA has had a goal of encouraging youngsters in playing music. We, as an association, are very pleased with the turnout of young folks at this event. We also thank our musician friends who helped and passed on tips to these kids. The Association has some wonderful sponsorship also. GHS Strings provided new strings for the zoo and Paige Capo provided guitar and banjo capos. Both are great Michigan companies.

The petting zoo will be making appearances at festivals all summer.

The main stage shows starts Thursday and runs through Saturday here in Charlotte.