banjo

One of the Blue Grass Boys of the mid-1970s, Bill Holden, passed away suddenly in Knoxville, Tennessee on November 15, 2021 at the age of 71.  William O'Neal 'Bill' Holden was born on July 25, 1950 in Fort Worth, Texas, and

For years banjo players have drooled over Béla Fleck's 1937 RB-75 conversion banjo, the one that he has played since 1982. It's a beautiful instrument, and helped cement his sound into every banjo picker's brain through his landmark 1988 release,

As a part of their ongoing series of Banjo Picking Tunes, Mel Bay has released a slim volume of melodies for banjo taken from early European classics. Entitled Early Music Gems, the book was compiled by Spanish banjoist Lluis Gomez,

Full Cord, a Michigan-based bluegrass group of some 14 years standing, has announced the addition of Gabe Hirshfeld to the band on banjo. Hirshfeld, a Boston native, gained notoriety nationally for his time with Lonely Heartstring Band, an outfit he joined

Here's an important notice for collectors of antique banjos. 28 instruments from the collection of Kaspar Herde will be auctioned on Friday, November 12 in Hamburg, Germany. These are all fine tenor banjos from the 1930s, including instruments made by prominent

Wayne Miller, banjo picker from Asheboro, NC, died on October 21, 2021, after a brief bout with pancreatic cancer. He was 72. Starting in the late 1970s, Miller played in a band called the Randolph Express (named after the North Carolina

This week, the first Friday without our beloved Sonny Osborne, we thought we would do something a bit different. Since Sonny is no longer able to answer everyone's questions, we instead asked several prominent people in bluegrass to share their

Sonny Osborne (left) at Darrington in 1987 - photo © Barry Brower/The Osborne Brothers Most musicians hope to leave a mark on the world through their art: a particularly well-written lyric, a ferocious banjo lick, perhaps even a style of playing

Sonny, Who came up with the Gitjo? The pickin that you did on that was great! Also, when you worked for Bill Monroe, I was wondering In those days if they had you to do any of the driving? Thanks, Mark K. Driving Mister

It's that time of year again, when we divide into two groups of people: folks who start decorating their homes for Christmas at the first hint of fall weather, and those who hate them for it.  Sure, it's too early to